madrid
4 days after my fiancé proposed to me, we flew to spain for an 8 day vaca- splitting time between madrid and ibiza. For the entirety of our stay in madrid we stayed at The Westin Palace. Since we travel a lot for work, were lucky enough to have status to stay there totally on points. After letting the front desk know we had just gotten engaged, they upgraded us to a suite and sent us a bottle of champagne to the room to celebrate the occasion. Really nice way to start the trip!
First day in Madrid, we walked everywhere! We made it to the El Retiro Park - roughly a 10min walk from the Westin Palace. The park is most famous for the Crystal Palace and Estanque Grande del Retiro lake.
My favorite part of Madrid was Plaza de Mayor (!) and Mercado de San Miguel which is a massive tapas food market just off of the plaza. The plaza was just so charming - a traditional open court yard for locals to hang, eat and drink.
On the second day, we took an airbnb walking tour of Old Town Madrid (< CLICK on the link for more details). We hit all the major spots including Puerta del Sol, Chocolateria San Gines, and the Royal Palace. PSA: You NEED to stop at San Gines for churros. This place is basically an institution.
That night, we booked a second airbnb experience for a traditional Falmenco dancing performance. It was a super intimate experience! They served us wine and tapas for the performance.
FOOD & NIGHTLIFE
The last night we were there, we hit the famous Botin restaurant in Madrid. Botin is the oldest restaurant in the country (some argue the oldest in the world!). We made a reservation for 9pm -- we were lucky enough to experience their traditional serenades. FYI: you have to make a reservation ahead of time to secure a table - it books up quick.
After dinner, we hit up the famous night club in the area Joy. If you go with a promoter, you can get in for free - (you can find promoters on facebook or insta). We were hoping to stop at Kapital but it was a Wednesday night - the only night of the week that the club is closed. So we settled for second best ;)
Other restaurants we went to included:
El Viajero Madrid
Radio Rooftop
Lateral
Brunch at Westin Palace
Mercado de San Miguel (we ate here twice) but there are so many restaurant around this food court. You can't go wrong with any of them
Chocolateria San Gines (this is a must "go to" - see below)
For any questions, feel free to reach out!