The tourist map of Madrid below marks the 13 top sights, 33 hidden gems in orange and a 6.9 km walking route through the centre, from Plaza Mayor to Retiro Park. It is free to view, print and download.
Download the printable PDF (1.7 MB) >
Each sight is described in full on tourist attractions in Madrid.
The numbers below match the pins on the map, the PDF and the video. The first 9 sights sit on the walking route through the centre; the last 4 are reached by metro.
Marked in orange on the map: 33 smaller sights worth a detour, 24 of them close to the centre. The PDF lists all of them with addresses.
The PDF is the same map on four A4 pages. Page 1 holds the map of the centre with the numbered legend, how to get around and the licence. Pages 2 and 3 list the 13 sights with a photo, a short text and the full address, including the transport for the four outside the centre. The 33 hidden gems follow with their addresses, and a page of neighbourhoods closes it. In English, 1.7 MB. Edition: October 2026.
Start of a 6.9 km (4.3 miles) route, about 1 h 30 on foot, near Sol station on metro lines 1, 2 and 3. The arcaded square is free and open around the clock, with the frescoed Casa de la Panaderia on one side. The market stands just behind it.
On Plaza de San Miguel, behind Plaza Mayor: an iron and glass hall of 1916 with stalls serving food to eat at shared counters, free to enter and open daily. Walk west to Calle de Bailén for the cathedral.
On Calle de Bailén, opposite the Royal Palace. The cathedral is free to enter, while its museum and dome are ticketed, and a Neo-Romanesque crypt lies below. Ópera station on metro lines 2 and 5 serves it. The palace is a short walk north along Calle de Bailén.
On Calle de Bailén, beside Almudena Cathedral. Entry is ticketed, and visitors tour the throne room, the porcelain room and the royal armoury. Ópera station on metro lines 2 and 5 serves it. The next leg, 1.3 km, heads east to Puerta del Sol.
A free, open half-moon plaza with the Kilometre Zero slab, the Casa de Correos clock and the bronze bear reaching into a strawberry tree. Sol station, on metro lines 1, 2 and 3, serves the square. The route then heads east to the Paseo del Prado.
On the Paseo del Prado, opposite the Neptune fountain, inside the remodelled Villahermosa Palace; entry is ticketed. Banco de España station on metro line 2 serves it. The Prado is a short walk south along the same avenue.
On Calle de Ruiz de Alarcón, in the Golden Triangle of Art; entry is ticketed, and the halls hold Las Meninas and Goya's Black Paintings. Banco de España on metro line 2 and Estación del Arte on line 1 serve it. Continue south to the Reina Sofia.
On Calle de Santa Isabel, facing Atocha station, in a former hospital with Jean Nouvel's extension; entry is ticketed and Guernica hangs inside. Estación del Arte on metro line 1 serves it. The last and longest leg, 2.2 km, heads north-east to Retiro Park.
The route ends inside Retiro Park, free and open daily, whose main gate is on Plaza de la Independencia. The boating lake, the rose garden and the Palacio de Cristal, closed for renovation until 2027, lie inside. Retiro station on metro line 2 serves the park.
The centre is walkable: the 9 stops on the route cover 6.9 km, about 1 h 30 of walking without the visits, and the longest leg is the 2.2 km from the Reina Sofia to Retiro Park.
Metro de Madrid lines cross the route at several points. Sol, on lines 1, 2 and 3, serves Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor, and Ópera, on lines 2 and 5, the Royal Palace and Almudena Cathedral. Along the Paseo del Arte, Banco de España on line 2 serves the Thyssen-Bornemisza and the Prado, and Estación del Arte on line 1 the Prado and the Reina Sofia. Retiro, on line 2, serves the park.
Sights outside the walking route:
Four of the numbered sights on the walking route sell entry tickets online: the Royal Palace, the Thyssen-Bornemisza, the Prado and the Reina Sofia.
The map, the PDF, the walking route and the texts are © 2026 World Tourist Office and free to copy, share, print and adapt, also commercially, under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. The only condition is a credit to World Tourist Office with a link to this page.
The photos are not covered by this licence: they are © their respective owners, used here under their own licences, and may not be extracted or reused separately. Where a photo carries its own credit line, that credit and its licence apply. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), tiles © OpenFreeMap: keep that credit too. The World Tourist Office name and logo are trademarks and are not licensed.
Credit to copy: Madrid Tourist Map by World Tourist Office, touristoffice.org/madrid-tourist-map/, CC BY 4.0. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.