Madrid

Currency

Euro. Card acceptance is near universal. Keep €10-20 in coins for smaller neighbourhood bars.

ATMs & cards

Use BBVA, Santander or CaixaBank machines. Spanish banks increasingly charge non-customers €2-3, so withdraw larger amounts less often. Always decline conversion.

Spanish banks increasingly charge non-customers €2-3, so take out larger amounts less often.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

Safety

One of Europe’s safer capitals. Pickpockets work Sol, Gran Vía and the metro line to the airport. Summer heat above 38C is a genuine risk — plan indoor afternoons.

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

Entry & visa

Health & emergencies

Required to enter

No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.

Worth having

• Routine vaccinations up to date (MMR, tetanus, polio)

Getting treated

EU/EEA and Swiss visitors are treated on the same terms as residents with an EHIC or GHIC card; UK visitors use a GHIC. Everyone else pays, and travel insurance is worth having for the repatriation cover rather than the treatment.

Orientation, not medical advice. Entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history and where you have been — check with a travel clinic or your national health service four to six weeks before you go.

Food tip

Eat late — lunch at 14:30, dinner at 22:00. In La Latina, order a caña and the tapa often arrives free. Try bocadillo de calamares near Plaza Mayor.

Getting around

• Metro — one of Europe’s best, 12 lines, €1.50-2 per trip, runs to 1:30am
• Cercanías trains — for Toledo, El Escorial and the airport
• Walking — Sol to Retiro to La Latina is all walkable
• Bus — useful at night when the metro closes, the buhos run all night
• Airport: Metro line 8 or Cercanías from T4 (30 min, €5 with supplement)

Must-see

Things to do

• Spend a morning in the Prado
• See Guernica at the Reina Sofía
• Tapas crawl through La Latina
• Walk and row a boat in Retiro Park
• Tour the Royal Palace
• Watch a flamenco tablao in Lavapiés

Nearby day trips

Say a few words

Spanish

• HelloHolaOH-la
• PleasePor favorpor fa-VOR
• Thank youGraciasGRA-thyas
• Yes / NoSí / Nosee / no
• Excuse mePerdónper-DON
• How much is it?¿Cuánto cuesta?KWAN-to KWES-ta
• The bill, pleaseLa cuenta, por favorla KWEN-ta
• Cheers!¡Salud!sa-LOOD

Religion

Catholic

Nominally Catholic and deeply secular in practice. Churches are working buildings as well as sights, and Semana Santa is taken seriously even by people who never attend Mass.

Do's and don'ts

Do

• Eat late — lunch from 14:00, dinner rarely before 21:00
• Greet with two cheek kisses, right cheek first, between women or a man and a woman
• Stand at the bar to drink; it is cheaper than sitting and more sociable
• Say buenos días on entering a small shop, and adiós on leaving

Don't

• Do not expect anything to be open between 14:00 and 17:00 outside the big cities
• Do not order sangria in a serious restaurant — it is a tourist drink; ask for tinto de verano
• Do not tip heavily; rounding up or a euro or two is normal
• In Barcelona, do not assume Catalan and Spanish are interchangeable — the distinction matters to people