Day 3: Madrid

Tips:

• El Rastro flea market can get extremely busy and pickpockets often target the area, so be sure to remain alert of your personal belongings.
• If wanting to explore a tour of Plaza de Toros, it’s best to arrive for 10am and purchase tickets as soon as the box office opens.

Day 3: Exploring Madrid

Before saying a temporary goodbye to Madrid, day 3 is all about exploring Spanish tradition – including treasure hunting in El Rastro, and feasting on calamari sandwiches.

Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas

Begin your last day with a visit to the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas – the biggest bullring in Spain and the stadium that every bullfighter dreams of playing. It’s open from 10am-6pm every day except on bullfight days ,when public tours finish around 2pm. The bullfighting season typically starts around the end of March – December.

I don’t personally agree with bullfighting but I was interested in taking an audio guided tour here to learn about the origins of bullfighting as a tradition and the stadium architecture stadium is impressive with various sculptures and statutes to view.

Located in the Salamanca district (in East Madrid) you can travel here on the Metro Line 2 or 5 to “Ventas”.

Madrid is known as the ‘epicenter’ of bullfighting in Spain, and traditionally Las Ventas is the stadium that matadors needed to go, to earn total worldwide respect as a bullfighter.

El Rastro flea market 

After spending a couple of hours at Las Ventas, it’s worth taking a trip on the metro to the colourful open air flea market at El Rastro. The closest metro stations are La Latina or Puerta de Toledo, and the market is open every Sunday from 9am to 3pm.

It’s the oldest and most iconic street market in Madrid…

If you have a good eye, you may find interesting things on sale such as genuine antiques and vintage clothing, and haggling over prices is allowed!

It is a flea and not an artisan market, so along the main street you’ll find a lot of the stalls selling predominately tourist souvenirs and clothing.

I recommend around two hours for a visit to this area, or maybe less if you’re browsing!

Venture off to the side streets to discover the “real treasures”, and you’ll find small boutique shops, like this shop “Maty”, which is completely devoted to flamenco wear.

This shop is the real deal, selling genuine flamenco dresses and shoes, with prices to mach! It’s a great place to browse and appreciate authentic Spanish dance wear!

Mercado San Miguel

If you fancy lunch stop, Mercado San Miguel is worth a second visit – I found there was so many food stalls that one trip here doesn’t suffice. I still had the “bocadillo de calamares” on my mind from my first visit here, which had sold out last time.

Spain might already be known for its paella and sangria, but in central Spain you’ll discover that Madrid’s most beloved dish is the “bocadillo de calamares”.

Essentially a fried calamari sandwich, it consists of crusty bread roll loaded with squid rings that have coated in flour and olive oil. Each sandwich here, can be made to order and is served with a slice of lemon – delicious!

Barrio de Las Tetras

Just behind the Mercado San Miguel is Madrid’s literary quarter “Barrio de las Tetras” (the District of Letters), which over the years has been home to some of Spain’s greatest literary alumni and is fast becoming Madrid’s coolest neighbourhood.

This quarter is steeped with literary history, and is a neighbourhood where some of Spain’s greatest literary alumni have lived and written over the years. Today, it’s a neighbourhood filled with narrow streets and pleasant squares, providing a cultural and truly captivating area for a charming daytime stroll.

It has also got a slight bohemian atmosphere to it, keep your eyes peeled along the cobbled streets and alleyways as you’ll find inscriptions of the words of famous writers.

Patisserie “La Mallorquina”

On your way back to Puerta del Sol, and before you catch the metro back to the airport, it’s worth popping into this traditional patisserie to pick up a sweet treat for the journey!

The interior of “La Mallorquina” has a delightful vintage vibe with the waiter staff dressed in traditional high collared white jackets. The wide selection makes it hard to choose, I recommend their famous chocolate croissant ” the Chocolate Napoleon”…

Speed is of the essence here! This place has been crafting pastries for more than 100 years. Try one of the fresh oven pastries, and you’ll understand why “La Mallorquina” is regarded as one of the best pastry shops in Madrid!