The Sustainable Travel Guide to Madrid, Spain
Palacio de Cristal, in El Retiro park
WHY YOU SHOULD VISIT MADRID
Oh, Madrid. I could write an ode to this wonderful city that has a special room in my heart. It’s a place I visited as a kid; where I did a semester exchange program during my bachelor’s degree; where my partner was born and raised, and where my in-laws live, and we therefore visit often. For all these reasons–together with its inherent own glow–Madrid is a second home to me. I’ve walked miles in this city throughout the years, but 2021 was the first time I went since I started taking sustainability more seriously, and I therefore lived it with different eyes. That’s why I prepared this sustainable travel guide of Madrid, so you can use it if you travel there in the future.
Besides my personal love for this city, Madrid has lots of positive qualities that make it an amazing city to visit. From its beautiful architecture to its breathtaking parks, you will be amazed by something in every corner. The spaces that make up the city are unique and pretty, but Madrid is nothing without its people. The ‘madrileños’ have a collective essence so powerful that it transcends the city’s streets. They’re the soul of Madrid and enliven it with their contagious love for life. Even when you read in the newspapers that the unemployment rate has gone up, or when snow is threatening to change the colors of the city, you will find ‘madrileños’ in a ‘terraza’ drinking a ‘clara’. Even after they’ve all gone home and surrendered to the night’s insistence, Madrid remains alive through the piled-up energy from the day.
The Best Time to Visit Madrid
I was lucky enough to visit this city in all four seasons, and the truth is anytime of the year is a great time to go to Madrid. The best is going during the spring and autumn months–as is probably the case with most places. Not only the city looks beautiful with its thriving flowers and warm leaves, but the weather allows you to do many activities that could be hindered by colder or warmer weathers. However, Madrid’s winter is not a tough one, especially because it’s a dry city. If you visit before or on the holidays, you can rejoice in seeing Puerta del Sol and its surrounding streets covered in Christmas decorations and lights. Summer, on the other hand, is too hot for many people. When I visited it this year, I went in August. It wasn’t that hot for me personally, but maybe that’s because I live in Miami and I’m used to humidity and high temperatures (whereas in Madrid, you can freshen up by just standing in the shade where light breezes flow). The whole city was empty, as many locals close their stores and take time off their work to go on holidays to the coast.
Edificio Metrópolis, in the intersection of Gran Vía and C. de Alcalá
A SUSTAINABLE AND CONSCIOUS TRAVEL GUIDE TO MADRID, SPAIN
plant-based FOOD in madrid
As a celiac and a vegan, I like to plan in advance to make sure I find good places to have a proper meal. Of course, I’m spontaneous sometimes, and just stop at a few places and ask if they offer any gluten free and vegan options. That takes a more effort and negotiation skills, and it’s better for smaller meals or some appetizers. If you know some things beforehand, you will find plenty of options to eat your way through Madrid.
Vegan Restaurants in Madrid
There are many vegan places in Madrid, most of them located in the central part of the city.
VEGA is a vegan restaurant in Malasaña, with pretty interiors, and outdoor seating–where we chose to eat. To me, there’s nothing more Spanish than eating on the streets, in the famous ‘terrazas’. We were four, and we ordered croquetas (a spanish classic), alcachofas (artichokes), a burger, and the green risotto. For dessert, we devoured the apple and banana pie with redcurrant and berries ice cream, (it also had a caramelized chia crust), and the carrot cake with black beer, lemon frosting, and yuzu cream with pistachio. Are you hungry now? Don’t blame me. The menu was pure gastronomic poetry.
Another place we went to was Distrito Vegano in Lavapiés, which had a more laid-back vibe, and another type of menu. They have some classic Spanish dishes, like potato tortilla, but they also have a few Mexican inspired food, and some typically fast food items, such as chilli cheese fries and hot dogs. We ordered XL Nachos, croquetones, the Distrito Vegano sampling, and the encheeseladas, which are corn tortillas filled with vegan meat, beans, vegan cheddar, and pico de gallo.
Additionally, a restaurant that has many vegan options is Honest Greens. It has several locations in Madrid, although I visited one of the Barcelona spots.
Green Risotto in VEGA
Markets
If you don’t want to go to a restaurant, there are other options to have a great vegan meal in Madrid. There are many markets in the city, where you can find lots of local vegetables and fruits, as is the case with Mercado Antón Martín.
Supermarkets
In case you want to cook something, instead of dining out, I was lucky enough to run into Only Vegan, an entirely vegan supermarket in the Chueca neighborhood. They sell lots of snacks, frozen goods, vegan cheese, and prepared food. They sell Heura products, which could be the Spanish equivalent to the Beyond and Impossible brands in the U.S.A. I tried the Heura nuggets, which are made from tofu, and breaded, and are gluten free. This vegan supermarket also sells tons of zero-waste house products, including air freshener and glass cleaner, which are sold in bulk, as well as solid deodorant, bamboo combs, and plastic-free toothbrushes.
