Madrid in a Nutshell

With Spring break happening all over the US, I've been lucky enough to have one of my best friends from home as a guest here in Madrid this past week. She'd wanted to come to Spain ever since high school; needless to say we could have stared at each other the entire week and she would have been happy. Of course we did much more than that; but with only six full days in country it was a matter of narrowing down the quintessential Madrid activities. Below is a list of what we did and, quite frankly, a list of things any traveler should aspire to do regardless of the duration of their stay.

In no particular order:

• Visit Puerta del Sol
• Explore El Buen Retiro Park, including the Crystal Palace, Rose Garden, and Rowboats
• Visit the Royal Palace
• Order a Chocolate Napolitana from La Mallorquina, a wildly popular pastry shop in Sol
• Window and/or actual shopping on Gran Via
• Visit Templo de Debod at sunset
• Visit Plaza de España
• Visit Plaza Mayor
• Explore the Rastro flea market (Sundays only)
• Order the Menu del Dia for lunch at any given Spanish restaurant
• Sample traditional Spanish tapas
• Visit the San Miguel Market
• Walk Calle Cavabajas
• Visit the Prado Museum
• Catch a bus to the small city of Toledo and spend the day there
• Walk Calle Serrano
• Walk along the Rio Manzanares
• Experience Madrid at night (ie after midnight)
• Visit the Circle of Fine Arts Museum and have a drink on the terrace

The list is by no means comprehensive; there are countless other things to see and do in Madrid, but the above activities do, in my humble opinion, capture the essence of Madrid.