Madrid hides many gems, some of which are not even valued or known by locals. In this post we show you a list of our top 10 hidden gems in Madrid so you can go beyond the basics!
If you are planning to visit Madrid for your first time, check out first our list of 12 places you must visit in Madrid!
We also invite you to read our posts about these sites in the Madrid region: the Monastery of El Paular, a hidden gem in the mountains and picturesque Castle of Manzanares el Real.
#1 - Palacio de El Pardo
El Pardo is a forest on the NW of Madrid and makes up for over one-quarter of the municipality! It has been well known by nobles and kings since the Middle Ages as one of the finest game areas in Spain.
This is why in the 15th c. King Henry IV of Castile decided to build here as a royal residence for the hunting season. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (Charles I of Spain in 1516-1556), replaced this castle by the present Palacio de El Pardo, integrating its towers.
It is the oldest royal palace still standing in Madrid, because the Old Royal Alcázar was destroyed by a fire in 1734 and replaced by the current Palacio Real.
El Pardo is a typical plateresque (Spanish Renaissance) palace. The palace was enlarged mirroring the original structure so as to keep the ensemble when Charles III (1759-1788) decided to make it their residence for the whole winter season. Then, it also became more important to keep the palace warm.
This is why its rooms were covered with tapestries, designed ad hoc for the palace, so as to cover all the size of the wall. These were manufactured in Madrid’s Royal Tapestry Factory, which is still active. Many of them are based on Goya cartoons (which are on display in Museo del Prado).
The palace also has beautiful ceiling frescoes, especially in its original Renaissance part.
It is really one of the most interesting buildings in Madrid. Not many people visit it, even locals. Maybe because they remember it more as the official residence of Franco than as a historical royal palace.
Nowadays, it is used as the official residence of foreign Heads of State when visiting Spain and for receptions and events hosted by the Spanish monarchy.
Palacio de El Pardo
How to arrive: El Pardo lies 14 km NW of Puerta del Sol.
If you have a car, the palace is easy to reach with the M-605 (El Pardo road). Take M-30 and follow the signs (20 min without traffic). There is plenty of parking place around.
Public transport: take buses 601 or 602 from Moncloa (which you can reach with Metro lines 3 and 6).
Opening hours: Tue-Fri 10 am – 4 pm / Sat-Sun 10 am – 6 pm. Mondays closed.
Price: 9 €. Free entrance on Wednesdays and Sundays from 3 to 6 pm.
#2 - San Antonio de la Florida (Goya's Church)
San Antonio de la Florida is a small 18th c. church by river Manzanares that was fully painted by Goya in 1798.
Goya’s genius reached one of its heights in his work in San Antonio. In just a few months, he painted the dome and ceilings with his unique style. Goya was a very modern painter, his technique is reminiscent to the impressionism of many decades later.
His frescoes in San Antonio summarise his work, with quick strokes and folk Madrid characters… and even some figures that prelude his “Black Paintings”.
The central motif is the miracle of St. Anthony of Padua in Lisbon, where he raised a man from the dead to exculpate his father, who had been falsely accused of his murder, but he set his painting in the Madrid of his times.
Goya, who died in Bordeaux in 1828, was brought to Madrid to be buried in “his” church. Bringing his body from France was a real matter of state.
To preserve Goya’s work, an exact copy of the church was built next to it to use it for lithurgy and keep the original as a museum. The real one is that on the right.
Iglesia de San Antonio de la Florida
Where: Glorieta San Antonio de la Florida, 5 (next to Paseo de la Florida).
Metro: Príncipe Pío (L6, L10, R and Cercanías – suburban railway). Bus: 41, 46, 75
Opening hours: Tue-Fri 9:30 am – 2 pm / Sat-Sun and bank holidays 9:30 am – 3 pm & 4 – 7 pm.
Free entrance. No photography allowed (and they control it very tightly).
#3 - Church of San Antonio de los Alemanes
San Antonio de los Alemanes is a tiny church in the Malasaña quarter, one of the hotspots of Madrid nightlife since the late 1970s.
You should certainly visit this neighbourhood during your time in Madrid to enjoy its vibrant atmosphere – but just before you go to explore its bars, terraces and restaurants, stop for 5 minutes in this hidden gem, that even many locals ignore.
Outside, it looks just another brick building of old Madrid, but when you enter you will see a temple fully painted with frescoes. All the walls and the dome are covered with beautiful paintings by reputed 17th century painters, such as Luca Giordano, who worked with both hands!
