Madrid · Backpacking
ON A BUDGET
Madrid runs late and cheap: free museum hours, metro rides under two euros and tapas priced for locals.
Malasaña and Lavapiés
Hostel beds concentrate around Sol, but Malasaña and Lavapiés are cheaper, better fed and ten minutes' walk out. Sol is loud all night.
What a day costs
Dorm €20–35, a menú del día €12–15, ten metro rides on a Multi card about €12. A day works out at €45–80, roughly $50–90.
Getting around cheap
The rechargeable Multi card costs €2.50 once, then rides run €1.50–2. The búho night buses cover the hours the metro is shut.
Free by day
The Prado is free for the last two hours most evenings and the Reina Sofía similar; El Retiro, the Templo de Debod sunset and Matadero cost nothing ever.
Plaza del Dos de Mayo
Malasaña's square, where people drink on the terraces and the steps until late; free walking tours start from Plaza Mayor most mornings.