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.
Retiring to Madrid for US Citizens with Marsha Scarbrough
For the latest episode of The Making of Madrid podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with writer Marsha Scarbrough, an experienced expat and correspondent for International Living magazine. Marsha was declared the “La Primera Exiliada” (the first exile) from Trump by El Mundo back in 2017 when she packed her bags and left for Madrid….
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,…
Best Day Trips from Madrid
While Madrid boasts fantastic art galleries and fabulous museums, if you’re interested in Spain’s Roman and medieval history, a day trip is your best bet. Only a short train or bus ride away, destinations like Segovia, Toledo, and Alcala de Henares never disappoint. Toledo Once the Visigothic capital of Spain, Toledo’s history goes all the way…
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…
The Insider’s Guide to Usera: Madrid’s Cultural Melting Pot
Welcome to the second instalment of my three-part series about Usera! In the first episode, I introduced the fascinating history of Usera and touched on some gentrification challenges. Today, we’re diving into what you can actually DO in the neighbourhood. As a resident of the area, I’m thrilled to share this lesser-known side of Madrid that’s…
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…
Where to Stay in Madrid: A Local’s Guide to the Best Neighborhoods
Originally published 8 December 2025 As a tour guide and Lonely Planet guidebook writer, I’ve been pounding Madrid’s streets for more than a decade, exploring not only its busy grand boulevards but also its charming quieter corners. So I’m a good person to ask about accommodation options if you’re a first timer with only a few…
Hidden Gems
My guide to Madrid, away from the crowds. For more on the city’s tranquil side, check out my book Quiet Madrid.
Madrid’s Most Underrated Attractions
Madrid is full of world-famous attractions, but if you only stick to the big hitters, you’ll miss out on some of the city’s most fascinating spots. For every overcrowded tourist trap, there’s a dusty but delightful museum waiting to be discovered. It’s a topic I tackle in my latest podcast, which you can listen to by…
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….
Hidden Gems: Campo del Moro
Nestled below the royal palace lies one of the city’s most beautiful and overlooked treasures: the Campo del Moro gardens. One of the destinations in my new book Quiet Madrid: A Guide to the City’s Third Spaces and Hidden Places, these stunning gardens offer both tranquility and a fascinating glimpse into the city’s medieval past. A…
Popular Madrid History Posts
A history buff’s guide to the forces that have shaped Spain’s capital.
A History of Chocolate and Churros
Updated 10/2/2026 A crunchy deep-fried churro dipped in a gloopy cup of chocolate is one of the most decadent and divine culinary pairings in history. It’s a calorific breakfast that can be enjoyed in churrerías throughout Madrid setting any tourist up for the busy day sightseeing. Surprising then that while both churros and chocolate have a…
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…
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…
Watch or Listen to the Podcast
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Recent blog posts
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…
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…
Eating Gluten Free in Madrid: A Celiac’s Guide to the City
After recently developing a mild intolerance to wheat, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Madrid is an excellent destination for gluten free eating. Knowing that this was an issue that affects many travellers, I decided to sit down with a proper expert to get the low down for my podcast. Gareth Sewell is an event…
Madrid’s Hidden Black History with Kwame Ondo
The story of Black people in Spain didn’t begin with slavery, or even with Columbus, but centuries earlier. This lesser-known narrative is explored in the latest episode of the Making Madrid Podcast, where I sat down with Kwame Ondo, a tour guide, actor, and activist who has made it his mission to bring Madrid’s hidden Black…
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
