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.
Where to find a bathroom in Madrid
Updated 5 Dec 2025 On a trip to Madrid, finding public restrooms can be a challenging adventure for tourists. From historic streets to modern museums, finding a clean and accessible bathroom requires insider knowledge and a bit of strategic planning. Public bathrooms: the awful reality Finding a public bathroom in Madrid can feel like a quixotic…
Madrid’s Most Overrated Attractions
What’s Not Worth the Hype (and Where to Go Instead) Madrid is a stunning city brimming with history, art, and culinary delights, but let’s be honest—not every so-called “must-see” spot lives up to the hype. In my recent podcast, which you can listen to by clicking on the audio below, I explain why these overpriced and…
Mealtimes in Madrid
What are typical mealtimes in Madrid? Mealtimes in Spain can drive you crazy, especially if you arrive at a restaurant ravenous, only to find the kitchen won’t be open for an hour yet. As Madrid is always full of tourists, there will be places willing to serve you lunch at 12pm. Unfortunately, these are often tourist…
Madrid for Foodies
Madrid’s culinary scene is constantly evolving, and there’s no better guide to the city’s food than Joy, a tour guide and Instagram star who has spent years exploring its markets, restaurants, and tapas bars. I recently interviewed her for my podcast, which you can listen to below but if you’re short on time, here’s a roundup…
Neighbourhood Guides
Trying to work out what parts of the city to explore? These posts will guide you through Madrid’s neighbourhoods.
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…
Midstream Madrid Itinerary: the Hidden Heart of Old Madrid
Looking to escape the crowds in Madrid’s historic center? Just steps away from Plaza Mayor lies a peaceful neighborhood nestled between two ancient hills, where Madrid’s original streams once flowed. This hidden gem offers tranquil gardens, hushed churches, and authentic local spots that most tourists never discover. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJFCdwg6Xtk&t=2s The Secret Valley Between Two Hills Madrid’s original…
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…
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…
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 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….
Madrid’s Hidden Gems: The Manzanares River, with Clare Starkie
A deeper look at the Manzanares River Visitors to Madrid often leave the Manzanares River off their itineraries in favour of the Prado, the Royal Palace and Retiro Park. That’s not to say it isn’t popular. Ever since a €4 billion rewilding project was completed in 2011, the river has become a haven for locals taking…
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…
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…
Popular Madrid History Posts
A history buff’s guide to the forces that have shaped Spain’s capital.
Street Signs in Madrid: a Brief History
The beautiful tiled street signs in Madrid are one of the city’s most distinctive features and reproductions of them are sold by the bucket-load to tourists looking to take some souvenir of their stay back with them. But did you know that these iconic tiles only date as far back as the 1990s? What might surprise…
Key Moments in Madrid’s History: For Whom the Bell Tolls
San Pedro el Viejo and Madrid’s Muslim past Legends about Madrid’s dark past have long echoed through the city’s medieval streets, giving us flashes of insight into the city’s collective psyche. One of these legends involves a church nestled in the heart of historic La Latina. San Pedro el Viejo (or San Pedro el Real) sits…
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…
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…
Watch or Listen to the Podcast
Prefer to listen to content? Then check out The Making of Madrid podcast.
Recent blog posts
Fitness in Madrid with Marietta Sandilands
How healthy is the famous Mediterranean diet really? And where can you stay fit in Madrid without breaking the bank? In this episode, I chat with personal trainer and nutrition coach Marietta Sandilands about navigating health and fitness as a newcomer to Spain’s capital. https://open.spotify.com/episode/2npPy4GKbiI2a3hX7FM6FV?si=03d4327b83034f72 Marietta shares the surprising truth about changing dietary patterns in Spain,…
Guide to the Royal Armoury at Madrid’s Palacio Real
If you’re finishing up a visit to the Palacio Real and walk straight past the Royal Armoury without going in, you’re making a serious mistake. I know, I know — by the time you’ve done the palace, you’re tired, your feet hurt, and the café is calling. But trust me on this one: the Royal Armoury…
Best Five Episodes of The Making of Madrid Podcast
I’m delighted to announce that season two of The Making of Madrid podcast is coming on April 20! After a first season that earned a spot on Feedspot’s list of the 100 best podcasts in Spain, I’ll be back with more neighbourhood guides, practical travel tips, historical deep dives, and interviews with local experts. While you…
Audio Tour of Retiro
I’m delighted to announce that after months of hard work, my audio tour produced in collaboration with Voicemap has been launched. If you’re interested in finding out more here’s my sales pitch: Visiting Madrid and want to find out more about the history of its most famous park? Why not buy my audio tour of Retiro?…
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
