The end of our Iberian road trip brought us to Madrid Barajas Airport, where we turned in our rental car, said goodbye to our travel companions as they headed to a safari in South Africa, and hopped the Metro to take us into the heart of Madrid and the apartment that would be our home for the next three days. A word to the wise (which I would not count my husband and I to be in this particular instance): Do not assume every subway station will have working escalators and elevators between levels to make moving around with luggage easy. They won’t; get a taxi or ride share!

Our accommodations were in the La Latina neighborhood, just a few blocks from the Metro station and a pleasant stroll to Plaza Major. We checked in with the property manager who then showed us to our very roomy one-bedroom apartment on the third floor. The building, like most on this narrow street, was four to six stories tall, probably built in the early 20th century     and featured some elegant touches of wood and ironwork.        The ground-level shops featured small restaurants, coffee shops, convenience stores and an assortment of small businesses, with apartments ranged above. It felt very much a typical neighborhood rather than a touristy hot spot while at the same time offering convenient access to all the major sites in the city.

After settling in, we strolled the streets with an eye out for a dinner spot and came across this amazing shop, a luthier with the most beautiful instruments on display and for sale. Félix Manzanero is one of the most acclaimed guitar makers in Madrid, and his instruments have won international awards. His collection of antique instruments shares the space with some of his own highly crafted works. The detailing awed us; such beauty!

The next morning we made our way to Mass at a nearby church, passing the impressive Puerta de Toledo, one 19 city gates.   Then it was off to tour the Palacio Real, one of Europe’s great royal palaces (and the largest by square footage) and still used for state ceremonies. We purchased our tickets in advance online and avoided having to stand in long lines. We rented the self-guided audio-visual device which provided interesting details and additional or close-up pictures along the route. Knowing I couldn’t do the space justice, I didn’t take a great many pictures, but these will give you some sense of the elaborate ornamentation and 18th-century architecture.   . Rather than taking the separate tour of the Royal Armory and the Royal Kitchens, we grabbed lunch at the on-site cafeteria and scrolled through those “tours” on our devices as we ate.

Afterwards, we crossed the immense plaza before the main entrance, admiring the black and gold lampposts  and views of the Jardines del Campo del Moro to the west of the palace  before circling the imposing Catedral de la Almudena.  It’s a relatively new church, begun in 1868 and only completed and consecrated in 1993. I was especially taken with the enormous sculpted doors along the exterior.            

We decided to make our way leisurely on foot back to our apartment, enjoying the chance to peek into a variety of shops along the way. It made for a very pleasant, low-key way to end our sightseeing day in Madrid.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor