The Making of Madrid
Your guide to Spain’s capital
Insider Tips for Visitors to Madrid
First time in the city and don’t know where to start? This info will help you get oriented.
A Romantic Weekend in Madrid
Madrid is a city where romance thrives: from rooftop bars with breathtaking views, to passionate flamenco performances, to hidden gardens steeped in history. This guide to a romantic weekend in Madrid has everything you need, whether planning a surprise proposal, celebrating an anniversary, or just looking to escape together. From charming inns to candlelit dinners to…
Your Complete 3-Day Madrid Itinerary
Visiting Madrid for the first time? Then this is the post for you! In it, I’ll present a three-day itinerary that’ll give you a flavour of the city and hopefully leave you coming back for more! As everyone is different, it has lots of options for you to adapt it to your needs. On day one,…
A Wine Lover’s Guide to Drinking in Madrid
Madrid is an excellent place to enjoy wine, not only because of the variety on offer but also because of the unbeatable prices. It’s a subject that came up when I recently interviewed Luke Darracott for my podcast. “Spain and actually, I would say Portugal are probably the best two in the world for price to…
Quiet Madrid: Tranquil Spaces in Hidden Places
After eight years of blogging about the city of Madrid, I’m thrilled to announce the launch of my new guidebook: Quiet Madrid. A great companion to the Lonely Planet Madrid guidebook I worked on last year, this book features my own photography taken during countless explorations of Madrid’s quieter side, along with tons of insider knowledge…
Neighbourhood Guides
Trying to work out what parts of the city to explore? These posts will guide you through Madrid’s neighbourhoods.
Guide to Malasaña: Madrid’s Alternative Neighbourhood
Away from the tourist traps of Sol, lies Malasaña, a graffiti-spattered yet elegant neighbourhood filled with achingly cool boutique shops and hidden treasures. Once seedy and even a little dangerous, it’s been transformed for better and worse in the past few years by gentrification, making it a safer, yet increasingly chichi destination. While its heart is…
Guide to La Latina
In the heart of old Madrid and yet a world apart from the touristy mayhem surrounding the royal palace, La Latina is the perfect place to base a stay in the city. For me, the steeply sloping squares and cobbled streets of the barrio (neighbourhood) offer a tranquil retreat into historic Madrid. By contrast, the bustling…
Book launch: A Guide to Madrid’s Literary District
I’m delighted to announce that A Guide to Madrid’s Literary District will be officially launched in Secret Kindoms bookshop on April 20, 2024! Illustrated by Nathan Brenville and published by Secret Kingdoms, the book is a glossy bilingual guide to Barrio de las Letras. In honour of Cervantes, the launch of A Guide to Madrid’s Literary…
New Audio Tour of the City’s Muslim Origins
Think you know Madrid? Think again. Beneath the grand boulevards and baroque palaces lies a city with a very different origin story—one that’s largely hidden from view. My new audio tour with Voicemap, Medieval Madrid: A Guide to the City’s Muslim Past, peels back the layers of time to reveal a forgotten history that begins not…
Hidden Gems
My guide to Madrid, away from the crowds. For more on the city’s tranquil side, check out my book Quiet Madrid.
Hidden Corners of Retiro: The Artificial Mountain
A romantic folly I’ve spent a lot of time exploring hidden corners of Retiro recently while making my new audio tour for Voicemap. However, as Retiro’s Montaña Artificial (artificial mountain) lay well off my route, I hadn’t had time to visit since was reopened this summer. Still, I’m glad I waited. With the autumnal leaves in…
Madrid’s Hidden Gem: Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales
The big news at The Making of Madrid is that there’s a new podcast in the works. When the project was conceived, the very first person I wanted to interview was historian Caroline Fish – not only because she was about to leave for the States but also because she’s such an engaging speaker. A Fulbright…
Hidden Gems: the Hermitage of San Antonio de la Florida
Goya’s Hermitage: an ode to the majo Tucked away beneath the palace by the Manzanares River, the Hermitage of San Antonio de la Florida stands as a testament to Francisco de Goya’s artistic genius – a place where 18th-century Madrid comes to life and where the artist himself finds his final rest. Goya’s frescoes transform the…
Hidden Gems: Museo de Artes y Tradiciones Populares
Madrid’s Lavapiés neighborhood is home to one of the city’s most overlooked cultural treasures: the Museo de Artes y Tradiciones Populares. While this hidden gem lies off the beaten tourist track, offering a peaceful retreat from Madrid’s busier attractions, be warned that on a Sunday, you’ll find it closed when the bustling Rastro market takes over….
Popular Madrid History Posts
A history buff’s guide to the forces that have shaped Spain’s capital.
Hemingway in Madrid with Stephen Phelan
If you’ve ever wondered how Ernest Hemingway’s love affair with Spain shaped his writing, you’ll want to tune into my latest podcast interview. Stephen Phelan is a journalist who also leads a Hemingway-themed tour in Madrid that offers a vivid, no-nonsense take on the writer’s time here. Whether you’re a literature buff, a history geek, or…
The Habsburg Jaw Explained: The Price of 200 Years of Royal Inbreeding
What is the Habsburg jaw? The Habsburg jaw is a severe facial deformity characterized by a protruding lower jaw (mandibular prognathism) and receding upper jaw (maxillary deficiency) that plagued Europe’s most powerful royal dynasty for generations. This distinctive feature, visible in portraits spanning two centuries, resulted from inbreeding practices designed to keep power within the Habsburg…
Interview with Luke Stegemann
There’s a particular kind of authority that only comes from decades of showing up somewhere — not as a tourist, not even as an expert parachuted in for research, but as someone who has genuinely lived inside a place’s contradictions. Luke Stegemann has that authority with Madrid. He first arrived from Australia in the mid-1980s, when…
Why are true Madrileños called gatos?
What is a gato? Gato means cat in Spanish but in Madrid, it also refers to someone who can count their ancestry back two generations within the city. This means that both their parents and grandparents were born and raised here. While there’s a little bit of debate on whether this should be on both sides…
Watch or Listen to the Podcast
Prefer to listen to content? Then check out The Making of Madrid podcast.
Recent blog posts
Shopping for Souvenirs in Madrid with Heather Evans
For the latest episode of my podcast, I invited Heather Evans to come in for a chat about the best places to shop for souvenirs in Madrid. A Madrid-based guide and founder of “Madrid, by Hand”, Heather is the perfect person to tackle this topic as she runs private tours that connect travellers with the people,…
How to Get the Best Out of the Prado
The Prado is at the top of most people’s itineraries on a first visit to Madrid, but with visitor numbers to this enormous museum increasing, it can all feel a little overwhelming. That’s why a bit of planning is essential to get the most out of it. In my recent podcast, I covered tips and tricks…
Madrid´s Rebellious Side with Linda Jaivin
To coincide with the launch of her book “The Shortest History of Madrid”, Linda Jaivin sat down with me to discuss the history of Spain’s capital. It’s a great episode of the podcast that touches on the fearless women, wild fashion trends and popular uprisings that have shaped the city’s history across the ages. https://open.spotify.com/episode/3D5maVsDM4AtV7ZiTGnKKS?si=a93132765dd447f6 Linda…
Hemingway in Madrid with Stephen Phelan
If you’ve ever wondered how Ernest Hemingway’s love affair with Spain shaped his writing, you’ll want to tune into my latest podcast interview. Stephen Phelan is a journalist who also leads a Hemingway-themed tour in Madrid that offers a vivid, no-nonsense take on the writer’s time here. Whether you’re a literature buff, a history geek, or…
Journalism by Felicity Hughes
Felicity Hughes has written about Madrid for major publications, including Lonely Planet, the Guardian, the Financial Times and Time Out. Here are a few examples of her work:
Tours
Felicity Hughes can be hired as a guide to the city. Check the guided tours page to see if she’s available. Or consider getting one of her Voicemap audio guides.
Tour Reviews
