This buzzy Spanish city break costs less than £300. Here’s how
This week, you can escape to Madrid for two nights in style for just £262 per person, and follow our easy hacks to cut the cost of museum visits and eating out
There is a simple, inescapable truth about city breaks on a budget: Friday and Saturday nights are generally best avoided. Low-season months tend to offer better deals over weekends, but prices on flights and accommodation fall noticeably for most other nights of the week, particularly Sundays and Mondays.
Glorious, cultural, fun, foodie Madrid is no exception, so if you can cope with the idea of a city break without the Friday/Saturday-night party vibe, book an early flight to the Spanish capital on other days. All being well you’ll be there by midday, and with a quick, easy and inexpensive transfer (about £3) by train into the centre of the city, you can be propped up at a bar with a glass of rioja and a plate of croquetas by lunchtime. Winter is a brilliant time for reliable blue skies and sunshine in Madrid, but don’t expect balmy temperatures. Not many realise that this is the second-highest European capital (after Andorra la Vella), so while the summers are hot, winters can be decidedly chilly.
Hop off at Recoletos and dive straight into Restaurante La Giralda for instant immersion in Spain — or Andalusia to be more precise, as this restaurant is the best in Madrid for capturing the spirit and flavours of the south. A drink and some tapas at the bar will not bust the budget (mains from £19; tapas from £3; restauranteslagiralda.com).
Less than a ten-minute walk from there is Retiro Park, the lungs of the city and one of its greatest assets that won’t cost you a cent. While away the afternoon ambling round this former royal park marvelling at the Crystal Palace, statue walk, rose garden and colonnaded monument to King Alfonso XII until the Prado Museum — beside the Retiro — throws open its doors for free for the last two hours of the day (5pm on Sundays, 6pm on other days; museodelprado.es — download the one-hour itinerary that includes 15 of its most famed artworks and how to find them).
Madrid’s two other most celebrated museums — the Thyssen-Bornemisza (museothyssen.org) and Reina Sofia (museoreinasofia.es) — also have free opening times during the week.
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If you’re happy to fork out £14 there’s an excellent Monet exhibition at CentroCentro — within the Palacio de Comunicaciones, an easy walk from the city’s three principal museums — that runs until February 25 (centrocentro.org). While you’re in the building pay an extra £3 and head up to the eighth floor for panoramic city views from Mirador de Madrid. Or time your visit to coincide with the crazy and colourful annual carnival festivities, which this year will overtake many of the city streets between February 10 and 14.
● Madrid travel guide: what to do, where to stay and why you’ll love it
● Best things to do in Madrid
So where to stay? As in every European city there are hostels and cheap hotels galore. Among these you can generally rely on the Generator brand to deliver a youthful sense of fun and affordable accommodation in shared or private rooms. The Madrid outpost is just off Gran Via, the city’s main shopping street. The corridors may feel a little drab and dingy, but the rooms are clean and comfortable with good showers. There is also a colourful rooftop terrace with two hot tubs and a bar, a downstairs café and restaurant and a useful bank of lockers should you want to store luggage after checking out (room-only doubles from £112; staygenerator.com).
There are multiple places of interest to see within easy walking distance of the Generator. One option is to head south, in the direction of Plaza Mayor, the square at the centre of the old town, which is now something of a tourist trap, but still a must-see for first timers, with its colonnades and arches, cafés and street artists. Stop en route at the Church of San Gines (free entry) to see El Greco’s painting of Christ driving the money changers from the temple.
After Plaza Mayor graze on every type of tapas imaginable beneath the covered stalls at the nearby Mercado de San Miguel, before strolling on to the Royal Palace — no need to go inside; it’s sufficiently spectacular from the outside.
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How your £262pp adds up
● £147 return easyJet flights from Gatwick (flying out on a Tuesday morning and back on a Thursday evening and including a large cabin bag)
● £112pp two nights room only at the Generator (per person, based on two sharing a private room with en suite shower)
● £3 transfers from the airport to the city centre
Feeling flush? If you are inspired by Madrid but have more cash to splash, try these places to stay.
The £150-a-night hotel
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Room Mate Alba
There are a few Room Mate hotels in Madrid, but Alba is the pick. This hotel is a clever combination of affordability and grown-up design delivered by Lorenzo Castillo, one of Spain’s leading interior designers, who likes to play around with colour and pattern to create intimate, comfortable spaces. Its location on the pedestrianised Calle de las Huertas in trendy Barrio de las Letras, is excellent, with plenty of bars, restaurants and chic boutiques nearby, plus all the key sites are only a short walk away. Alba has no restaurant, but it does have a great bar, and a cracking breakfast buffet is available until noon.
Details Room-only doubles from £150 (room-matehotels.com)
The £400-a-night hotel
The Madrid Edition
There are several contenders for the ultimate splash-the-cash experience in Madrid, but perhaps the most fun is the Edition, a joint venture of design between the minimalist British architect John Pawson and the playful boutique-hotel maestro Ian Schrager. Think lots of white, everywhere, with serious pizzazz in pops of bright colour. There are 200 rooms, so it’s no shrinking violet; wow factor comes in the fabulous rooftop terrace and outside pool. Try its Mexican-inspired Jeronimo or Peruvian-inspired Oroya restaurants, or eat at any of the numerous places nearby (the hotel is a three-minute walk from Plaza Mayor).
Details Room-only doubles from £400 (editionhotels.com)
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