48 Hours in Madrid (Spain's Gorgeous Capital!) 🇪🇸 Things to Do + Eat!

Madrid, the center of Spain. Geographically, politically, culturally. This week we want to learn about what it really means to be a Madrileño. We want to experience the palaces, the plazas, the football, the jamón. This is eating good. This is sitting good. Thank you, Madrid. But Madrid is not a new place for me. The last time I came here it was 2007 on a family vacation. My hair was bigger and my suitcase was half Albuquerque polos. And I had never been to a Spanish-speaking country outside of my home country of Mexico. And this place surprised me in the way it felt like home. But also slightly different in the weirdest ways. The different words they used like vosotros, the food and how delicious it all was. I was hooked. Now I'm back years later and I've got a big question on my mind. Has Madrid changed? Good morning travelers. We made it to Spain. You guys have been asking for this series for I don't even know how long. I know. It's early, Madrid is waking up and we're also waking up. And we're gonna start this journey over here in Plaza del Sol. This was supposed to be a 72-hour guide to Madrid but yesterday we had some flight complications and now we have to do everything we want to see here in 48 hours. So hi Plaza and bye Plaza because I have some churros I'm desperately wanting to eat right now. Let's go to get some Madrid breakfast. Priorities. Any day that we can start with churros is going to be a good day. This has been the meal I've been most excited for in our nine-part series here in Europe. The smell in this place is incredible. A lot of people come to Madrid and they do churros and chocolate elsewhere. Had a very popular place but this place is super underrated. It's been family-owned for generations. This chocolate looks like they've just taken a chocolate bar and just melted it and served it to me. I'm so excited to try this and according to Martin, you can dip them. So. No, you must. You must dip them. I've never done that with a churro so I'm very excited. Whoa. That is some thick chocolate. Holy Toledo. This is amazing. Do we have breakfast plans tomorrow? We do. Dang it. I want to come back here. Maybe before we leave. Before we go on the plane. It's so good. We needed to order more guys because that's too little for great chocolate and we ordered these ones. These ones they don't call it churro. They call it porras. It's fine to me. It's like a churro. Churrote? Churrote. Which ones are better? Really? Dang it. I ate almost that whole plate. This one's because I think the chocolate stays more over there. It's less crunchy but it's good for the chocolate. Interesting. It's safe to say that Churreria Chocolateria 1902 is definitely underrated but our next stop, well no one's missing it. This is where Madrid puts its biggest moments on display. This one, this plaza, right now it's called Plaza Mayor but it has been called different names. Plaza de Arrabal, Plaza Real, Plaza de la Constitución, Plaza de la República. So many, many names. So this is nice because normally there's a lot of people sitting over here so you cannot see this but it tells you the story about this place. It used to be bullfighting over here. Also they tell you the story about the different fires in this in this plaza. This one for instance is in 1790. The name of the architect, Juan de Villanueva, and there was also trials over here but also carnivals. So it's a very important plaza for the history of Madrid. It's very good that we have to see this before it's completely full of people. There is something I was always curious about in Madrid. I heard rumors about cookies made from nuns in a 17th century monastery called Monasterio de Corpos Cristi. So of course we have to find out if it was real. Where are you taking us? To get some candy. Juliana had questions, fair ones, because yeah, there's no one else over here and telling her I saw on the internet we can buy sweets in this completely empty monastery, that sounds like a good plot for a horror movie. But you need to trust me here. This is so strange. What? You can buy this here in this church but there's no one working here. They're the nuns. What? Today we'll be buying the cookies without being face to face with anyone. Instead we'll use this wooden turnstile to buy what they call galletas de convento. That has to be the craziest way I've ever bought cookies in my life, Martín. And look at that, we got the whole box to take home with us. What kind did we even get? I was so swept up in the moment. It's almond. Oh my gosh, that's gonna be so good. We were gonna try these but the thing is, is we're cramming three days worth of eating into two. So I think we're just gonna take it home as souvenir. Definitely, but that was a great experience. Yeah, super cool. Across town is our next spot, so we hop the metro and head to Parque del Vertiro. Once a royal playground for King Philip IV, now it's one of the few places where Madrid actually slows down. There's 15,000 trees, 350 acres, and these cute little boats and ducks that made us forget for a minute that we're in the middle of a capital city. When we were planning Madrid, this was over there in our plans, but then when we knew we needed to shorten to 48 hours, we said, ah, we cannot put this. Yeah, so we weren't supposed to be here, but guess what? When you have a fire under your butt to get things moving, sometimes you end up doing things faster than you expected. So we had a little spot because we can't keep eating food. We're still full from the churros. And we're very glad we're here because it looks amazing, even though I think the biggest attraction of this park, that is the Crystal Palace, is closed, still it's a beautiful place to be. The