Spain

🪪 Don't forget your photo ID today (a driver's license works) — it's needed to validate the tickets and the senior discount at the Royal Palace.

1. Before 10:15choose one

   🚶 Get to Royal Palace Walk or Uber — pick one

   Aim to arrive by 10:15 am for the preferential entrance.

   9:50 am

   Walk

   ~1 mile from the hotel

   or

   10:10 am

   Uber

   ~5 min drive from the hotel

2. 10:15 am

   🎟️ Preferential entrance 30 min before tour

   Enter via the preferential entrance 30 minutes early (tour starts 10:45).

3. 10:40 am

   📍 Meeting point Entrance hall

   Be at the meeting point in the entrance hall 5 minutes before start.

4. 10:45 am

   👑 Royal Palace Tickets purchased 🪪 Bring photo ID Guided visit · English · tickets

   Palacio Real · Calle de Bailén, s/n.

   Guided visit starts at 10:45 am.

   Order R120673011 · Guy, Ken T., Tom, Ken A., Jack

   The Palacio Real is the largest functioning royal palace in Western Europe — 3,418 rooms of marble, frescoes, and impossible chandeliers. The guided visit climbs the jaw-dropping Grand Staircase, sweeps through the Throne Room, and ends at the Royal Armoury, one of the finest arms collections on earth. Come hungry for spectacle.

   

   Photos: Wikimedia Commons

   Tap a name’s QR to enlarge for scanning

   

   

   

   

   

   Download PDF tickets

   📅 Add to Calendar

5. 12:15 pm

   🏛️ Palace surroundings stroll Plaza de Oriente · Sabatini · Almudena · walk

   The palace tour ends, but the neighborhood is the show’s second act. Cross to Plaza de Oriente, the palace’s grand front garden lined with statues of long-dead kings. Slip behind the palace into the Sabatini Gardens, all clipped hedges and fountains in perfect neoclassical rows. Then face the Almudena Cathedral across the square, Madrid’s wedding-cake cathedral with a surprisingly pop-art interior, and finish at the Mirador de la Cornisa for the best free panorama over the Campo del Moro gardens below.

   

   📍 Royal Palace → Plaza de Oriente · ~2 min on foot · Plaza de Oriente → Sabatini Gardens · ~4 min on foot · Sabatini → Almudena Cathedral · ~5 min on foot · Almudena → Mirador de la Cornisa · ~2 min on foot · Mirador → Botín · ~10 min on foot, arrive by 1:00 pm

   Plaza de Oriente
   28013 Madrid

6. 1:00 pm

   🍽️ Lunch · Botín Reservation made Oldest restaurant in the world · since 1725 · 👔 Smart casual

   Castilian

   Restaurante Botín (est. 1725) is recognized by Guinness World Records as the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the world, a Castilian landmark for nearly 300 years with its legendary oak wood-fired oven. Hemingway's old haunt, and our Monday lunch legend.

   Classic Castilian cooking, not modern fine dining. Known for:

   • Roast suckling pig (cochinillo asado)
   • Roast lamb (cordero asado)
   • Garlic soup
   • Traditional Spanish seafood and meat dishes
   • House cheesecake

   📍 0.7 mi from Room Mate Óscar · ~6 min by car · ~15 min on foot

   

   Photos: My Modern Met, Expedia, Amy's Passport

   Reservation confirmed: Guy Klein · Monday, 19 October 2026 · 1:00 pm · 5 guests

   📅 Add to Calendar

   Calle de Cuchilleros, 17
   28005 Madrid

7. 3:00 pm2h

   😴 SiestazZz Daily rest

   Optional downtime every afternoon — recharge before the evening.

8. 6:50 pm10m

   🚕 Uber to La Cúpula 10 min ride · Palace Hotel

   Take an Uber to the Palace Hotel, arriving in time for the 7:00 pm reservation.

9. 7:00 pm

   🍸 Cocktails · La Cúpula Reservation made Palace Hotel · 5 guests

   Mediterranean

   La Cúpula Restaurant & Bar is the Palace Hotel’s glamorous social hub beneath its restored stained-glass dome. The circular bar pairs signature cocktails with elegant surroundings and more than 300 wines — a spectacular setting for pre-dinner drinks.

   Reservation: MADCL-4J9PFL96NHBG · La Cúpula Cenas · 5 guests

   

   Photos: The Palace Hotel Madrid

   Plaza de las Cortes, 7
   28014 Madrid

   📅 Add to Calendar

   Optional: stop by the nearby 27 Club on the way in or as you leave for a quick sneak peek at its historic, wood-paneled cocktail room.

