The Top Ten Tourist Attractions in Madrid

You have arrived in Madrid and you have a limited time to visit some sites. What are the top ten tourist attractions in Madrid?

1. Museo del Prado is one of the top museums in the world. Here you should plan to spend many hours or make multiple visits to get the full benefit of seeing all that is included here.
2. Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia has the best of Spanish art. Many of the paintings span the 20th Century. The one painting you won’t want to miss is Picasso’s Guernica in Room 6 on the 2nd Floor. This is one of the most famous paintings in the world. There are many other famous Spanish artists’ whose works are shown at this center.
3. Arab Wall is the fortification built by the Islamic rulers as far back as the 9th century and some areas are from the 12th & 13th centuries.
4. La Casa de Campo gets nearly half a million visitors on weekends when people come to cycle, walk or have a picnic here. This isn’t so much a beautiful place as it is unkempt, but it has over 1,700 hectares for you to wander around.
5. Plaza Mayor is beautiful and a visit here will be a highlight of your vacation. It was designed in 1619 by Juan Gomez de Mora and, after a fire which destroyed it in 1790, it was rebuilt.
6. Puerta del Sol is the official center point and it has elegant facades. You can expect it to be very crowded here because many people pass through here going somewhere else, whether they are walking or using the metro. This used to be the eastern gate of the city. On New Year’s Eve, crowds gather here waiting for the clock to strike midnight. There is also a statue of a bear nuzzling a strawberry tree, which is the symbol of the city.
7. Museo Arquelogico Nacional has a collection of artifacts which cover many different cultures and periods. Some of the highlights are the mosaics in Room 22 & 24 and the gilded Mudejar domed ceiling in Room 35.
8. Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas is one of the biggest and most impressive bullrings in Spain. Even if you don’t want to go to a bullfight, it is worth taking a visit here to see the bullring and its architecture.
9. Plaza de Orient is a great place to visit on a hot summer evening. This used to be the site of the old Alcazar but the square took on its current form under the French occupation in the early 1800s.
10. Parque del Retiro is a place you need to visit on a weekend. During any other day of the week, you will find it too quiet. People visit this park to read the Sunday papers, take a trip on the lake, have a drink at an outside café or, for the children, watch the puppets during the summer. The best time to visit is at sunset when people gather to watch and dance. You will also find a memorial to the victims of the 2004 bombings in the southwestern corner.