I'm creating a itinerary for a trip to Portugal and Spain when it's safe to travel again (whenever that may be!).
It'll be about a week long trip. I'm hoping to do a Porto stopover with TAP Portugal which leaves me 3 days in Madrid.
Wondering if anyone had suggestions for a neighborhood to stay in. I've never been to Madrid but would be interested in architecture, food and drink and a part of the city that is very walkable.
Thanks in advance
we stayed in plaza santa ana and thought it was a perfect location. lots of restaurants, walking distances to the museums, really anywhere.
We always stay in the Hotel Europa at Puerta Del Sol. Almost dead center of the city and convenient to transportation. pedestrian zones, etc.
Puerta del Sol is very convenient and the Europa is a good hotel. I've also stayed at the Moderno there and liked it. But if I were returning I might look at the quieter and older Plaza Mayor, just a few blocks from Puerta del Sol. I don't think there's a metro station right there (as there is at PDS) but with just three days you'll probably be focused on the sights in Madrid's walkable center and not need to ride.
Another vote for Puerta del Sol and Europa Hotel. Our room was on one of the top floors facing the Square. We enjoyed the music at night from the balcony. Walking distance to interesting sights and restaurants. Our favorite restaurant was La Sanabresa. It's just a 10 min. walk from the hotel. It's located in the Huertas Neighborhood. We were in Porto prior to Madrid and took TAP Airlines.
We stayed at the Central Palace Madrid which included free breakfast at the elegant restaurant next door. The hotel rooms had tall ceilings and beautiful furnishings fitting for the amazing view! The rooms look out over the Royal Palace Plaza Oriente with the palace illuminated at night.
During that trip we also had booked a 1-night stay before flying home. That hotel was near the Retiro Park area. We much preferred the first location and small hotel.
I wanted to be near the Atocha station and the museums so I stayed in an apartment a few short blocks from the Prado. It was an 18 minute walk, bus or subway to the central plaza, but had green space, restaurants and transportation. For the hotel users, there are numerous to chose from in the i mediate area. Madrid is a walkable city so it may depend on what you want to focus on.
We too, mostly stay at Hotel Europa at the Puerta del Sol. On our last trip we stayed at Petit Palace Posada Del Peine right at the Plaza Mayor, but only a two minutes walk from the Puerta del Sol. The included breakfast at the Petite Palace was good, but we didn’t care for the room. The Plaza Mayor/Puerta del Sol area is in the center of the historic district. If you planned on visiting many of the museums, then it maybe easier to stay in the Atocha/Salamanca area since they are close to the museums. Not knowing how you’re traveling from place to place, what might be nice if traveling by train is to have a hotel close to the train station. As a guide, Plaza Santa Ana is about a five minutes walk to either the Puerta del Sol or Plaza Mayor. From the Puerta del Sol, it’s about a 20 minutes walk to the Prado and Atocha. To me, most of the main tourist sites are walkable, but many might say otherwise. The metro is easy to use. All that being said, with only a week’s vacation, I’d stick to one country.
Our only trip to Madrid was in September 2017. We stayed at the Artrip Hotel, based on its location near the Atocha train station, and within walking distance the "Big Three" museums. It was a great small hotel with a decent free breakfast, and extremely helpful staff. Turns out, we loved the Lavapies neighborhood - safe, with a rich diversity of people and great little restaurants.