10. 8:15 pm

    🍽️ Dinner · Inclán Brutal Bar Reservation made Calle de Álvarez Gato 4, Centro · ~10 min from La Cúpula · 5 guests · 👔 Business casual

    Creative Spanish

    Inclán Brutal Bar is the WOW move: a maximalist tapas-and-cocktails temple tucked into the Calle del Gato alley in Barrio de las Letras, with a golden-origami ceiling, a neon "INCLÁN ES BRUTAL" wall, red velvet banquettes, and cocktails served like little works of art. The kitchen riffs on Spanish classics (duck-and-truffle rice, black-truffle tortilla, tuna tataki) while the room stays loud and lively late. The 8:15 pm table is a 10-minute walk from La Cúpula after the 7:00 pm cocktails.

    📍 ~10 min on foot from La Cúpula (Plaza de las Cortes, 7) · ~10 min on foot from Room Mate Óscar

    

    Photos: Inclán Brutal Bar, The Bar

    View reservation confirmation · Guy Klein · 19 October 2026 · 8:15 pm · 5 guests

    📅 Add to Calendar

    Free cancellation at any time via the link in the confirmation.

    Calle de Álvarez Gato, 4
    28012 Madrid

11. 10:15 pm

    🍸 Night Cap @ The Gay Bars! Optional Chueca · after dinner

    A nightcap run through the gay bars of Chueca, a short stroll from Room Mate Óscar.

Around the Royal Palace

Free sights near the palace — tap a place for the full note.

Plaza de Oriente

Stroll the grand gardens and statues framing the front of the palace.

Sabatini Gardens

Located right next to the palace grounds — beautiful neoclassical formal hedges and fountains.

La Almudena Cathedral

Directly facing the palace’s southern flank. Stepping inside the grand interior is free (voluntary donations appreciated).

Mirador de la Cornisa

A modern observation deck tucked between the Palace and Cathedral offering sweeping, free panoramic views over the Campo del Moro park.

Templo de Debod

A 10–15 minute walk north of the palace. Explore a genuine ancient Egyptian temple moved stone-by-stone to Madrid, surrounded by reflecting pools. Famous as Madrid’s best sunset spot.

🪪 Don't forget your photo ID today — the tickets and the senior discount must be validated at the ticket office before entering the Prado.

⌖ View route map

1. Before 10:30choose one

   🚶 Get to Prado Museum Walk or Uber — pick one

   Aim to arrive by 10:30 am.

   10:05 am

   Walk

   ~20 min from the hotel, via Cibeles

   or

   10:20 am

   Uber

   ~7 min drive from the hotel

   Walking? You'll pass Plaza de Cibeles around 10:15, Madrid's most electric photo stop. The goddess Cybele rides her lion-drawn chariot over the fountain while the fairy-tale Palacio de Cibeles towers behind her.

   

2. 10:30 am

   🖼️ Prado Museum Tickets purchased 🪪 Bring photo ID Collection · tickets · locator

   Museo Nacional del Prado · Paseo del Prado, s/n · 28014 Madrid

   Tuesday, 20 October 2026 · Visit hour 10:30 AM · Collection

   The Prado holds the greatest collection of Spanish painting in the world. Head straight for Velázquez’s Las Meninas — the most analyzed painting in Western art — then let Goya’s Black Paintings rattle you, and finish with El Greco’s stormy saints. Give it two hours; Villanueva’s neoclassical building is half the show.

   

   Photos: Wikimedia Commons

   Show this locator at the ticket office + valid documentation: M385507F

   Pick up tickets at ticket offices 1 and 2 the day of the visit by presenting the locator and corresponding credentials. Ticket is valid for the whole day.

   Purchase · Guy · General €15 · $18 · Seniors (×4) €7.50 · $10 each · Total €45

   € = original ticket price · $ = after processing & conversion fees

   We recommend

   • In order to access quicker, come without a backpack

   Remember it is not permitted

   • Photographs / video
   • Food / beverages
   • Animals
   • Folding chairs / cane seats
   • Children under 14 years unaccompanied by an adult
   • Large umbrellas / sharp objects / bags + 40 × 40 cm

   Download PDF ticket

   📅 Add to Calendar

3. 12:00 pm

   🚶 Walk to Puerta de Alcalá From the Prado · ~20 min

   Out of the Prado and north up the Paseo del Prado, past Cibeles (you already got the photo this morning) and up Calle de Alcalá to the arch. A gentle 20-minute stroll and a perfect midday picture at the monument.

4. 12:20 pm

   📸 Puerta de Alcalá Calle de Alcalá · ~10 min

   Madrid's answer to the Arc de Triomphe, only older and prettier. This 1778 neoclassical arch has its own famous song and glows at golden hour. Stand in the middle of the roundabout and get the shot.

