6 Days in Madrid: First-Timer Plan

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Six days gives you the full city core (three days) plus two proper day trips, Toledo and Segovia, with a slower closing day instead of a rushed shopping-and-airport morning. If you’re shorter on time, the 5-day plan covers the same city spine with just Toledo; drop back further to the 3-day or 2-day plans for city-only trips. With a full week, see the 7-day plan .

Book these before you go

Day 1: Puerta del Sol and the Royal Palace

Arrive, check in around Sol, Malasaña, or La Latina, then walk Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor. In the afternoon, visit the Royal Palace of Madrid (EUR 14, timed slot) and the free Sabatini Gardens behind it. Dinner at Sobrino de Botín, the world’s oldest continuously operating restaurant (founded 1725), then a first-night stroll through Malasaña.

Day 2: The Golden Triangle and Retiro

Give the Prado (EUR 15, hours at museodelprado.es ) two to three hours in the morning. In the afternoon, walk into Retiro Park; the Palacio de Cristal is closed for restoration until roughly 2027, so plan around the lake and the Fallen Angel statue. Add the Reina Sofía (closed Tuesdays) for Guernica if you have energy left.

Day 3: Gran Vía, Debod, and Tapas

Walk Gran Vía, browse Chueca or Malasaña, and time the Temple of Debod for sunset over the Royal Palace skyline. Evening: a Cava Baja tapas crawl in La Latina starting around 20:00 at Casa Lucas or Casa Julio.

Day 4: Toledo, the Deep Day Trip

Take the AVANT direct from Puerta de Atocha, about 33-34 minutes each way, for a full day in the former Spanish capital: Toledo Cathedral, the Alcázar (now the Army Museum), and El Greco’s The Burial of the Count of Orgaz at Santo Tomé. Toledo is a UNESCO “Historic City of Toledo” listing (1986) and genuinely needs the whole day.

Day 5: Segovia, the Easy Half-Day

Take the AVE from Chamartín, about 26-28 minutes; note Segovia-Guiomar station sits roughly 4km outside the old town, so grab bus 11 or a taxi in. See the Roman aqueduct (unmortared granite, roughly 28m tall), the fairy-tale Alcázar, and the cathedral; cochinillo asado at Mesón de Cándido is the classic lunch. Back in Madrid by evening, keep it light with a Ponzano or Cava Baja tapas stop.

Day 6: Rastro, Retiro, and Departure

If it lands on a Sunday, spend the morning at El Rastro, Madrid’s oldest flea market (roughly 09:00-15:00, La Latina), watching your bag in the crowds. Otherwise browse Gran Vía shops or Salamanca one more time. Check out and head to Barajas with time for a last churros stop at Chocolatería San Ginés if your flight allows.

Getting around and where to stay

Base yourself in Sol/Centro or La Latina for the city days; both day trips run by direct fast train with no transfers. The Metro runs 06:00-01:30 daily. A flat EUR 33 taxi fare covers Barajas Airport to the city center inside the M-30 ring.

One concrete tip: book Toledo and Segovia train tickets a few days ahead in spring and autumn. The fast trains sell out on the popular midmorning departures first, and the cheaper advance fares disappear before the walk-up ones do.