I also spent some time at the supermarkets, looking for vegan products (besides the obvious vegetables, fruits, nuts, etc.). There are many possibilities for vegans: countless vegetable milks, hot dogs, pizza, cookies, palmeras, seitan, tofu, butter, yogurt, ice cream, cheese, and many others in their vegan versions. As if this wasn’t enough, you are free to try numerous classic Spanish products that are already vegan, including olive spread (and olives in general), artichoke hearts, Spanish tortilla (using chickpeas, instead of eggs), azafrán, among others.
In some supermarkets, they tag vegan food with green signs, and also do it with organic products, which are usually labeled as ‘Bio’. If you read labels scrupulously, you can find fair trade, organic, and vegan certifications. Be careful with the European Vegetarian Union label, because they use the same drawing for both vegetarian and vegan products. You’ll have to make sure that the word written below that drawing is ‘VEGANO’, and not just ‘VEGETARIANO’.
Vegan Snacks and Coffee in Madrid
Every coffee shop I went to, offered several plant-milk options, the most popular being oat and soy, so don’t worry about having to drink espressos or americanos instead of the usual café con leche!
Another great spot we found while walking–serendipity style–was Amazonia. They have delicious açai bowls, and most of them are vegan and gluten free, and if they aren’t, they can be.
When I was studying in Madrid, I was looking for gluten free bakeries, and found Celicioso. I had already been diagnosed with celiac disease, but was only a vegetarian, so I could eat anything they sold there. This was the first time I visited while being a vegan–I went to Celicioso Barcelona, as they have multiple locations–and they have some vegan cakes and cookies!
Amazonia’s acai bowls
MOVING AROUND MADRID SUSTAINABLY
Madrid: A Sustainable City
Madrid has taken some actions to become a sustainable city. One of the things they did was designate ‘Madrid Central’, which is a low-emissions area that began working on 2018, and that favors the pedestrians, bikes, and public transport. Some streets don’t allow vehicles to circulate. This way, the central district becomes a ‘lung’ for the city.
Walking in Madrid
Besides Madrid Central being a great measure, it’s the perfect city to walk around. In the months I spent in college there, I would walk from La Latina to Moncloa, where I would grab the bus to campus, and stop halfway for a café. Madrid is an oxymoron, it’s big, but small as a town. Plus, if you don’t walk, you’ll never get to savor the cute streets and breath Madrid’s soul.
Other eco-friendly ways to tour Madrid
However, if walking is not your cup of tea, there are other sustainable ways to move around Madrid. The city offers a public bike rental service called BiciMad, which is supplied by 100% electrical bikes, and distributed across 208 stations. Another option is carsharing. A few companies like Car2go, Emov, Wible, and Ubeeqo, have countless cars–mostly electrical–parked throughout the city, which you can pinpoint with their corresponding app, and rent for an hour or a few days.
Finally, as in every major city, you have the possibility to take a train, subway, or a bus. Madrid’s public transportation system is a work of art that connects the entire city and its surroundings. For instance, you can take a train directly from Atocha to Cercedilla, to go to the mountains. Then, if you feel like going to Puerto de Navacerrada to ski, you can take a train there too.
The Atocha station: taking a train to Barcelona
CONNECTING TO NATURE IN MADRID
Within Madrid, there are several places where you can connect with nature. Whenever you are craving some green, you can visit one of Madrid’s innumerable gardens and parks, where you can take a stroll, have a picnic, or just be. My favorite ones are El Retiro–which is full of treasures, like a crystal palace, or a rose garden–as well as the Botanical Garden, El Capricho, Jardines de Sabatini, Casa de Campo, Parque del Oeste, and Campo del Moro. Even inside Atocha station, there is a conservatory, and there is a gorgeous vertical garden outside Caixaforum.
In case these Little urban oases don’t satisfy your insatiable cravings for nature, there are other options right outside the city. San Lorenzo del Escorial is a beautiful town in the Guadarrama mountains, whose central piece is its majestic monastery. However, you can find many natural spots right outside town. For example, you can hike to Mount Abantos. When I visited this year, we went to hike Siete Picos, also in the Sierra de Guadarrama, where you have a great view of the mountains, and even Segovia (and several rocks to climb!).
The vertical garden at Caixaforum
Sustainable and Eco Shopping in Madrid
Some people love to shop when they travel. I’m not the case, especially because I don’t feel like shopping if I travel; I prefer touring the place differently. What I would buy if I stumbled upon it, and fell in love with, is used books. There are several used bookstores in Madrid, hiding gems that could be a great souvenir for the book lovers.
For the fashion lovers, there are some sustainable clothing stores in Madrid, like Biocottoniers, Brava Fabrics, Ecoalf, and The Circular Project, all of which offer ethical and eco-friendly clothes and accessories, for the conscious shopper.
The last alternative I’ll suggest, is El Rastro’s Flea Market, which is open on Sundays in La Latina neighborhood. You can find vintage furniture, antiques, collectibles, clothes, anything that’s second-hand, a sustainable choice for the eco-traveler.
Librería San Ginés
What would you add to this list? Comment below!
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Hi, I’m Melina,
I’m the creator of Sustainable Rookie, and my goal is to share what I learn throughout my sustainability journey, so that I can help other people live a more conscious life.
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