As many frequent travelers know Madrid is a main hub in Europe, really when traveling from anywhere, but particularly from the United States. Why? Because if you are part of the One World Alliance you are likely collecting miles to fly with American Airlines, British Airways, and Iberia, which has their hub in Madrid. While I recommend spending much more than 24 hours in Madrid, having the dreadful “overnight layover” in this city is actually not a bad option. This is just personal preference, but I would much prefer a 24 hour overnight layover in Madrid versus six or seven hours waiting in an airport lounge.
If you have been to Madrid several times this post may not be for you. I hadn’t been to Madrid since I had recently graduated high school in 2010, when I visited for a short three days with my best friend. Twelve years later my boyfriend booked us some flights that required the overnight stay, and I was absolutely delighted.
24 Hour Layover in Madrid
STAY
We checked into the wonderful hotel URSO. I cannot recommend it more, they were terrific hosts, and did everything possible to have our room ready for when we arrived. Not only was it ready, but we were also welcomed with a terrific upgrade with a lovely view of the city. One travel tip I do for my clients when organizing their itinerary, that always comes in handy, is sending an email to the hotel a few days before arrival letting them know that you will be landing on an early flight so they can do their best to have your room available for you. Getting off of a nine hour flight and having to wait six more hours to have a shower and a rest can be tough, and most of the time, easily avoided. We had also mentioned to Julia, our wonderful Front Desk Manager, that we were looking forward to visiting the Prado. She immediately let us know that the hotel was partnering with the museum and gave us two complimentary tickets.
After our quick freshen up at the hotel - I always feel that you really arrive to your destination once you’ve showered there, we were out the door. We followed our sacred rule of no laying down, doing everything to avoid the jet lag lingering.
Our first stop was food, obviously. After about a ten minute walk we stumbled across a restaurant, anything but glamorous, but absolutely delicious with wonderful service. As always, we couldn’t choose what we wanted on the menu so we ended up ordering way too much food. Once we had our fill of tapas and beer we headed passed several buildings and landmarks until arriving to the Prado Museum. This museum is home to pieces from Velasquez, Goya, Bosch, just to name a few. It’s not an easy museum to make your way around if you’re afraid of missing any pieces, due to all of the amazing pieces, but it’s worth the visit if you enjoy art. Next time I am in Madrid I will be heading to the Reina Sofia Museum that is home to more works from Picasso and Dali.
Next, Juan David, my now fiancé, and previous tenant in the city of Madrid, took me to the Parque del Retiro, where we gave in and took a nap in the grass, only to be woken up twenty minutes later by the natural inhabitants, many, many ants. This stunning park is perfect for walking around, renting a boat, or enjoying a coffee/ice cream on the lake.
Our last stop of the day was to the Corte Ingles, a great shopping mall, where we finished buying things for the wedding we had in two days time. Truth be told, if you can wait and not stress about having a complete outfit before leaving home, this is the store for you. The clothes are beautiful, a very good price, trendy, and I found much more unique than the clothes on this side of the pond. After stopping for aperitif we made our way back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.
In the middle of dinner, as we sipped our delicious Tempranillo, three young men entered with guitars and started playing their songs. We sang along to the ones we knew and enjoyed the ones we didn’t, it was a perfect start to the trip. I think people would agree that I am great at giving travel tips, not so good at taking them. We had not stopped at an ATM machine upon arrival in Madrid. Europe used to be all cash, key word “used”. Credit cards are accepted almost everywhere. Tipping culture in Europe is nothing like the US. There, you leave a couple of coins and that’s it, we didn’t even have a couple of coins. When we were to leave I was trapped in the corner with these singers next to me and we didn’t have a cent to give them. I apologized profusely as I left mid-song, after my lovely fiancé decided to be of absolutely no help and waited for me at the stairs, allowing me to get myself out of the corner.
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Our late night stroll was a perfect way to digest dinner and end our layover in Madrid. We finally got some sleep before waking up to head back to Madrid’s Barjas Airport where we took off to Nice.
Now, I can send you a list of rooftops and restaurants that you will enjoy, but truth be told you will end up stumbling upon any restaurant, and it will likely be wonderful. We had a pleasant walk through Chueca, which is famous for being the “gay area” in Madrid, while also carrying several beautiful boutiques, perfect for a shopping day, or night. We proceeded on through la Puerta del Sol and the Plaza Mayor, finally arriving to Botin. This restaurant is famous for being “the oldest restaurant in the world” according to the Guinness World Records, dating back to 1725. Historical icons like Ernest Hemingway and Jacqueline Onassis are just a couple of names that enjoyed a meal here.
Any recommendations in Madrid or suggestions of what you want to see next, let me know below :)