Madrid Historic Walk: From the Royal Palace to the Retiro

Pre-booked online tickets skip the Puerta de Goya box-office line entirely and go straight in through the Puerta de los Jerónimos, the museum’s main accessible entrance on the east side next to the Jerónimos church (Puerta de Murillo also takes ticket holders). Show up at the wrong door with a phone ticket and you’ll be sent walking around the building to find the right one.

Kilometre Zero — the point every Spanish road distance is measured from — is a small brass-and-granite marker set into the pavement near the old post office, not a monument you can spot from across the square. It also sits in the most pickpocket-worked square in central Madrid, so treat the crush around the plaque as the moment to keep a hand on your bag, not to dig out your phone for photos.

The arcaded restaurants ringing Plaza Mayor itself are built for one-time tourists and it shows in the food. Head a couple of minutes south to Calle Cava Baja and the streets around Cuchilleros, where the tapas bars are still full of Madrileños rather than tour groups.