Hola y bienvenidos a Madrid.
This week we are in the Spanish capital and we are going to show you twenty five of the
best things to do in the city.
We were beyond excited to come and visit Madrid, after all this is a city renowned for its
arts, cuisine, and nightlife.
With 10 days to spare, we decided to hit up some of the best sights and attractions and
film a guide highlighting "25 things to do in Madrid".
In this video you can expect everything from lively markets and world renowned museums,
to beautiful gardens and Spanish dishes.
Now let's find out what the Spanish capital is all about!
So this morning we are visiting Real Jardín Botánico which are the Royal Botanical Gardens
here in Madrid.
And it is a beautiful space, shaded, lots of different plants from around the world.
And the place is actually massive so I'm going to show you the map so you can get an idea
of how many little gardens you can visit.
And we've only covered a fraction of it so far.
Yep.
Palacio Real de Madrid is one of the largest palaces in all of Europe.
Technically, this is the official residence of the Spanish Royal Family, however, they
choose to live in a smaller and more modest palace in the outskirts of town.
The Royal Palace is open to visitors year round.
So another thing you can do at the palace here is check out the changing of the guard.
We were here at eleven o'clock and that is when it started.
So one thing that we keep noticing about our stay here in Madrid is that they love their
gardens and their parks.
Right now we are visiting a place called Jardines de Sabatini and again it is just a garden
that is located behind the Royal Palace.
And it is a beautiful place to visit and there is hardly any tourists here.
So I recommend you come check it out.
So right now we're riding the cable car over Madrid.
It is an eleven minute journey.
Two and a half kilometers.
And I think we're going to get some great views of the city.
La Rosaleda is a massive rose garden located in the west end of the city.
Every year during the month of May a contest is held to select the most beautiful rose
of them all.
We missed the contest by a couple of months, but we still enjoyed wandering through the
grounds.
Meals were a big highlight during our visit to Madrid, especially gazpacho!
Okay, so time for the first spoonful of Gazpacho.
Oh ho ho baby.
Mmmm.
That is so good.
It is tangy because of the tomato.
It is served cold so it is really refreshing.
And this one has a lot more ingredients than salmorejo.
So I just put in some chopped bell peppers, green and red peppers.
It has also got a bit of onions in there.
And it was drizzled with olive oil on top.
So it is a great combination on a hot summer day.
I'm just going to keep enjoying this over here.
It is so good.
The Prado museum holds one of the best collections of Spanish art.
They have works by artists like Francisco de Goya, Diego Velázquez, and El Greco.
Admission to the museum is free in the evenings 2 hours before closing, but you'll need few
days to cover everything this museum has to offer.
So at the moment we're visiting Parque del Buen Retiro which is one of the biggest parks
in the city.
And we're just taking a little break in the shade because summer in Madrid feels like
someone has turned on the blow-dryer and they're just blowing it all over your body.
It is like a wall of hot air hitting you in the face.
So, we rest and cool down people.
Parque del Buen Retiro is a massive park in Madrid.
It has beautiful boulevards for strolling, a large pond where you can rent row boats,
and plazas with trees that will make you feel like you've stumbled into Alice in Wonderland.
One attraction you shouldn't miss when visiting Parque del Retiro is the Crystal Palace.
It's a beautiful building that streams in natural sunlight, and on occasion they host
contemporary art exhibitions.
Palacio de Velázquez is also located in the same park.
It has red-brick-and-tile architecture, and inside you'll fine temporary exhibitions organized
through the Reina Sofía museum.
So if you're in Madrid during the summer months you can check out this book fair which is
located just behind the Botanical Gardens.
Cuesta de Moyano is a little hill lined with book stands and you can pick up literature
ranging from philosophy to fantasy, all for a couple of Euros.
We couldn't come to the capital and not try Spain's national dish: paella.
Okay so your mixed Paella has arrived.
Tell us about it.
Yeah, the paella is finally here.
So the mixed paella has a whole bunch of different things.
Let's take a look down at it.
So you can see that there is chicken, we've got shrimp, we've got other kinds of seafood,
we've got peas.
Let's take the first bite here.
This is my favorite Spanish food.
The thing I like about it so much is that you have all of these different ingredients
and it just has such a flavorful sauce on top of the rice.
It is just so good.
Well, we certainly polished that off.
So now let's talk about the price.
Yeah, that was nice and filling.
So in terms of price it can vary widely.
In more expensive, kind of like gourmet restaurants that really specialize in it, we've seen it
go up to thirty or thirty five Euros.
We've never actually ate somewhere like that.
The place we went to was eleven Euros and we thought it was a really good value.
We're both really full now.
And I've also seen it as an appetizer in some smaller types of restaurants.
And you can expect to maybe pay seven or eight Euros for that.
So next up we've going to visit the Temple of Debod.
Which is an ancient Egyptian Temple that is here in Madrid.
And now it wasn't stolen by the Spaniards.
It was actually given as a gift because they were building a dam in Egypt in the same area
where the temple used to be located.
And it was at risk of flooding.