San Antonio de los Alemanes is also the only elliptical church in Madrid.
San Antonio de los Alemanes
Where: Calle de la Puebla, 22.
Metro: Callao (L3, L5), Gran Vía (L1, L5), Tribunal (L1, L10) and Noviciado (L2).
Free entrance. In theory, tourists should only visit in the morning (10:30 am – 2 pm), but when the church is open in the afternoon for worshippers, you can go inside and take photos without any problem.
#4 - Museo Cerralbo
Feel like a guest of the Marquis of Cerralbo, a small nobleman of the Spanish Belle Époque.
While there are museums that try to recreate an era, this is a one of the few 19th c. palaces where all the original decoration from the time is in its place.
The Marquis of Cerralbo was a carlist politician – a traditionalist faction that opposed Queen Isabel II, and wanted his uncle Carlos as King, as they didn’t consider legitimate the repealment of the law that banned women from being monarchs (this caused 3 civil wars in Spain).
But he also liked having fun with his visitors, playing billiard and he valued art and history – he promoted archaeology, was an amateur painter himself, but also collected some masterpieces, including original paintings by El Greco, Van Dyck or Tintoretto.
When the Marquis died in 1922 he gave his mansion and collection in inheritance to the Spanish state and it is now open as a museum – one of the least visited in Madrid, but totally worth it!
Museo Cerralbo
Where: Calle Ventura Rodríguez, 17. It’s very close to Plaza de España.
Metro: Ventura Rodríguez (L3), Plaza de España (L2, L3, L10). Buses: 1, 2, 3, 44, 46, 74, 75, 133, 147, 148, C1/C2.
Price: 3 €. Free entrance on Thursdays 5-8 pm and Sundays.
Opening hours: Tue-Sat 9:30 am – 3 pm. Thu also open 5-8 pm (free). Sundays 10 am – 3 pm (free).
#5 - Hospital de Maudes
If you like the famous Palacio de Comunicaciones in Cibeles (now Madrid city hall), you should have a look at Hospital de Maudes – it was designed by the same architect, Antonio Palacios, and it is arguably his second best work.
Plus it is close to Nuevos Ministerios, the largest El Corte Inglés in Spain and a 10 minute walk from the Santiago Bernabéu, which will probably be in your list when visiting Madrid!
This building was designed as a Hospital to give free medical care for day labourers (jornaleros) in the early 20th c. It was later abandoned, but now it has been recovered and hosts offices of the regional administration.
It was built mainly with unpolished limestone with some granite, marble and a colourful tile decoration. The whole ensemble is enclosed by a wall of the same materials.
Its eclectic architecture has heavy influences from the Spanish Renaissance and the 20th c. vanguards, especially Vienna’s Secession style. Its towers are clearly reminiscent of the architect’s Palacio de Comunicaciones.
The hospital had its own church, called Santa María del Silencio, which continues working as a church for deaf people. It follows the same style of the hospital and its interior is really worth it, with art nouveau stained glass windows.
Hospital de Jornaleros de Maudes
Where: Paseo de Raimundo Fernández Villaverde, 18.
Metro: Cuatro Caminos (L1, L2, L6), Nuevos Ministerios (L6, L8, L10, Cercanías).
Several bus lines (e.g. C1/C2, 3, 5, 14, 27, 37, 147, 150…).
Opening hours: The church is only open during services and other activities: Tue, Thu, Sat: 5:30-9 pm; Sun 10:30 am – 1:30 pm
The hospital is usally not open for visitors, but every year a few guided tours are organised.
#6 - San Francisco el Grande Royal Basilica
San Francisco el Grande is a Baroque basilica in the quarter of La Latina, well known as a tapas and drinks hotspot.
Not many locals know that the dome of San Francisco el Grande, with a diameter of 33 metres, is the 3rd largest spherical dome in Europe, after St. Peter’s in the Vatican and the Pantheon in Rome.
It may not seem right to call such a magnificient building a “hidden gem”, but the truth is not many people consider it as a place to visit in Madrid and know about its beautiful decoration.
Its interior, consisting of a single circular nave, has a rich decoration, with marble and paintings that dates mostly from its renovation in the 19th c. Its most impressive feature is the dome frescoes depicting different monarchs giving tribute to the Virgin Mary.
A few paintings survive from its original 18th c. decoration, including a painting of Goya (first of the left from the entrance).
After visiting it, go for some tapas in La Latina!
Basílica Real de San Francisco el Grande
Where: Gran Vía de San Francisco, 19.
