SEE + DO

SIESTAS ARE STILL a thing in this town, but don’t be fooled: Madrid is action-packed all day long

The Art Of Free Sightseeing

Can anyone really absorb the works of Goya, Velazquez, Murillo and El Greco all in one visit? Museo Del Prado is Spain’s national art museum and is absolutely packed with art. Insider’s tip: see what you can on your first visit and then return on a weeknight between 6pm and 8pm when admission is free. museodelprado.com

When The Sun Goes Down

As sunset arrives, make haste for Cuartel de la Montaña Park, where you’ll find The Temple of Debod (Temple of Blood) draped in a golden light. The Egyptian temple was erected outside Aswan, Egypt, in the 2nd century, then dismantled and reassembled in Madrid in the 1970s. madrid.es

The Street That Never Sleeps

Gran Via (which means “Great Way”) is excellent for shopping. The 1.3-kilometre street is sometimes called “Spanish Broadway,” a nod to the concentration of hotels, theatre, upscale stores and shopping centres. It’s Madrid’s “street that never sleeps.” Expect lots of Lacoste and Zara.

Art That Speaks To The Masses

Museo Thyssen has lots of Picasso and Kandinsky amongst its collection of 1,000 paintings, which run the gamut from abstract and modernist to impressionists and religious iconography. A cool innovation: instead of exhibit-by-exhibit audio guides, museum curators have produced themed audio tours with subjects such as Sustainability, Fashion and Inclusive Love. museothyssen.org