So it was given as a gift in order to preserve it.
And it is actually a really popular place to watch the sunset and there is lots of people
hanging out here so we're going to show you a bit of that.
Here we are visiting the home of Real Madrid football club.
Easily one of the most famous teams in the world, not just in Spain.
And we're going to take a little walk around outside.
And you have a new hat to represent.
I just did buy one of these.
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is home to the Real Madrid Futbol Club.
This is one of the most popular football teams in the world with a huge fan base.
So another thing to do in Madrid is actually go out and experience the nightlife.
So tonight we're out having a nice little drink.
I've got Tinto de Verano.
Sam's got Sangria and I do have to warn you the nightlife in Madrid does get started pretty
late.
We're out right now at like nine thirty and that is super early.
Normally people get together past midnight and things keeps going until like four or
five in the morning.
So, you've been warned.
So what have been your first impressions of Madrid's night life?
Pulsating, in a word.
Hahaha.
Recently, we were out with friends and we didn't get back home until about four thirty
or five in the morning.
Definitely a night to remember.
The San Miguel Market is the place to come if you want to sample a wide array of Spanish
dishes all under one roof.
You'll find everything ranging from seafood to meats and sausages, as well as glasses
of sangria and tinto de verano.
Plaza Mayor is Madrid's central square and it is lined with little cafes and restaurants.
It's a nice place to enjoy a cup of coffee and do a bit of people watching, but you will
pay a lot more than you would elsewhere in the city.
So it is breakfast time here in Madrid.
We've just rolled out of bed at 10 am which is a bit unusual.
But we're here at a local cafe and we're going to have a traditional Spanish breakfast.
So we have ordered a hot chocolate with churros and porras.
So we're going to show you what those are like in just a few minutes.
And what are you having?
I'm actually having the proper churros.
Which is a deep-fried dough.
And what I've found interesting is when I've had this in Canada it is more of a dessert
but over here in Spain it is a breakfast.
And it is a very popular breakfast item.
So let's dip that right into the chocolate.
Show us how it is done.
Break off a piece here.
And that hot chocolate is as thick as it gets.
It must have some kind of special ingredients that make it especially thick and rich.
It is like mud.
It is like chocolate sludge.
Wow.
Let me just say, I could get very used to having this as my normal breakfast.
It is that good.
So what I find unique about the Spanish churro is the shape.
When we had these in South America they were usually like long little strips.
And also there is no filling in these.
I still haven't come across any Spanish churros that have filings.
Whereas in South America they were stuffed with chocolate, vanilla pudding, dulce de
leche.
So that is another difference.
Now let's dip this.
Oh la la.
This is so good.
It is like a wishbone.
Puerta del Sol means Gate of the Sun and it is one of the busiest spots in Madrid.
It's a great spot to do a bit of shopping, catch a street performance, and then grab
a quick bite.
La Almudena is a catholic church which sits directly across from the Royal Palace.
The church is open to visitors free of charge, but a small donation is suggested to upkeep
the building.
Right now we're visiting the Oriental Plaza, which is right by the palace.
It is a nice kind of scenic area to walk.
And you can see all kinds of plants from Asia.
So it is time for another breakfast here in Madrid.
Today we are having the madrileño which is the local breakfast that everybody likes to
eat in the city.
And if you look down here you'll be able to see this is Tortilla.
Which is a potato and egg type of dish.
So it is kind of like a potato and egg omelette.
And it is delicious.
It comes with a side of bread.
And I can't wait to dig in.
Oh la la.
It is so good.
So good.
This is your favorite breakfast.
It really is.
I've been eating it daily.
And on my birthday I had it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
That is how much I like it.
The Queen Sofia museum focuses on 20th-century art.
It forms part of the Golden Triangle of Art, which also includes the Prado and the Thyssen.
You can also visit Thyssen-Bornemisza, an art museum in the city that was once the second
largest private collection in the world.
Final thoughts on your time in Madrid.
Well, I really enjoyed the city.
And I really found that it is super walk-able.
We were here for 10 days and we hardly had to take the metro at all.
We just took the bus once when we were visiting the stadium but the rest of the time we were
able to walk wherever we needed to go.
And also I think it is a great city for art lovers.
There are so many galleries and museums to check out.
And a lot of them are free in the evening.
So keep that in mind.
And now it is your turn.
What did you think of Madrid?
You know what?
I absolutely loved Madrid.
It is a city that just really clicked with me.
We have a lot of friends that are living here long term and prior to coming here I had no
idea like why would someone want to come to Madrid?
Now I totally get it.
I love the culture, I love the food, I love the nightlife.
Everything is really cheap.
I go to the grocery store and I can get a one liter thing of wine for just over a Euro.
It is just a really affordable fun city to be in.
And it is somewhere I hope I have a chance to come back to again soon.
And that is a wrap of our time in Madrid!
We had a splendid time and were truly sad to say goodbye to the city, but that just
means we'll have to come back again.
If you have any travel tips for Madrid, feel free to share those in the comments below.
And once again, for more city guides and travel videos, be sure to subscribe to our channel!