Madrid for 4 nights with teenage daughters

Jessica: so much to do, so little time. The Prado is one of the world's major museums. Madrid has lots of shopping areas - shopping is a major activity, it seems. Puerta del Sol, Plaza Major are gathering & eating places, day and night. You could take a day trip to Toledo but wont avoid the tourists. There are tourists local and from afar everywhere in Madrid area. Tapas eateries are common and usually delightful. The buses go everywhere and are cheap. The metro is okay but hot. Don't schedule too heavily - allow for serendipity and diversions. We spent a week there and wish it were 4 times as long! Enjoy yourselves and plan a return.
Side Note: Portland, Maine is one of our favorite NE cities, especially the Inn at St. John.

I think the main two good things about Madrid are the art museums, and the general atmosphere of small restaurants. While it has a number of cool buildings, they not that cool compared to other famous cities. Taxi's are cheap enough, but the metro never seems convenient. So every time we go we end up walking and walking. And I am always glad to get out of there after a day or so. I think the best thing to do "in" Madrid is take a day trip to Segovia, Toledo, Zaragoza, Valencia, or Seville. Seville and Barcelona both have massive football stadiums too. You could also see about seeing the massive civil war memorial about 45 minutes outside of Madrid.

I would agree that if you take the art museums out of the equation, Spain has a bunch of cities that are aesthetically more interesting than Madrid when you have 3 days available, but that doesn't mean Madrid isn't a worthwhile destination. As already mentioned, there are some great, and convenient, side-trips that can be taken from Madrid. The two most popular seem to be Toledo and Segovia.

Much as I like Seville and Barcelona, they are really way beyond the bounds of what I'd consider reasonable day trips. Seville is at least 2 hr. 33 min. away; Barcelona, 2 hr. 30 min. Those time don't include travel time from your hotel to Atocha Station in Madrid, and I'd say Serville and Barcelona each deserve at least 4 nights; a day trip to either one could be frustrating. It would be worse in Barcelona since so many of the top sights require prepurchase of time-specific entry tickets, so not a lot can be accomplished in six hours unless you just want to walk around.

In addition, Seville can be quite hot in May, especially later in the month.

Valencia's about 2 hr. from Madrid, so it's not somewhere I'd go for just a day, either, but at least it doesn't have as many key sights as Barcelona and Seville.

The Prado Museum is special. Also, don't miss nearby Toledo, the former capital of Spain, take the train.

Salamanca is a bit far for a day trip, but Toledo and Segovia are near and great.

Wow, planning a trip to Spain and the first thing that comes to mind is a soccer game? Umm, that is not really unique anywhere these days.

So, Madrid is a fabulous capital city, and if you think one art museum in Europe is the same as another, then you need to take a refresher course in art history. The Prado contains thousands of masterpieces, including great collections from some of the most famous Spanish artists: Velazquez, Goya, El Greco (adopted by Spain) and El Bosco (also adopted). Down the road is the Reina Sofia museum, featuring Picasso's stunning visual legacy of Guernica. But, you need to know a little about Spain's history to understand why this painting is so moving.

The Palacio Real (Royal Palace) in Madrid is gorgeous, full of room after room of astonishing decor and design. But, maybe if you have seen one palace or castle you have seen them all? Spain is so chock full of castles that many of them have now become hotels. We always go non-stop to visit as many as possible each trip. The Alcázar in Segovia is nearby to Madrid, and a great example of a medieval castle. Queen Isabella lived here for a while. Again, history lessons can make the entire travel experience more meaningful.

I would hope that teenage girls might enjoy attending a flamenco performance--two months ago when we were in Madrid at a flamenco show we met 40 young ladies from South America all celebrating their quinceañera by traveling to Spain and exploring their heritage.

Cathedrals are always high on my list, and the nearby historic cathedral of Toledo is stunning, but again, may not appeal to some tourists. Much of Spain's history is intertwined with its Catholic faith.

Many of the places where tourists want to go are very "touristy." However, there are certainly multitudes of options of remote and more quiet places to visit, but a car may be required, and some research about what you will see and do when you get there. Traveling in the Winter will also reduce the number of tourists.

Shopping is one of my favorite pastimes--this Summer I picked up several fans, a Damasquinado bracelet from Toledo (in prior years I purchased a sword); I browsed flamenco dresses (pricey), and many other items, but no soccer team t-shirts, although they are also popular. The Gran Via is the main street, full of shopping and restaurant choices, and it leads into the Plaza de España, another busy area with lots of souvenir shops. There are a variety of hotel choices, depending on your budget and walking stamina.

I always recommend that children traveling with parents learn something about the history, culture, important sights, food, and language of a country before they travel there, so they become knowledgeable visitors.

Buen viaje!

P.S. I was just in Portland, Maine last week for a business trip, and I made sure to take a photo of the restaurant up the road with the giant lobster on the top. I guess that area can be pretty "touristy" in the Summer, but it was just me and a young German couple perusing the scenery there.

Hi Jessica. One place in Madrid that I think you and your girls would enjoy is El Retiro Park. It is absolutely beautiful and was recently named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I would also highly recommend the Palacio Real (Royal Palace). It is the largest royal palace in Europe and is pretty impressive!
Madrid also has two free city buses that connect many of the top tourist sites. One is “bus 001” running from Atocha to Moncloa. The second is “bus 002” running from Puerta Toledo to Arguelles. If you google them you can get additional information. We found them to be pretty useful. Hope you and your girls have a wonderful adventure!

Peg

Eating out in Madrid was the highlight for us this September. Highly recommend dinner at SDD2–exceptional food and fun—as well as the excellent Tres por Cuatro. Also, seeing Guernica (plus some Dali and Miro) at Reina Sofia is awesome and takes little time.