one night in Madrid

Given your arrival time you’ll miss the Prado free hours on this trip too.

The C1 no longer stops at Atocha. It goes to Chamartín that is out of the way for seeing the main sights.

The easiest way into town would probably be a taxi. We always take the metro. Where your hotel is might be a deciding factor.

• I think it's going to be faster to take a taxi to your hotel, even with traffic. But, you could take the train too.
• I wouldn't recommend a free day at a museum, especially when you have limited time. You don't want to wait in a long line in your precious few hours. The Prado is amazing, but I would leave it for my next trip to Spain. You could give it a shot and see how crowded it is, but in my experience in Madrid, these free days can just be packed out.
• Alternative museum choices: Museum of Romanticism, Archaeological Museum (MAN).
• Walk around the Retiro, go to Salamanca or Ibiza neighborhood for dinner, La Maruca, La Castela, Restaurante Ogrelo, lots of nice choices around there.

We haven't booked a hotel. That location will depend on what our 1-night plan ends up being, so we are entirely flexible.

What about sunset at Temple of Debod? Too tight time wise??

Yea, business class will make everything faster. I love those miles,bargains!

But it will still be about 7 by the time you got into town. I think I would just make a reservation for dinner and a wander. Then have an easy morning as you head back to the airport. There are a lot of great restaurants, but if you wanted to wander Puerta del Sol and maybe Plaza Mayor, I had a really good meal at Metro Bistro (reservations wise).

Sunset will be prior to you arriving into town (about 6pm) from the airport, so it will be dark. Not knowing what you have already seen in the city maybe walk along the Paseo de Prado/Paseo de Recoletos to walk past the Fuente de Neptune, then Plaza de Cibeles, followed by the Puerta de Alcalá that is a block away. Then walk up the Gran Vía to the Callao metro station/Plaza de Callao. At the Plaza go up to the top floor of El Corte Inglés (El Corte Inglés Gourmet Experience) on Calle del Carmen for nice views of the area. There are eateries and bars there if you wanted something. Upon leaving, continue in Calle del Carmen and people watch all the way to the Puerta del Sol. The Plaza Mayor is a couple minutes walk from it.

I’m not sure how lit up the temple is at night, but if you came up the Gran Vía, continue past Callao and make a quick stop at the Plaza de España to see the Don Quixote and Sancho Panza statues (if lit up) on the way to the temple.

Beware of pickpockets in crowded areas. You can see things in whichever order you want.

Ok. Dinner and a moonlight/floodlight ramble is the move. Thanks!