Four Day Trip to Madrid: Day 4

For breakfast or brunch, go to Mercado de San Miguel located right between the Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor. Here you will find a fabulous selection of fresh fruits, vegetables, fish and meat.

There are also many stands that serve tapas and pastries to consumption right there. Here, you will also find wineries and coffee shops.

The beauty of the market is there are tables for sitting and standing throughout so you can order a few different things from different stands and have a "Taste of Madrid" meal.

Many vendors also sell items to go, so pick up a bottle of wine, a jar of olives, or some chocolates to take with you.

While we were there, the market was holding a special Philadelphia cream cheese stand that was selling tapas made with Philly cream cheese along with a cooking show.

From here, walk into Puerta del Sol and see Km 0 marker. This is where all of Spain's roadways begin. The marker is on the ground in front of the governor's residence.

Also in Puerta del Sol is Bear and the Madroño Tree, heraldic symbol of Madrid, that is on Madrid's city seal. He is located behind the metro station.

Just past Bear and the Madroño Tree along Calle de Alcalá is Museo de la Real Academia de Bella Artes de San Fernando. Here, Dali and Picasso were students and there is an entire room devoted to Goya who was a former director of the academy.

Hop on the train from Puerta del Sol to Santiago Bernabéu. While seeing an actual Real Madrid soccer game would be awesome, they are expensive and difficult to get tickets to. The alternative is a tour of the stadium and museum.

There are guided tours available in both Spanish and English, however, we chose to do the guideless tour and take our own time. Much of the signage throughout the museum and stadium is in both Spanish and English, anyway.

The guideless tour takes you into the stands so you can look down onto the stadium. You also get to go to the players box, see the locker rooms (there are jacuzzis in there!) the press room and more.

From there, you are directed into the Real Madrid museum, with information on all their teams, not just the soccer team, and trophies and awards won by all of the teams.

For me, there were two highlights of the museum (because, honestly, there is a limit to the amount of trophies I can see in one day). There is a display case of the pre-season trophies, which are huge and almost works of art in themselves. The largest one was probably over three feet tall. There was also a ship, a tower, and more.

The other highlight was the trophy for Best Soccer Club of the Twentieth Century, which was awarded to Real Madrid. This trophy is shaped like a soccer ball and covered in diamonds. It's also in a case by itself.

As this would be the last day in your four day trip to Madrid, use the rest of your time here to shop, eat, relax or return to places you enjoyed or missed.

A Four Day Trip to Madrid: Day 1

Wow - four days have flown by pretty quickly, and now it is time for us here at Better Than a Travel Guide to tell you, dear readers, what, when and how to best experience Madrid, Spain. (Do keep in mind that we are going to give you the four day tour, feel free to break it down into more days, also.)

Day 1:

Madrid's Palacio Real is the home of past, present and future kings, including the current King, Juan Carlos I, and his family. There is also a tour available of some of the rooms of the palace. (The King is currently at his summer home in Barcelona.)

Before entering the Palace, you'll walk through Plaza de Oriente - where many former kings have gathered and have addressed the public.

The tour includes the throne room - a magnificent room - drawing rooms, salons and the huge formal dining room.  Our jaws dropped at some of the sights during this tour. 

Interesting fact - the dining room can hold up to 160 diners. There is also a collection of china and silverware used in the dining room.

You can also visit and spend time in the main courtyard of the palace - a great location for photos (as photographs are not allowed inside the palace - boo, I know).

From here, walk across the street (no kidding) to Catedral de la Almudena.

The cathedral took FOREVER to build, it began construction in 1879 and was finally finished in 1993 (yup, 114 years in the making).

Just down the street from Catedral de la Amudena is Muralla Arabe, the Moorish entry to Madrid when the city was under Moorish rule. The wall was excavated and now there is a very beautiful park.

From here walk to Campo del Moro. This park is designed in the "English style" with winding pathways and gardens. It is a great stop to stop and relax after a busy morning.

Many peacocks live in Campo del Moro, and will put on a show of their beauty.

Hop on the train to Opera to explore Plaza Mayor - a large plaza filled with delicious restaurants and shopping.

Spend some time here for tapas and drinks before dinner in one of the many restaurants that line the plaza. Many offer outdoor seating and, most importantly, indoor bathrooms (ask "Donde es baño" they'll understand).

From here, walk to Botin for dinner. Botin is the world's oldest restaurant (founded in 1725) and serves traditional foods. Ernest Hemmingway found Botin's roast suckling pig as his favorite (it was okay). Try the chicken friacesse, also, it is amazing!

Botin also has many of its own house wines and homemade sangria - definitely give those a try!

Also, while many restaurants have Spanish-only menus, Botin offers menus in a variety of languages, just ask!

However, reservations fill up quickly and are priority seating for dinner.

After all this, take in an early night. Or, take the train to Gran Vía and do some shopping, have a drink (or 2), or other night life activities that can be found along the 100 year old stretch.