Metro: La Latina (L5) or Puerta de Toledo (L5). Buses: 3, 17, 18, 23, 31, 35, 36, 41, 50, 60, 62, 65, 148, C1/C2, 002.
Price: 5€. Free entrance during church activity, from 8 to 10:30 am every day or on a Sunday (but in this case you won’t be able to take photos).
#7 - El Capricho Gardens
El Capricho is the only Romantic Garden in Madrid. It was built between 1787 and 1839 as a recreational garden with a small palace by the powerful Dukes of Osuna in the village of Barajas, now part of Madrid, quite close to the airport.
Neglected for decades, it has been unknown for many madrileños until the Metro arrived to its gates, and even since then, many of the city’s dwellers have never visited it.
El Capricho includes the typical elements of a Romantic garden: a hedge maze, artificial rivers and ponds with ducks and geese, a “fortress“, a ball room, neo-classical “temples” and monuments.
There is also a small chapel and a palace, which is currently being restored and will be opened as a museum.
It is a bit far from other interesting areas of the city (although close to the airport), but if you have time to go, you will love it!
During the Spanish Civil War, El Capricho was used as a bunker by the High Command of the Army of the Spanish Republic.
Parque de El Capricho
How to arrive: Paseo Alameda de Osuna, Barajas district. Metro: El Capricho (L5).
You can also reach El Capricho from the airport with buses 101 (Terminals 1, 2 & 3) or 827 (Terminal 4).
If you have a car, it is just 10 min from the airport.
Free entrance.
Opening hours: Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays (9 am – 9 pm April to September, 9 am to 6:30 pm October to March). Weekdays closed.
#8 - The Metro Ghost Station - Estación de Chamberí
Travel back to the 1920s by Metro! Chamberí station 1966 as it was too close to the adjacent stations to be operative when the platforms were enlarged. The trains never ceased to pass by, but they don’t stop since then.
After decades of neglect, it was been recovered and reopened with the original tile advertisements from the 1920s!
It is a very unique and interesting museum to discover how the Metro looked like after opening in 1919, when it was an icon of modern times in Madrid.
After visiting the ghost station, go to nearby Plaza de Olavide, a square full of terraces where you can have some beer, wine and tapas, one of the most popular among locals.
Where: Plaza de Chamberí.
Metro: Bilbao (L1, L4), Iglesia (L1). Buses: 3, 40, 147.
#9 - Palacio Longoria
You won’t find much art nouveau in Madrid (as in most other European capital cities). But there are always exceptions!
Palacio Longoria is one of the few, and the most important, art nouveau buildings in the Spanish capital city. Built by a Catalan architect, this is the closest you can find to Gaudí in Madrid, although it has a character of its own, with beautiful vegetable decorations!
Its interior is really beautiful, but unfortunately it is usually not open to the public, as it hosts the controversial Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers (SGAE). Every now and then, there are guided tours that show you the building, so if you happen to find a free space, visit it!
Palacio Longoria
Where: Calle Fernando VI, 4.
Metro: Alonso Martínez (L4, L5, L10).
Buses: 3, 7, 21, 37, C03
#10 - Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales
Don’t be fooled by the austere and rigid look façade of this 16th century brick monastery in a back street between Puerta del Sol and Gran Vía.
Its rooms are richly decorated with frescoes, paintings, tapestries. Its works of art and its decoration of marble and tiles reveal its royal origins.
This nunnery was founded by Joanna of Austria, sister of King Phillip II and Princess Consort of Portugal. She ordered the transformation of the old palace where she was born for its new purposes and created the order of Descalzas Reales (Royal Barefooted).
The nuns of las Descalzas were extremely powerful and a few of its dwellers even had royal blood. This is why it was considered as the feminine equivalent of the Monastery of El Escorial (the largest building in Europe of its time, built by Phillip II).
Nowadays, there is still a small community of nuns living in the monastery.
Las Descalzas is one of the best places in Madrid to learn about the Habsburg period and history of Spain in general, as well as to admire remarkable works of art, including a series of tapestries from Rubens cartoons.
Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales
Where: Plaza de las Descalzas.
Metro: Ópera (L2, L5, R), Callao (L3, L5), Sol (L1, L2, L3). Buses: 3, 25, 39, 148.
Price: 12€, guided tours only. Check tour schedules in this website. No photography allowed.
It’s worth staying a bit longer in Madrid, and don’t miss any of these 12 places you must visit in Madrid!