cemetery, the people on their little boats, and the ducks in the little pond over here, the school kids walking by. Yeah, people walking their dogs. It's a beautiful, beautiful morning, and I'm very grateful I'm alive to see this beautiful park. Really sweet, honey. It's a, it's a, I think it's a nice time to be alive over here in Madrid in a morning like this. It is, I agree. Okay, enough being sentimental. We're hungry again, and when lunchtime hits in Madrid, there's only one place you gotta go, Mercado San Miguel. This place has been around for over a century, but it wasn't like this last time I was here. For a while, it was falling apart and was almost demolished entirely, but in 2009, it came back to life, and now it's one of the best examples of Madrid's revival and a good place to eat. Oh my god, that looks like something I want. Oh my god, it smells so good in here. And we're hungry, so that's the perfect combination. Oh my gosh, mi amor, we're like five feet in, and we already have three places on our definitely want that list. I know, probably we're going to find more. We get a lot of things here, like this sampler of various tortillas from a stand called Pico Listo, and this monster of a tapa at Mozzarella Bar. This place is the epitome of girl dinner, and I love it. Lots of just little things to snack on, but I am eyeing this bad boy. Look at all this burrata cheese. When I saw this, I knew immediately I was going to inhale this in about 15 seconds flat. It looks so good. This is my favorite. This one, it's called the because it has, it's not called like that, but I name it like that because it has everything that Martin likes. Olive, dried tomato, cheese, pickle. Come on, I'm gonna start doing this whenever I'm watching football at home. Yeah, honestly. I don't even know how to eat this. Oh, it's gonna fall. Okay. Oh my god, there's like this sweet tomato jam on top and so much burrata. They know me. This is like an entire burrata portion in one bite. It's so good. I'm gonna try this, and for a Mexican like myself, I have to tell you the tortilla here is very different because it's made of potato and eggs, not like the one at home. The bread is toasted, and then the tortilla de patata is not well done, which I like. And you don't mean not well done like bad. You mean not like super cooked. Exactly. That's the way it has to be. And also on top it was like a little sauce. I thought it was tomato, but no, it was a little spicy, which I love. Now, don't tell the other countries or the other cities, but for me personally, Madrid is in the top five cities in the entire world where you eat the best. It's amazing. It's amazing. It's amazing. And I'm enjoying, I'm in heaven right now. Now, one of the biggest things we were warned about before coming to Spain was pickpocketing, especially in Madrid and Barcelona. Every local we met had a story. And once you've been in a crowded market like this, you get it. So some tips we always tell our viewers, keep your phone in zip pockets, use crossbody bags and keep them on you at all times, and turn your backpacks to the front in busy areas. But here's something nobody talks about. Digital pickpocketing. Today's video is brought to you by NordVPN, who keeps us safe online while we travel. Because just like someone can reach into your pocket in real life, someone can reach into your device on an open network and grab your passwords, banking details, even your location. We've been guilty of clicking any free Wi-Fi we find, but sometimes that Wi-Fi is a little too free. But it's not just cafes. Even hotel Wi-Fi or airport networks can be risky, especially whenever you're booking flights or checking your bank account. That data is just floating around for anybody to grab it if you're not protected. That's why we never log into public Wi-Fi anymore without a VPN. We use NordVPN because it keeps everything encrypted, even if the Wi-Fi isn't. And it's not just about safety. When we're abroad, websites sometimes block access just because we're not in our home country, like airline sites showing different prices or even our favorite streaming networks not working. With NordVPN, we can switch our location and use the internet like we're back home. So yeah, if you're traveling, we're remote, stream content, or you want peace of mind when you hop online, NordVPN is what you need. Go to nordvpn.com slash local for a two-year plan plus four extra months at a huge discount, risk-free with Nord's 30-day guarantee. Madrid is a funny city because there's a lot of little details that you can find on top of the doors, on top of the buildings. You know, there's certain things you really have to look it up for those kind of details that makes this city special. For example, over on Gran Via, Madrid's central hub for shopping and Broadway shows, you'll find some pretty crazy details if you just look up. Like this statue of a Roman goddess shooting down a phoenix on the other side of the street. And if you look down, the pavement below actually has a print of the arrows too. It's fun stuff like this that made me love this place whenever I first visited. And speaking of fun, I know a neighborhood for that. We decided to move over to La Chueca. This is a neighborhood you want to party. Let me tell you that we are not very party people, at least not anymore. So we are here just exploring and finding a place to eat. I remember when I came here with my family a lot of years ago, this neighborhood, it looked so different. It had a lot of personality and definitely it changed through the years. Yeah, unfortunately, you know, I think this neighborhood is for someone. It just maybe isn't for us anymore and that could be largely due to the fact that we have traveled to a lot of neighborhoods like this