A city of: hidden churches, neoclassical palaces and túneles, with renowned futbol teams and chefs. Home of gypsies, Spanish celebrities and nobles; related to icons such as Miguel de Cervantes, Francisco Goya and Pedro Almodóvar. The capital of the first global empire in history; the one that changed the diet of the world; and a city that it’s currently trending in the media and sports world — Madrid has a lot to offer.

Madrid is known for its: futbol teams, restaurantes and art museums plus its baroque churches, Paseo Del Prado and tunnels. It’s historic but contemporary, relaxing yet chaotic, ordinary and noble at the same time. Within the art world it plays a huge role in the academia sphere; and outside of it it’s important in the entertainment, culinary and sports worlds. Many iconic writers, chefs, athletes, actors and pintores have emerged from this city. Think of: Miguel de Cervantes, Felix Lope de Vega, Dabiz Muñoz, Mario Sandoval, Carlos Sainz, Cristiano Ronaldo, Pedro Almodóvar, Antonio Banderas, Diego Velazquez or Francisco de Goya. There’s a lot to check out but if you only have a limited amount of time I would make sure to: visit one museum, eat tapas in a terrace, drink a sangria in Plaza Mayor, relax in a baroque church, watch a flamenco show, shop around Gran Vía, go to a soccer match in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, and take a picture in front of the Puerta de Alcalá and/or Fuente de Cibeles. If you have more time you should try to: explore the Palacio Real, drive up and down Paseo La Castellana-Prado, shop around Salamanca or La Latina, get lost in Chueca, read a Spanish writer in El Retiro, and why not, attend a bullfight.

Here are some recommendations of places to visit. Madrid has 1 UNESCO site: Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro, a landscape of Arts and Sciences (the site includes the museums around the paseo and the garden itself, so technically you have multiple sites) but you could visit other 2 close to the city, the monastery of El Escorial and the town of Segovia. The city has 30 ‘Michelin restaurants’ with 6 having 2 stars, so try to make a reservation to one of them. The top 5 museums are: The Archeology Museum of Madrid for antiquities; El Museo del Prado for the Spanish Golden Age art; El Reina Sofia for modern art; Matadero Madrid for contemporary art; and the Museo Thyssen for a little bit of everything. My favorite art galleries are: Galeria Memoria, Casado Santapau, Galeria Alzueta, Galeria Cayon y Marlborough. For luxury shopping go to Calle de Serrano or the department store El Corte Inglés; for the typical brands go to Gran Via; and for cheaper goods La Latina. Also take a chance to walk around Caleido the new shopping mall of Madrid. Some venues to check out are Teatro Real for classical music; Teatro Lope de Vega for big productions, El Cortijo for a local flamenco show and Cines Callao for movies.

Here are 7 daily tours to explore Madrid: