Planning a trip to Madrid and not sure where to start? We spent days scouring the web for unique things to do in Madrid before we got to Spain’s largest city and capital. Madrid has held for over 1,100 years, so you know there must be a lot to be had to check out. Turns out there are hundreds of weird and wonderful things to do in Madrid! Once you’ve seen the tourist hotspots, like checking out the sprawling Parque del Retiro or Spain’s stunning Royal Palace, you might be craving some hidden things to do in Madrid. The first time we visited Madrid we knew there were many things to see and do in this still growing city, but even then we didn’t realize how many fun things there were to do in this vibrant city. Long road trip in Spain and Portugal or taking a train trip from Madrid to Barcelona, know that Madrid has plenty of things to see and do. Unique Things To Do In Madrid Join us for 15 unique things to do in Madrid. While churros con chocolat (churros with a thick cup of chocolate) is certainly not unique in Spain, we have yet to see another Spanish city that does this combination so well. 24 hours a day for the masses. A late-night favorite (particularly popular after bar patrons), the chocolate is so thick that despite being served in a glass, good luck drinking it. Made mostly for dipping delicious fried churros (delicious fried dough sticks topped with cinnamon and sugar), it’s not something to miss, and it was a highlight of our first trip to Madrid. mmm … churros con chocolate in Madrid Discover a piece of Egypt at The Templo de Debod What could be more special than having a real 2,200-year-old Egyptian temple in your city? The Templo de Debod was an Egyptian gift thanks to Egypt’s help in preserving artifacts and antiquities when they built the Aswan Dam. Instead of destroying the temple, it was torn down brick by brick and then rebuilt to exact Madrid detail. Originally built to honor both the god Amun and the goddess Isis, the Templo de Dibod is located in the center of Madrid, Spain. , in the Parque de la Montaña, near the Royal Palace. You can walk the grounds for free at any time, but there is a cost to enter the main building. Get Surreal Images at the Reina Sofia Museum What makes the Reina Sofia Museum unique has more to do with what is in it than what is. Paintings and sculptures, including surrealist paintings by artists like Picasso and Dali, you can spend hours walking from room to room surrounded by one-of-a-kind artwork, and the Reina Sofia Museum is also famous for how their collections are put together. The garde’s collection, to the eclecticism, down to their set of devices, each room has a narrative that blends paintings, sculptures, posters, videos and music together in a way that will make you think long after you leave the museum. After you come back, be sure to check out Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica,” considered one of the most powerful anti-war paintings in history, and one you don’t want to miss while you’re there. Musée Sofia in Enjoy the Space at the Sala EquisHoused In Madrid’s last X-class cinema, the famous Alba Cinema, Sala Equis has been transformed into a popular cocktail bar and cultural centre. Divided into three areas and housed in a former mansion, it has space to explore and plenty to do. The main area, Sala Plaza, with its large screen and bar, serves a variety of different foods. Relax on the benches, lounge chairs and even hammocks while chatting with friends and locals alike. Finally, the comfortable 55-seat cinema offers everything from horror and sci-fi classics to modern blockbusters. They have a huge rotation schedule posted every month (no movies on Mondays though). Check their site to see what they’re running. Papa carrying a child across Madrid, eating dirty at La Pollería and La Coñería, unique and delicious ice cream? promise me. “Wait, what am I looking at?” It is a common phrase when people arrive at La Bolleria ice cream shop or its sister ice cream shop nearby, La Conería. A bigger site then a “sister” version was produced on the street just had to be good. With both males (polofres – play on colloquial male genitals and pancakes) and female (coñofre – play on colloquial female genitals and pancakes), both are a hit and there are formations at both places every day. With drips on a stick and splitting balls with ice cream in the middle, you will not only get a chuckle but also delicious ice cream dessert. Explore your senses At Ikono, you feel like you can’t touch this or play with it, while museums are great places to expand the mind, most let you use your eyes to absorb it all. Five different senses means five different spaces on Ikono that push your senses into the next world. From rooms full of balls to rooms full of smells, Ikono takes about an hour to walk through and is full of photo moments, so bring your phone or baby camera. The largest museum in Madrid, and also considered one of the first in the world, the Prado Museum is housed in a massive neoclassical building built in 1785 and is something to see on its own, whether you are an inspired art student or just enjoy paintings where you can see some of Goya’s best collections and Bosch, El Greco, and Velazquez are here, as well as Spanish-Roman