The total route is approximately 12 km and is estimated to take around 3 hours, depending on how many stops we choose to make along the way.

From the door of SLEEP’N ATOCHA, we head to the Reina Sofía Art Centre, where we can find an extensive collection of works, including Pablo Picasso’s *Guernica*. Directly opposite, with Atocha Station and the Ministry of Culture on our right, we enter the Botanical Gardens via the Paseo del Prado to reach the Prado Museum, which is free every day from 6.00 pm. Just behind the museum, and keeping a close watch over it, are the Church of Los Jerónimos, the Royal Spanish Academy of Language and the Casón del Buen Retiro, which was originally built as a ballroom for the court of Philip IV.

Heading down Felipe IV Street, we come to the Neptune Fountain and the Thyssen Museum; if we walk up Carrera de San Jerónimo, we can see the Congress of Deputies and the lions guarding its entrance. A little further up, after crossing Plaza de Canalejas, is Puerta del Sol with its famous clock and Kilometre Zero, the starting point for all the country’s roads. From there, along Calle Postas, we reach the Plaza Mayor and, a little further on, the Plaza de la Villa, where the Casa de la Villa is situated – one of the headquarters of Madrid City Council.

If we continue down Calle Mayor, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Almudena comes into view, and next to it stands the Royal Palace, the largest in Western Europe. Surrounding it is the Plaza de Oriente, flanked on one side by the Royal Palace and on the other by the Teatro Real, which has been designated a Site of Cultural Interest as a historic monument since 1993. On one corner of the square you can see the Sabatini Gardens, built after the Second Republic by Francesco Sabatini, architect to the Spanish Royal Family who also designed the Puerta de Alcalá.

From there, don’t miss the chance to visit the Temple of Debod – a little piece of Egypt in Madrid – a gift from Egypt to Spain in 1968 in gratitude for Spain’s help in saving the temples of Nubia, which were in danger of being lost due to the construction of a dam. Right next to it is Plaza España, from where we head up along Gran Vía, through Plaza de Callao and Calle Preciados, eventually reaching Calle de Alcalá, ending our walk with a view of the Cibeles Fountain, the Bank of Spain building and the old post office building, now the town hall.

From Cibeles to Plaza Colón, we walk along Paseo de Recoletos to reach the legendary Café Gijón, a cultural hub since 1888, where we can enjoy a coffee surrounded by history. It is no coincidence that opposite this café stands the National Library, which shares its premises with the National Archaeological Museum.

And for the final stretch of our walk, we have three key stops: first, we reach Calle Serrano, the legendary shopping street in the Salamanca district, which leads to the Puerta de Alcalá, built as one of the city’s five royal gates in 1778. And finally, before heading back to SLEEP’N, we’ll take a leisurely stroll through the famous El Retiro Park.