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Best in 3 Days Itinerary

Day 1

On the first morning, see the masterworks in the Museo del Prado and tour the Paseo del Prado between Atocha train station and Plaza Colón, past the fountains at Fuente de Neptuno and the Plaza de la Cibeles. Have lunch in or near Plaza Santa Ana. Then cut through the Puerta del Sol to see Madrid's Times Square on your way to the Plaza Mayor. Cut behind the glass-and-iron Mercado de San Miguel and through tiny Calle Puñonrostro to Plaza de la Villa on your way to the church of San Nícolas de las Servitas and then the Plaza de Oriente, where you can tour the Palacio Real and the Teatro Real. If it's summer, take in the sunset from a terrace table at El Ventorrillo at the south end of Calle Bailén's Viaducto. Later, visit the tapas bars along Cava de San Miguel and end having a drink on Plaza de la Paja or at the Café Marula terrace under the Puente de Segovia.

Day 2

On Day 2, see Picasso's Guernica and other works at the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. Have lunch on Cava Baja, in La Latina, and visit the nearby Basílica de San Francisco. If you have room for more art, explore the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, and take a sunset or an earlier stroll in the Parque del Buen Retiro before dinner.

Day 3

On Day 3, take a break from museums and wander along the castizo neighborhoods: the literary neighborhood around Plaza Santa Ana, Chueca (with some good lunch stopovers on Calle Libertad and Calle Barbieri), and Malasaña,walking from Centro Conde Duque to the Templo de Debod, in Parque del Oeste, to catch the last glimpse of the sunset. Finish off the day sipping a drink on any of the terraces on Calle Rosales, near the Templo, before dinner. If it's summer, say goodbye to the city by having an after-dinner drink at one of the terrazas on Castellana.

If you're in Madrid on a Sunday, take advantage of the morning to go to the Flea Market (El Rastro), then follow the crowd on a tapeo tour in La Latina, and end the day with the midnight jam session at Café Berlín, on Callao.