recently through our travels. You know, the gentrified neighborhood of the city. There's lots of coffee shops here and lots of cute bars, so it's definitely a good place to pass by those hours before dinner. But other than that, is it worth going out of your way to go through here? I don't necessarily think so. Yeah, exactly. As you said, mi amor, it's only to have a drink with someone of your friends or like hang around a little bit. And speaking of drinks with your friends, there's a cool bar on the other side of the city that is, well, different than anything we'd find in La Chueca. And one thing you need to know about us is that we personally are suckers for any kind of themed bar. We're at this place that is called La Carreteria. That means the hardware store. And we wanted to eat something over here, but we didn't know that the kitchen is closed certain hours and we walked so far to get over here. But well, at least we're having a drink and we're admiring this place because it's something else. Along all the wall, there's certain things that you will buy in a place like this. You know, we're not regarding it, but still we need something to eat. I did the research. This place is supposed to have very good food. But well, the kitchen is closed. What we can do? We decided to wander a bit when we come across a place that doesn't look like much from outside, but inside it's packed with locals fresh out of work eating some delicious and affordable tapas. This looks like our type of place. We really wanted to live the experience of tapas and we found the right place to do it. This place is called Los Gatos. The menu is extensive. I knew this was going to be a good spot because when we sat down, they threw these delicious sausages in front of us. Like smoked. So, so smoky and melt in your mouth. That's right. They were so good. I want to figure out what they were. And without asking, it was like welcome. It was amazing. So in front of us, we have several tapas, but we're going to just keep ordering more and more and more. These look delicious. I'm so glad we're here. Yeah. No frills, no lines, just locals having tapas. And that's exactly what we wanted here in Madrid. Another day in Madrid. I'm excited for day two. I think it's going to be a very different day than it was yesterday. We have a lot of fun things to do today. Yeah. We're starting off here in Plaza de España. What a gorgeous place. And what do you say we take a look through here before we head to our next stop, which is a museo, a museum, which is a museo, a museum, like you've never seen before. A museum, a museum. Shut up. You know, we make these videos in English and Spanish. I get a little stuck sometimes. I love it. I love it. Anyway, let's go to the museo. A museo, a museum. Okay. Here's a tip for you. Don't learn English from me. Today, we aren't visiting a museum with ancient sculptures or dusty oil paintings. This is a temple of taste, a monument to the noble pig. Welcome to El Museo del Jamon. Inside, legs of ham dangle from the ceiling like holy relics, and the energy is part deli, part fever dream. So this is the museum that we were talking about. And it has a very special place in my heart over here because every single day when we were in Madrid with my family, that is the best trip that I remember with them, we always wanted to have a breakfast over here. But it was this, juice, a sandwich, and a coffee. Every single day before we start exploring beautiful Madrid, we're having this. And right now, it's hard being over here without them because I live now in the U.S. So it's difficult for me to see them or it's difficult for me to have a trip with them, especially a great one like it was in Madrid. So it just brings me back. This reminds me. So the first thing that it was in my plans whenever we knew we're coming over here to Madrid was having this breakfast. And I don't want to cry whenever I have the first bite, but probably I will. This is very important for me. And I will send a picture, of course, to my family. I love you guys. As good as I remember, I miss my family. Guys, what are you doing down there? Come here with us. We're in the Royal Palace of Madrid. This is the, what did you say? Largest palace in Occidental Europe. Is that correct? That's correct. Almost double the size of Versailles and also Buckingham Palace. And if you're planning to come over here, book your tickets in advance because the line is quite shorter if you do that. Yeah, for sure. Let's go take a look inside. Let's go. Technically, this palace is the official residence of the Spanish royal family, but no one is actually living here. These days, it's just used for state ceremonies. And this place is massive. There's over 3,400 rooms across 135,000 square meters. It costs 14 euros to enter here, and even though it's crowded, it's one of the spots we think it's worth it. This is palace eleganza extravaganza to the max. Everything is so ornate. It's breathtaking. And Martín was just telling me something funny that I can definitely relate to. He was saying when he visited here with his family, he did not appreciate this place as a 17-year-old. And that's the funny thing about travel is you can go to a place at a different period of your life and have a different takeaway of it. This place is really cool. And I'm realizing that maybe we need to redecorate our apartment, honey. We need a bigger budget. Si. Very, very nice to live over here. It's beautiful. The only con, it will be like you're in one side and it's like, oh my god, I forgot my cell phone in the other. You have to walk all the way over there. So now I'm good in my place. I think that people who live here, they have people for those types of tasks. That's true. Time for lunch, and we're not going to