Madrid match day: Bernabéu tour at ten, Cava Baja tapas, kick-off at nine

A football day in Madrid: the Bernabéu stadium tour in the morning, a tapas route down Cava Baja in La Latina, a pre-match beer with Madridistas off the Castellana, and a Real Madrid home game at night. La Liga runs mid-August to May.

1. 10 am 1

   Bernabéu Tour: trophies, the skywalk and the tunnelMadrid

   Self-guided route through the rebuilt stadium: the Champions Room with 15 European Cups, the Ballon d'Or collection, a panoramic view from the top, then (normally) the changing rooms, tunnel and dugouts. Timed tickets from €39-45 online (2026), a couple of euros more at the desk; allow two hours. On match days the tour is cut to the museum and part of the stands and stops about 5 hours before kick-off, and the changing rooms close on match days and the day before. If Atlético are the ones at home, do the Metropolitano tour instead.

   8 min by train or taxi · 4.5 km
2. 12:45 pm 2

   Plaza Mayor on the way to La LatinaMadrid

   Metro line 10 back into the centre (from Santiago Bernabéu, or Nuevos Ministerios if line 10 works close the stadium station), then cross the arcaded 17th-century square and walk down Calle de Toledo to La Latina. Free.

   5 min walk · 400 m
3. 1:30 pm 3

   Tapas route down Cava BajaMadrid

   Madrid's densest tapas street; 13:00-15:00 is prime time. Start with the caramelised-onion tortilla pintxo at Juana La Loca (about €4.50), go Basque at Txirimiri (foie with fig), have the house vermut at Taberna La Concha, and finish with huevos rotos at Los Huevos de Lucio (or book Casa Lucio across the street, €30-50 sit-down). Sundays after El Rastro are packed; mind pockets. Many bars close for August.

   3 min walk · 100 m
4. 4 pm 4

   Siesta, then back northMadrid

   Rest at the hotel; it's a late night. Collect your match ticket on your phone, and bring ID. Metro line 10 runs straight back up to the stadium.

   8 min by train or taxi · 4.9 km
5. 6:45 pm 5

   Pre-match beer with Madridistas off the CastellanaMadrid

   A Madrid-based fan writer says the bars north of the stadium along Paseo de la Castellana fill with supporters, and fan meet-ups and chants gather at Plaza de los Sagrados Corazones; a second guide says head into the side streets off the Castellana. A caña is a few euros. Leave by 20:15: security queues at the gates get slow close to kick-off.

   3 min walk · 150 m
6. 8:30 pm 6

   Real Madrid at the BernabéuMadrid

   How to get tickets: buy only from the official Real Madrid website (or by phone, or at ticket office 44 in tower A the day before). Socios buy first, then Madridista members, then the general sale, which for most league games opens about a week before, often on a Monday morning, and for big games may open only days before or not at all. Sign up for sale alerts. Non-member league seats run from roughly €45-100 high up behind the goals to €600 for premium seats; Barcelona, Atlético and Champions League knockouts cost far more. Avoid touts and resellers: fakes are common. The third and fourth tiers give the best value view. Kick-off times are fixed only a couple of weeks ahead, so don't book flights too early.