Places to visit in Madrid, Spain
23 places to visit in Madrid, Spain, each with LOQAH's carefully crafted stamp of its own: El Escorial, El Retiro Park, Madrid Atocha Station and more. Stand at any of them with the app open and the stamp is yours, confirmed on site, in your Madrid volume.
11 UNESCO World Heritage sites · 9 Famous places to visit · 3 Hidden gems
UNESCO World Heritage sites in Madrid (11)
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El Escorial
A vast royal monastery and palace in the hills near Madrid, begun in 1563 by Philip II. It holds a basilica, a library and the royal pantheon where most Spanish kings since Charles V are buried.
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El Retiro Park
One of the largest city parks in Madrid, lined with tree-shaded avenues, a boating lake and monuments. It belonged to the Spanish monarchy until 1868, when the Glorious Revolution opened it to the public. Locals come here to row, picnic and stroll on weekends.
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Madrid Atocha Station
The oldest major railway station in Madrid, with a 19th century iron and glass hall. Its old concourse now holds a tropical garden of palms and ferns, with a turtle pond at its heart.
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Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro
A landscape of boulevards and gardens in central Madrid, joining the Paseo del Prado with the Buen Retiro park. The Retiro has a lake with rowboats, a crystal palace of glass and rose gardens.
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Plaza de Cibeles
A square in Madrid with a marble fountain of the goddess Cybele on a chariot pulled by lions. It is surrounded by grand buildings, among them the former main post office, now the city hall.
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Prado Museum
The main national art museum of Spain, opened in 1819 in a neoclassical building in Madrid. Its collection is especially rich in Velázquez, Goya and El Greco, along with great Italian and Flemish masters.
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Puerta de Alcalá
A Neoclassical gate standing in the Plaza de la Independencia in Madrid. Built in the 18th century for King Charles III, it has five openings and stands beside the Retiro Park. It is one of the best known symbols of the city.
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Reina Sofía Museum
Spain's national museum of 20th century art, set in a former hospital in Madrid. Its best known work is Picasso's Guernica, shown with works by Dalí, Miró and many other artists. The building stands close to Atocha station.
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Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid
An 8 hectare botanical garden in the centre of Madrid. The public entrance is at Plaza de Murillo, next to the Prado Museum. Terraces, greenhouses and tree collections make it a quiet green pocket in the city.
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Royal Palace of Aranjuez
A royal palace south of Madrid, used as a spring residence by Spanish kings. Philip II began it in the 16th century, and it sits among gardens and tree lined avenues beside the Tagus.
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Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
An art museum in Madrid, near the Prado, based on the collection of the Thyssen-Bornemisza family. It covers about seven centuries of painting, from medieval works to the 20th century. The museum opened to the public in 1992.
Famous places to visit in Madrid (9)
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Almudena Cathedral
The cathedral of Madrid, standing across from the Royal Palace. Building began in 1883 but was only finished in 1993, and its neoclassical outside hides a more modern interior. It is named after the Virgin of Almudena, patron of the city.
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Gran Vía
A broad avenue through central Madrid, running from Calle de Alcalá to Plaza de España. Built in the early 20th century, it is lined with theatres, cinemas, shops and ornate buildings in a variety of styles.
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Plaza Mayor
The main public square of old Madrid, a closed rectangle of arcaded buildings with a statue of Philip III in the centre. It dates from the early 17th century and has long hosted markets, festivals and bullfights.
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Puerta del Sol
A busy public square in the centre of Madrid, and the point from which Spain's roads are measured. A plaque marks kilometre zero, and crowds gather under its clock to eat grapes at midnight on New Year's Eve.
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Royal Palace of Madrid
The official residence of the Spanish royal family, used mainly for state ceremonies. Built in the 18th century on the site of an older fortress, it has around 3,000 rooms, and parts are open to visitors.
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Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
The home ground of Real Madrid, in the Chamartín district. It has been rebuilt and now has a retractable roof, and visitors can tour the trophy rooms, the dressing rooms and the pitch.
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Sierra de Guadarrama
A mountain range north west of Madrid, part of the Sistema Central. It is a popular escape for the capital's residents, with hiking trails, pine forests and winter snow, and it now has a national park.
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Temple of Debod
An ancient Egyptian temple that was moved stone by stone from Nubia to a park in Madrid. Egypt gave it to Spain in the 1960s in thanks for help saving monuments threatened by the Aswan Dam, and it is a favourite place to watch the sunset.
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Valley of Cuelgamuros
A memorial site in the Sierra de Guadarrama, built from 1940 to 1958 under Franco. A huge basilica is cut into the rock, with a stone cross about 150 metres high above it, and it is now called the Valley of Cuelgamuros.
Hidden gems in Madrid (3)
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Campo del Moro
A park in Madrid laid out in the 19th century under Queen Maria Cristina, in the style of an English romantic garden. It slopes down from the west side of the Royal Palace. Peacocks, fountains and tall trees fill its shaded paths.
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Las Ventas
The largest bullring in Spain, built in a neo-Mudéjar style with horseshoe arches and ceramic decoration. It stands in the Guindalera district of Madrid and also hosts concerts. It opened in 1931 and holds around 23,000 spectators.
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Mercado de San Miguel
A covered iron and glass market near Plaza Mayor in Madrid, originally built in 1916. Private investors bought it in 2003, renovated it and reopened it in 2009. Today its stalls sell tapas, seafood and wine to be eaten standing at the counters.
Collecting in Madrid
What are the best places to visit in Madrid?
LOQAH lists 23 places in Madrid. The best known include El Escorial, El Retiro Park, Madrid Atocha Station, Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro and Plaza de Cibeles. Each has a stamp of its own to collect when you are there.
How many LOQAH stamps are there in Madrid?
23, and more are added over time. Each place has LOQAH's carefully crafted stamp of its own.
How do I collect a stamp in Madrid?
Open LOQAH at the place and get its stamp. LOQAH checks where you are once, at that moment; at the place itself the stamp is confirmed on site, with a gold badge.
I have been to places in Madrid before. Can I add them?
Yes. In Earlier trips, choose Madrid and swipe through its stamps, or import your Google Timeline. Each one goes into your volume with the date, if you know it.
More in Spain
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LOQAH is free on iPhone and Android, in India and 40 more countries, with more countries on the way. Stand at a place, collect its stamp, and keep every trip in a passport that grows.