lie. We tried to come to this place yesterday, but we couldn't. So if you try to come to this place, please make a reservation. So this place is called La Rosería, and it's specialized on rices. So I bet it's going to be a very good lunch. This is eating good. This is sitting good. Thank you, Madre. Because it's quite literally just come out of the kitchen, they warn you when you order this that it's going to take 30 minutes for it to come out. That's how I knew this was a good spot, because everything is fresh. Now, this is not paella, okay? I know a lot of tourists will see this and say, oh, it's paella. Not everything with rice is paella. Do they serve a really good paella here? Yes, probably the best in the city. But what we ordered today was one of their famous rice dishes. This is packed with all sorts of meat, an entire clove of garlic, and I kid you not, even just the rice itself is so flavorful. And what's fun is that this is big enough to share for two people, so we are enjoying this lunch Madrid style. You guys didn't think we're going to be in Madrid and not seeing the Santiago Bernabéu, right? Is there anyone who's surprised that we're here right now? Because I am not. Martín is a notoriously huge football fan, so of course we needed to do a stadium tour of where real Madrid plays. For 35 euros each, we got to walk through this huge museum, and we learned all about the stadium itself and got to all the trophies. It's very rare that I, someone who does not watch sports, gets very impressed with a stadium, but check this out guys. They can actually flip the field that's in the middle. That's really cool. I mean, it's amazing. People are going absolutely nuts over all of this stuff. I'm excited for them, even though I don't know much about football. I'm trying. What was that? Martín is indoctrinating me into the football world, so slowly I'm learning, and you know, he's just so happy to be here. Yeah, especially in this room, because there's the 15th Champions League of Real Madrid, which is a big deal. I don't know much about football, but I do know that that's a lot. Yeah, definitely. I'm glad I got to see the stadium, but also I really want to be real with you. We have done much better stadium tours in other places where we have a guide, and it costs much lower. Super fans of Real Madrid will still love this experience, but it's probably worth skipping if seeing the stadium isn't a huge goal of yours, but I will say I was happy that at the end we have as much time as we wanted to take pictures inside of the stadium. There's something else, definitely something else, and yes, of course, I'm wearing my Pumas jersey because Hugo Sánchez. You know, I came back to Madrid expecting change, and there has been some. I noticed more tourists, trendier bars, and a few new corners I didn't know, but what's wild is how much it hasn't changed at all. The buildings there are still grand. The jamón is still salty. Actually, Madrid didn't change much. I did. Back then, I didn't know how rare it was to travel with your whole family. I didn't realize how precious time was. I wonder where I would be in life next time I'm in Madrid. All right, enough of that. We have one last meal over here. Well, we did it, mi amor. We made it to our last spot. Hey, I don't want to leave. I don't want to leave. I don't either. We really liked Madrid. These last two days, it was a great experience over here in the capital of Spain, and definitely, it's a place that I will come back. Now, this video focused a lot on tradition, you know, seeing the real Madrid. Yeah, the culture of Madrid, but there's one spot, as we said, our flight got delayed, so the first day, we arrived over here very late, so we just walked over here to Gran Vía, and we were looking for some dinner, and we found this spot. Yeah, this was not even supposed to make it into the itinerary, you guys. It's totally different from something we would normally show in our videos because this is a very popular spot on social media, but guess what? It deserves a spot in this video because it was that good. We've been dreaming about returning, so unlike us. But we're going to show you guys what is it. It's a pasta place. It's amazing, and we're going to have dinner over here. A good dinner. We're probably going to order the exact same thing we did the other night. Definitely. This is Vida Pasta. The inside looks like a spaceship, and you can look through the spaceship windows to watch them making the fresh pasta. It's not like any Italian restaurant we've ever seen before. Martín loves the tartufo fest, which is like cacao y pepe, but served straight from a cheese wheel, and I went for the candy me, which is actually burrata stuffed pasta in a pecorino cream and tomato sauce that is life-changing. And that's the reason why I'm suggesting this place. Not only because they have fresh made pasta every single day, also because they serve it in such fun ways. You see how they serve my pasta. And also Juliana, it's made like little candies. Yeah. Not only it's fun how they make it, it tastes delicious. Delicious, guys. It's one of the best pastas we have. And what I really wanted to come back for was their incredible, I think it's called the habibi cake dessert. It is Dubai chocolate, which I had never had before coming here. And you guys need to hear the crunch on this thing. So good. It's like, I don't even know what's in this. I know there's pistachio and chocolate and so much whipped cream as you guys can see. There's magic. So good. Next week we're headed to Sevilla. We cannot wait to share that video with you guys. But in the meantime, we're gonna leave you one video so you can watch our adventures. So long. Travel well. Make the world your neighborhood. See you guys next time. Bye.