Ten things to do in Madrid once in a lifetime

• GETAWAY Villages with less than 100 inhabitants with a lot of charm

• RECOMMENDATION Route through the nine most impressive castles in Guadalajara

"I loafed through the streets, squares and alleys, enjoying observing the bustling life of this huge capital."

described

his first steps through the capital, shortly after getting off the train at the Atocha station in September 1862, at the age of 19, "struck, not knowing which direction to take".

But it didn't take him long to capture the essence of the city - "a smiling ugliness, of the purest Madrid, in which

", he wrote in

- and to become its most famous chronicler by capturing its history like nobody else. character, the same as more than a century and a half later, continues to accumulate a string of activities that must be done at least once in a lifetime.

Eating a stew in Lhardy

Curiously, to flatter Galdós's novels,

pointed out that they "smelled of stew".

Traditional and comforting, it warms the body and the spirit, and there are multiple places to taste this gastronomic emblem:

... But when choosing one, it is worth highlighting the Lhardy Restaurant, Founded as a pastry shop in 1839 by the Franco-Swiss

, acquired and reformed after the pandemic by the

.

And yes, Galdós mentioned the establishment in

and highlighted that "Lhardy came to Madrid to "put a white tie on the tahona buns".

Discover the secrets of El Capricho Park

The only romantic garden that the capital of the Kingdom maintains is well worth a visit.

It is the best way to delve into its

, present since

, the Duchess of Osuna, ordered a construction that lasted between 1787 and 1839. In its 14 hectares there are gardens such as the Parterre or French style, the English landscape and the Italian giardino, dotted with places as special as its Civil War bunker, the Temple of Bacchus, the Dance Casino, the Palace, the Labyrinth or the Casa de la Vieja.

Order a calamari sandwich in the Plaza Mayor

Few things are more popular in the capital than a squid sandwich, so linked to the gastronomic and sentimental culture of the capital that it has until its day, which is celebrated on April 14.

Eating one is presented as the perfect excuse to take a walk around the city and get lost again in the

,

par excellence for this colorful sandwich, with numerous bars specialized in it, such as

or

Enjoy the views of the Parque de las Siete Tetas

Its official name is the

, but it is its hills, from which one can see what for many are the best views of Madrid, which give it its picturesque name.

Located in

, in the southeast, the viewpoint has long stone benches where you can sit and enjoy the panoramic views.

Although the most common is to sit on the grass with something to drink.

Get to know the Beti-Jai pediment

ANGEL NAVARRETE

"Always Party".

That is the Basque translation of Beti-Jai.

And in a way, this formidable 19th century construction, camouflaged in the heart of Chamberí, has not stopped experiencing different situations.

Inaugurated in 1894, it was the work of

, car of the Arriaga theater and the Bilbao City Council and the bullring and the Alfonso XII market in Malaga.

In this century or so, the mythical pediment, which stopped being hit by balls in 1919, has adapted to the times as a car workshop, police station, jail, plaster objects workshop and a rehearsal place.

And yet, until 2011, with its declaration as an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), it came to prowl the abyss, accumulating a mass of bricks and vegetation.

The rehabilitation works finished at the beginning of 2019 and to access the visits it is necessary to register on the Pasea Madrid website.

Visit the Golden Mile of Museums

ALBERTO DI LOLLI

Madrid already bears the Unesco World Heritage seal.

The

project includes Paseo del Prado, from Cibeles to Atocha, and its bucolic extension, the Botanical Garden.

or

is formed

, made up of three unavoidable appointments for art lovers: the Prado (with its masterpieces by

or

), the Thyssen-Bornemisza (with Van

and the Reina Sofía (with its extensive collection of works of contemporary Spanish art including

).

Toast with cider at Casa Mingo

MAXIMUM GARCIA DE LA PAZ

Founded in 1888 -on the banks of the Manzanares River and next to the Hermitage of San Antonio de la Florida-, it is synonymous with cider and roast chicken.

makes it in the traditional way, only with salt and its own juice and every weekend they sell around 1,000 copies.

The inn retains its charm as a railway warehouse, its original use, which later focused on recreation for the Asturian workers who worked at the North Station.

The waiters follow an aesthetic in white (shirt) and black (vest, bow tie and pants), they do not serve coffee and do not take reservations, but their kitchen is open from 11:00 a.m. to midnight.

Take a ride on the Retiro boats

JAVIER BARBANCHO

The green lung of Madrid, with its

, is also part of the Paisaje de la Luz, and visiting it allows you to lose yourself in the Vivaces garden, the Cecilio Rodríguez garden (classicist gardens with Andalusian airs), those of the architect Herrero Palacios, the Parterre Francés (with the ahuehuete, the oldest tree in Madrid, which is believed to be around 400 years old) or the Rosaleda.

The Palacio de Velázquez, the Palacio de Cristal or the

are some of the most important architectural and historical elements of the enclosure, which has other unquestionable points of interest, such as the

or its Great Pond, where you can take a ride in their boats round off any day.

Have a cocktail at José Alfredo

ALBERTO DI LOLLI

With an American air and an intimate atmosphere, it was one of the first bars to bet on

.

His specialty is American cocktails, such as the

, the

, the

... But there is no shortage of his own elaborations, such as the

(White Pattern with pineapple, coconut, hill, lavender and Pedro Ximénez),

(eight-year-old Bacardi with Pedro Ximénez, chocolate and orange), or José

himself (San Cosme with lime, rosemary and passion fruit).

In the background,

.

Watch the sunset at the Temple of Debod

in the Argüelles neighborhood

, for 50 years .

The Egyptian government donated it to Spain in 1968 as thanks for the help that Spain gave them during the campaign organized by Unesco to

and many other archaeological jewels of Nubia that would have been flooded by the great Aswan dam. .

In addition, its sunset is considered one of the most beautiful in Spain.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more