August is the perfect time to take a vacation to Spain. We used a luxury travel company called EmbarkBeyond to plan this trip and they came up with the perfect guide to spending three days in Madrid.

We flew into Madrid the night before and checked into The Four Seasons. It was a stunning hotel and was walking distance from most of the attractions that we visiting while we stayed there. The first night we checked-in and went straight to dinner at Restaurante Ultranarinos Quentin. If you want reviews of the hotels we stayed at while in Spain, read our guide to luxurious hotels in Spain.

Day One

We ate breakfast at the hotel because our hotel included it. If your hotel doesn’t include breakfast, stroll down the street and walk into any of the restaurants. We literally didn’t have any bad meals while we were there. You can’t get a miss.

After breakfast, we met our guide for our tour of Old Madrid and the Prada Museum. We visited Calle Mayor and Plaza Mayor which was filled with beautiful historical buildings. After that we visited the narrow and winding streets south and west of Puerta de Sol.

Later in the tour we visited the royal palace and the fountain at Plaze de Cibeles. The entire tour we felt like we were stepping back in time.

The Prada Museum was the highlight of the day. It houses over 3,000 paintings and is one of the oldest and greatest are collections in the world. I don’t have any photos inside the museum because it wasn’t allowed. Just another reason to go.

DinnerRestaurants in Madrid

Once we got back we changed and got ready for dinner. We dined at a restaurant called Barracuda. It is a elevated Mexican restaurant. At first we were hesitant because we wanted Spanish food in Spain, but once we tasted the food all our reservations were gone.

Day Two

On day two in Madrid we ventured to Toledo for a full day tour. Toledo is one of the most interesting cities in Spain and definitely worth the day trip from Madrid to visit. It’s no wonder why the UNESCO declared this city a world heritage site.

Toledo is known as the “city of three cultures” because for centuries, Cristians, Arabs, and Jews lived there in harmony. Our guide took us to famous Synagogues, a Mosque and a Cathedral that are still standing today. The culture was so prevalent and it is amazing to see the peace that Toledo is.

We ate lunch at La Orza in Toledo. It’s an intimate, fine dining restaurant. It’s located in the Jewish quarter next to the Santo Tome church.

Dinner

For dinner we ate at La Barraca. It was hands down the best paella I have ever had in my life. I have been trying to find a place that comes close, but I haven’t had any luck. We has the seafood paella as well as the rabbit one and they were both delicious, Their sangrias were also top notch.

Day Three

We explored the city without a tour guide. Went to Plaza de la Independencia and Estanque del Retiro. The plaza is absolutely beautiful. With fresh flowers surrounding the entire plaza, it was the perfect place for a photo op. The Estanque del Retiro is a massive park. It is gorgeous. It’s filled with gardens, bike paths, and historical statues. If you visit, make sure to stop by the snack stands and get ice cream and goodies you can’t get in the US.

Dinner

For dinner, make sure to go to the oldest known restaurant in the world, Restaurante Botin. It was SO delicious. You can’t travel to Madrid and miss it. Their special is the suckling pig and it was mouthwatering. My mom doesn’t even eat pork and she tore it up. The service was fantastic and as always, so were the sangrias.