   

5. 12:40 pm

   🌳 El Retiro to the Crystal Palace Through the park · ~15 min

   A 19th-century glass palace floating on the lake, built for an exotic-plants exhibition and now one of Madrid's dreamiest free art spaces. Step inside and the whole dome mirrors the trees and water around you.

   

6. 1:05 pm

   🚶 Exit the park to lunch Uber · ~10 min

   Drift out through the park's east gardens, then grab an Uber to lunch near the hotel, about 10 minutes.

7. 1:30 pm

   🍽️ Lunch · Mercado de la Reina 12 Tentative Calle Gran Vía 12, Centro · 5 guests · 👔 Casual

   Tapas

   Mercado de la Reina 12 is Gran Vía’s buzzing temple of tapas — a packed, high-energy bar up front with a white-tablecloth dining room tucked behind it. Reviewers call the tortilla the best in Madrid, and the pimientos de padrón, octopus, and jamón ibérico keep the tables turning.

   Classic, loud, joyful Madrid at full volume. The perfect refuel between the Prado and siesta, with a gin club upstairs if anyone wants round two.

   📍 ~1.2 mi from the park's east exit · ~10 min by Uber · 2 min walk from the hotel

   

   Photos: TheFork, Google

   Calle Gran Vía, 12
   28013 Madrid · Book on TheFork

   📅 Add to Calendar

8. 3:00 pm2h

   😴 SiestazZz Daily rest

   Optional downtime every afternoon — recharge before the evening.

9. 6:30 pm

   🍸 Pre Dinner Cocktails @ The Gay Bars! Optional Chueca · pre-dinner

   Pre-dinner cocktails at the gay bars of Chueca, a short stroll from Room Mate Óscar.

10. 8:15 pm

    🍽️ Dinner · Fismuler Reservation made Sagasta 29, Chamberí · 5 guests · 👔 Smart casual

    Contemporary Spanish

    Fismuler is the Madrid food crowd's beloved canteen — a moody, music-filled room with a daily-changing market menu and the cult-famous tortilla de boquerones. Creative, buzzing, and the hardest table in town to land.

    📍 0.7 mi from Room Mate Óscar · ~3 min by car · ~14 min on foot

    

    Photos: Naked Madrid, Civilian Global, The Infatuation

    View reservation confirmation · Guy Klein · 20 October 2026 · 8:15 pm · 5 guests

    📅 Add to Calendar

    Table is ours until 10 pm — it must be free by then. Free cancellation up to 6 hours before; 15€ per person is charged for cancelling within 4 hours or not showing up.

    Calle de Sagasta, 29
    28004 Madrid

11. 10:15 pm

    🍸 Night Cap @ The Gay Bars! Optional Chueca · after dinner

    A nightcap run through the gay bars of Chueca, a short stroll from Room Mate Óscar.

Prado, Retiro & Cibeles

Free sights after the museum — tap a place for the full note.

Paseo del Prado & Cibeles

Head north up the grand tree-lined boulevard, passing the Neptune Fountain up to the iconic Palacio de Cibeles and its majestic marble fountain.

El Retiro Park

Madrid’s historic UNESCO World Heritage park is just steps from the Prado. Stroll the grand tree-shaded avenues for free.

The Crystal Palace

Located inside Retiro Park — a stunning glass-and-iron pavilion sitting over a small duck pond.

Puerta de Alcalá

A massive monumental neoclassical gateway at the northwest corner of Retiro Park — perfect to check out before making your way back toward Gran Vía.

🛂 Passport day — everyone must carry their passport today. Sagrada Família checks ID for all visitors and the names must match your tickets exactly.

⌖ View route map

1. 10:00 am

   🏠 Casa Vicens · Gaudí’s first house Exterior photo stop · Gràcia

   Before Gaudí went full fever dream, there was Casa Vicens: his first major commission, a riot of green-and-white checkered tiles and Moorish arches tucked into the Gràcia backstreets. The facade is the whole show from the sidewalk, all ceramic flowers and iron palm leaves, and fifteen minutes is enough to fall for it. Then hop a taxi up the hill to Park Güell and wander the free zones before the noon Monumental Zone entry.

   

   📍 Axel Hotel Barcelona → Casa Vicens · ~9 min by taxi · Casa Vicens → Park Güell · ~6 min by taxi

   Casa Vicens
   Carrer de les Carolines, 20
   08012 Barcelona

2. 12:00 pm

   🦎 Park Güell Tickets purchased 🪪 Bring photo ID Entry · tickets

   12:00 entry · booking 8909109 · valid up to 30 minutes after the slot.

   Park Güell is Gaudí at his most playful — a hillside garden of gingerbread gatehouses, a forest of stone columns, and the famous mosaic salamander guarding the stairs. Don’t miss the serpentine bench on the terrace: 110 meters of trencadís mosaic with the whole city glittering below. Morning light is magic here.

   

   Photos: notaboutthemiles.com, Highlite News, Wikimedia Commons

   12:00 entry · booking 8909109 · tap a code to enlarge

   € = original ticket price · $ = after processing & conversion fees

   

   

   

   

   

   Download PDF tickets

   📅 Add to Calendar

3. 1:15 pm

   🚕 Taxi to lunch Park Güell → Madre · ~9 min drive

   Prioritize the Monumental Zone, then slip out and grab a taxi down to Madre Taberna Moderna by the Sagrada Família — about a 9-minute drive — in time for the 1:30 pm table.

4. 1:30 pm1h 45m

   🍽️ Lunch · Madre Taberna Moderna Reservation made Avinguda de Gaudí 11 · by Sagrada Família · 👔 Business casual

   Catalan

   Madre Taberna Moderna calls itself a tavern out of pure modesty — reviewers call the cannelloni with sausage meat worthy of a Michelin star. Modern Catalan cooking in the shadow of the Sagrada Família, minutes from our afternoon visit.

   Order like locals: Iberian pork croquettes, bravas, fried squid, eggplant with Brie — then the seasonal vegetable paella or the red-shrimp paella to share. The passion-fruit sangria gets a 10/10.

   📍 1.5 mi from Axel Hotel Barcelona · ~10 min by car · ~30 min on foot

   

   Photos: TheFork, Restauplant

   ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 4.5 · 686 Tripadvisor reviews · €€–€€€

   View reservation confirmation · Guy Klein · 22 October 2026 · 1:30 pm · 5 guests

   📅 Add to Calendar

   Avinguda de Gaudí, 11
   08025 Barcelona

5. 4:00 pm

   ⛪ Sagrada Família Tickets purchased 🛂 Passport required Guided visit · English · tickets

   Entrance on Carrer de la Marina — arrive 30 minutes before and bring photo ID.

   Gaudí’s Sagrada Família has been rising for over 140 years and it still stops first-timers cold. Inside, the nave is a stone forest — morning light floods through the east windows in blues and greens, afternoons burn red and gold through the west. Look up. Then look up again.

   

   Photos: Wikimedia Commons

   Guided with towers · code 104376779 · English · tap a code to enlarge

   € = original ticket price · $ = after processing & conversion fees

   

   

   

   

   

   Download PDF tickets

   📅 Add to Calendar

6. 5:30 pm

   🗼 Passion facade towers Tickets purchased Included with guided visit

   Tower visit time on the Sagrada Família tickets.

   The elevator up the Passion facade towers drops you inside Gaudí’s stonework — close enough to touch Subirachs’ anguished sculptures — then opens onto sweeping views over the Eixample grid. Short, steep, unforgettable.

   

   Photos: Wikimedia Commons

7. 8:00 pm

   🍽️ Dinner · Molino de Pez Reservation made Carrer de Còrsega, 346 · 5 guests · 👔 Smart casual

   Traditional Spanish

   The Barcelona homecoming of the Fismuler crew. The same ex-El Bulli team behind our favorite Madrid dinner now runs a soaring two-floor tavern between Eixample and Gràcia, all fire, wood, and open kitchen. Madrileño tripe, lentil stew, gooey tortillas, and that cult Basque cheesecake. Our last-night-in-Barcelona feast, in the main Sala.

   📍 ~~1.5 km from Sagrada Família · ~7 min by taxi

   

   Photos: Saber y Sabor, Barcelona Siempre, Salir por Barcelona

   View reservation confirmation · Guy Klein · 22 October 2026 · 8:00 pm · 5 guests · Sala

   📅 Add to Calendar

   Free cancellation or changes up to 4 hours before the reservation; 15€ per person is charged for no-shows or cancellations within 3 hours of the reserved time.

   Carrer de Còrsega, 346
   08037 Barcelona

Recommended free sightseeing

Free sights that fit around the day’s plan — tap a place for the full note.

Casa Vicens

Gaudí’s first house, right in Gràcia — stop by in the morning on the way to Park Güell; the tiled facade is free to admire from the street.

Hospital de Sant Pau

Directly across from the Sagrada Família — a jaw-dropping modernist complex, free to wander around outside between lunch and the basilica.

Barceloneta Beach

End the day with a sunset walk on the sand after the Passion towers.