frescoes and Gothic altarpieces. You can even find works from the Italian Renaissance with masterpieces by Tetitia, Botticelli, Raffa, and Caravaggio. What sets street art in Madrid apart from the rest is the sheer quality and scale of many of these great pieces of art. From a wall of 150 painted CCTV cameras symbolizing the Big Brother he’s watching, to the charming (and functional) Sombrerete solar clock, there are murals and street art found all over Madrid. Take a look at this article. The largest and most theatrical flamenco show in the country is called the city, and there are many flamenco shows happening all over the city on any night, with hypnotic dancing, haunting singing, Spanish guitar and rhythmic bass drums, flamenco dancing is a great to watch and a unique experience to enjoy Whether you catch it in a tablao (a flamenco bar) like the Corral de la Morería (opened in 1956), Villa Rosa (first opened in 1911), or even in town during one of the many flamenco festivals like Flamenco Real, Flamenco Madrid or the end of the year Suma Flamenca, you’re in for a real treat if you’ve never tried flamenco before. Get spooked at Chamberí’s ghost station First opened in 1919, the Estación de Chamberí was one of Madrid’s original metro stations. Located between Bilbao and Iglesia stations on the Blue Line, this former metro station has been closed for decades, but passengers can still see it as they pass the tracks. Artillery attacks by Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War, the station eventually reopened as a museum called Andén 0 (Platform Zero in English), and features the fully restored Chamberí Station, complete with revolving doors, old ticket offices, maps, and a movie about how the metro was originally built. The highlight of the Anden 0 Museum is undoubtedly the original, beautifully reconstructed ads along the metro platform. Most are made of brightly colored tiles, just as they were when they first opened in 1919, and admission is free, but there is often a line to get in. Guinness Book of World Records As the world’s oldest continuously operating restaurant, Sobrino de Poutine (Putin’s nephew – so named by the original owner’s nephew) has been serving food for more than two centuries. It was first opened, with customers bringing their food for the owners to cook and serve. While the most notable thing about this restaurant is its apparent age, it has retained its Spanish roots. Whole suckling pig, faithfully prepared in an old brick oven, is still the most popular dish in restaurants and the reason locals still flock to it today. The wonderful Reverte Coma Forensic Museum. It features over 1,500 horrific anomalies, ranging from beheadings from executions, fetal autopsies, mutilated skulls of various peoples, diseased bones, mummies, and 800 skeletons, plus a few torture devices and a real handful used. If you are interested in forensic sciences and paleopathology, or have a real passion for the subject, it is worth researching, most of these items are in the corridors of the massive medical school building of the Complutense University of Madrid for you. to see. Mostly it is prepared for students, you can organize a visit by phone in advance or contact the university directly. This newer museum plays on optical illusions to help trick your mind. Using tricks like forced perception and optical illusion, you’ll find upside-down rooms, never-ending corridors, 3D holograms and much more. Most rooms are set up to trick your brain into seeing, or in some cases, not seeing what’s right in front of you. Either way, bring your camera, because some rooms in the Museum of Illusions need to be photographed to see their true potential. While palaces are common in Europe, what makes the Palacio De Cristal special is that in the heart of the park is a larger empty space rather than an actual palace. The lake is in Retiro Park and was designed strictly as an art display space and greenery in a grainy Baroque style. More than 130 years later, the building is still stunning and supposedly looks great in the fall as the foliage starts to turn. Who among us is not afraid that one day they will enslave us? Me too, but that doesn’t mean I don’t find them cool. Madrid has one of the largest collections of robots worldwide, and you can see and interact with some of them at the Museum of Robotics. Founded in 2013, the museum pays homage to both the early days of robotics, what’s going on there today, and what might exist tomorrow. From humanoid replicas, to robotic toys and robotic animals, to famous Star Wars Android replicas, and the world’s smallest robot, EMROS, the Robot Museum in Madrid has it all on display. For a vacation, traveling to Madrid as a stop for somewhere else, or living in the city, there is plenty to see and do at all hours of the day and night. Filled with world-class restaurants, entertainment complexes, art studios and museums, more parks and plazas than most cities of equal size could dream of as well as enough markets and shops to make your wallet cry, Madrid is a world-class city full of art, music and nature. So whether you are in Madrid with your kids, as a couple or going alone, enjoy your trip! Do you have anything to add to our list! Let us know in the comments!
