How To Plan The Perfect Art-Filled Trip To Madrid

At Dani, the latest venture of Michelin-starred chef Dani Garcia in Madrid, guests eat and imbibe art.

Tomate Nitro is one of his signature dishes. On arrival at the table, it is a circle of raw, finely chopped prawns around what looks exactly like a ripe red tomato, except ceci n’est pas une tomate.

It is, in fact, a reconstruction using nitrogen to remold the pulp and a gelatin coating for a realistic-looking tasty tomato sculpture.

Located on the seventh floor of the Four Seasons Hotel, Dani’s playfully presented plates are the perfect way to kick off an art-filled trip to Madrid.

What to see in Madrid: The golden triangle of art

Art aficionados will likely have already pinpointed Madrid’s museum hub, also known as the golden triangle of art.

Three stellar galleries are located along the Paseo del Prado, a leafy promenade closed to traffic on Sundays.

The Museo Nacional del Prado houses masterpieces from the 12th to the 20th centuries while the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía is home to one of the world’s largest collections of modern and contemporary art, including Picasso’s colossal Guernica painting.

The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum neatly fills the gap. Once the most significant private collection of art in Europe, visitors can now wander its salmon-pink salons for a whirlwind journey through the history of art.

The permanent collection houses works from an exquisite trompe l’oeil devotional icon by Van Eyck to a rare full-length portrait by Carpaccio and light-filled Impressionist landscapes leading to an intense emerald green Rothko.

Later in the year, the city will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Picasso’s death with blockbuster exhibitions in all the big three museums.

Madrid is also paying homage to artist Joaquín Sorolla on the 100th anniversary of his death. Head to the Palacio Real to immerse yourself in spring with dreamy, sun-splashed paintings of children on beaches and elegant ladies in gardens.

What to eat in Madrid: Art on a plate

After the deceptive tomato, rooftop restaurant Dani can satisfy aesthetic eaters with melt-in-the-mouth raw tuna in the form of a rose or a sea bass tartare with caviar presented like an abstract painting.

Downstairs on the hotel’s first floor, Isa restaurant dazzles diners with spectacular pre-dinner cocktails. They arrive inside a glass cube, on a mini illuminated disco floor or with a bubble that theatrically disappears into smoke.

Bartender Miguel Perez conjures up the cocktails in what looks akin to a science lab with distillation flasks and vials.

If you’re looking for a lunch spot when out and about, the unromantic grid streets of the Ibiza district hide a number of unassuming, excellent restaurants.

La Cocina de Frente has a fresh, retro interior of pale turquoise tiles, lace-draped lamps and vintage office furniture. Expect bright dishes with lots of greens, from the green bean and shrimp salad to the painterly plating of the hake with carrot and chili puree.

Vegetarians and vegans will feel center stage here as vegetables are the protagonists for many of the dishes.

The most beautiful neighborhood in Madrid: The literary quarter

Madrid’s barrio de las letras earned its moniker from the profusion of poets, writers and playwrights that have resided in its narrow streets. From Cervantes, Spain’s equivalent of Shakespeare, to Lope de Vega, they were the key figures of Spain’s golden age of literature.

Plaques indicate the houses where writers honed their craft, and recently there has been a push to bring recognition to the neighborhood’s female wordsmiths too.

Tree-shaded streets are lined with pastel-hued apartment blocks with wrought iron balconies.

At ground level, there are historic tiled tavernas and dinky coffee shops. Mill with Madrileños outside Cerveceria Cervantes for local $4 Mahou beer and free snack plates of cheese cubes or spicy salami.

Then nosy around bohemian boutiques selling flowy dresses and dried flower bouquets.

Where to stay in Madrid: Wake up with art

In the Four Seasons Madrid, which opened in 2021, you can feast your eyes on art quite literally from the moment you wake up.

The 200-room hotel is housed inside a complex of seven historic buildings that were once banks or insurance companies.

Peppered throughout the corridors, restaurants and rooms are contemporary artworks from the hotel’s vast collection.

Curated by Paloma Fernández-Iriondo and the Centro Canalejas Madrid, the works include several commissions from young Spanish artists.

In the lobby, there’s a gigantic whimsical sculpture of Disney-esque cartoon mice by KAWS (2013), while the stairs are enlivened by the jazzy gold Starry Night installation by Eduardo Pérez-Cabrero.

You’ll also be treated to bedside art appreciation, from bold abstract paintings to Cubist-inspired brush drawings.

The view from the rooftop spa terrace is no less picturesque as the sun rises over slender slate turrets, undulating Art Nouveau facades and sweeping boulevards.