Where to Stay in Madrid

01
Centro and Sol
Best for a first visit
Everything within walking distance and the metro hub under your feet. The trade is noise — Sol itself is busy at every hour, and the streets around it are where the tourist-priced restaurants concentrate.
Walk to old city
You are in it
At night
Loud
Nearest metro
Sol, in the middle
02
Malasaña
Best for eating and drinking well
North of Gran Vía, and the neighbourhood where Madrid’s better small restaurants are. Lively rather than rowdy on weeknights; the weekends are louder.
Walk to old city
10 min
At night
Medium to loud
Nearest metro
Tribunal, 4 min
03
La Latina
Best for tapas
The oldest part of the city and the tapas heartland. Sunday is the Rastro flea market, which fills every street from morning until mid-afternoon.
Walk to old city
10 min
At night
Loud at weekends
Nearest metro
La Latina, in it
04
Salamanca
Best for a quiet stay
The grid of nineteenth-century blocks east of Retiro, and the expensive shopping district. Calm, well kept, and further from the evening than it looks.
Walk to old city
20 min
At night
Quiet
Nearest metro
Serrano or Velázquez, 5 min
05
Paseo del Prado
Best for the museums
The museum boulevard itself, with Retiro behind it and Atocha station at the end for day trips. The most convenient base if the art is the reason you came.
Walk to old city
10 min
At night
Quiet
Nearest metro
Atocha or Banco de España

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Where not to book

01
A street-facing room on Gran Vía. It is the city’s main traffic artery and it runs all night; the noise is the single most common complaint about hotels there.
02
The streets immediately around Puerta del Sol. Central, and surrounded by the restaurants with photographs on the menu and staff outside waving you in.
03
Anywhere near Barajas airport. Metro line 8 reaches the airport from the centre in about thirty minutes, so there is nothing to gain from sleeping out there.

Common questions

Which area of Madrid is best for first-time visitors?

Centro, around Sol or between Sol and Plaza Mayor. Everything is walkable from there and the metro converges under it. Accept that it is noisy.

Is Salamanca a good area to stay in Madrid?

It is the quietest and best kept of the central districts, and the furthest from the evening. Good for a calm trip, less good if you want to walk home from dinner at midnight.

Where to Stay in Madrid

Centro and Sol

Malasaña

La Latina

Salamanca

Paseo del Prado

Where not to book

Common questions

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