Priceless ... Madrid's famed Prado Museum.Credit: Reuters
If ever a city needed a full 24 hours to explore it's Madrid. So much art, so many bars, so much good food, so little time. What makes it so compelling is that the city is like a series of villages, each barrio with its own distinctive appeal. Most parts of Madrid are within easy walking distance but you can also use the efficient metro system.
6am
Atocha station. If you have just arrived in Madrid, welcome to one of the world's most beautiful railway stations, built in the late 19th century. If you have been up all night, as many Madrilenos have, come here to watch the steam rise on Atocha's indoor tropical garden.
7.30am
Madrilenos are not great ones for breakfast, usually grabbing a quick pastry and a coffee on the run. But if you have a sweet tooth you must try churros, fried doughnut-like strips that you dip in thick, liquid chocolate. To sample some for breakfast, head to Puerta del Sol, one of Madrid's historical hubs, and visit the Chocolateria San Gines at Pasadizo San Gines 5.
9am
Energised by churros and coffee, begin a cultural morning by stepping into one of the world's most valuable art collections at the Prado Museum. The Prado is wall-to-wall classics, with countless important works by Goya, Velazquez and El Greco, among many others. Open Tuesday-Sunday 9am-8pm, admission EUR6 ($11.80), see www.museodelprado.es/en/ingles.
Inspired by your prowl around the Prado, move on to the nearby Thyssen Museum (Paseo del Prado 8, open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-7pm, admission EUR6); and the Reina Sofia Gallery (Santa Isabel 52, open Monday and Wednesday-Saturday 10am-9pm, admission EUR3). The Thyssen is a delightful hotch-potch of paintings of different styles from a variety of eras and countries. The Reina Sofia is a powerful contemporary collection. It includes important works by Dali, Miro, Kadinsky and Picasso, whose masterpiece, Guernica, steals the show.
For a seriously meaty late lunch, head to the Museo del Jamon, on Carrera de San Jeronimo 6, back near Puerta del Sol. Eat a boccata (small sandwich) here, surrounded by hanging hams, sample some aged serrano jamon or, for more substantial fare, try the menu del dia (menu of the day) for about EUR12.
Walk off lunch in the expansive gardens of Buen Retiro (closest metro: Retiro) and stroll at the edge of the boating lake.
Join fellow tourists and locals sipping beer outside in the diminishing heat of the day at historic, colonnaded Plaza Mayor. Once the venue for coronations, bullfights, festivals and the finger-pointing of the Inquisition, it has at its centre a statue of King Philip III and recalls Spain's Golden Age, during the 16th and 17th centuries. The stone-paved plaza is a feast for the eyes with its fresco-adorned facades, busy arcades and procession of tapas dishes - from chunks of tortilla (potato omelet) to slices of spicy sausages sizzling in red-wine sauce - arriving at cafe tables all around the square.
9pm
Saunter through a slightly shabby labyrinth of city-centre streets to a late-night meal at an old tavern such as Botin (Calle Cuchilleros 17), Ernest Hemingway's one-time haunt and, according to the Guinness Book Of Records, the world's oldest restaurant, dating from 1725. It might be touristy but locals still flock here to feast on specialities such as cochinillo asado (roast suckling pig) and cordero asado (roast lamb) and the atmosphere is vibrant. Main courses from EUR18, three courses from EUR40.
12am
Outside again and into another humming square as the clock strikes midnight: the Plaza Santa Ana, near the Teatro Espanol, surrounded by broad stone buildings. The bars here are busier now than at any other time of day and families with small children are still sharing the square with smooching couples. Enjoy the quips of your Castizo (Madrid's version of a cockney) waiter as he serves you coffee or a brandy.
2am
Head next to one of central Madrid's cacophonous bars. At Los Gabrieles (Echegaray 17, Santa Ana), a former brothel run by gypsies, the frescoes on the tiled walls are nearly as noisy as the music and the hubbub of people shouting over it. In another, the 1920s La Dolores (Plaza de Jesus 4, Santa Ana), discussion moves effort- lessly from politics to religion to soccer, which is when it gets really passionate! Now it's either time for bed or carry on partying until dawn with the Madrilenos.
Thai Airways flies to Madrid for $1551. Korean Air has a fare for $1900 flying non-stop to Seoul (overnight at airline's expense), then to Madrid. Qatar Airways flies for $1230, with a partner airline to Asia and then Qatar Airways via an aircraft change in Doha. (Fares are low-season return from Melbourne and Sydney excluding tax.)
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