Madrid, why not go here instead of Barcelona?

I know many countries have competition between the capital and the second city. That is very much the case in Spain as well. We have the same in Norway between Oslo and Bergen, and I know in Sweden it is between Stockholm and Gothenburg. I guess one reason is that the government is based in the capital, and the money often flows to institutions closely linked to it.

Leading up to Christmas in Madrid

Since I have not celebrated Christmas in the last few years, there was no exception in 2025. This year I was going to spend the holidays in Cuba. There are several ways to fly there, but since I try to avoid the USA, the easiest way was via Madrid. I have been to Madrid a couple of times before, but never in the wintertime. For this reason, I decided to spend two nights there before flying to Cuba. It is then easy to start comparing Madrid with Spain’s much more touristic sister, Barcelona.

The Catalan issue

As a non-Spanish speaker, it is not easy for me to tell the languages apart, since I have not really paid much attention. And of course, for us tourists, it’s all Spanish. However, since I have travelled several times with the Spanish tour operator Against the Compass, I have met many Spaniards on those trips. And it is always the same thing, the people from Barcelona are so rude towards Madrid. They are often proud republicans (not the American kind), and by no means should we call them Spanish, but Catalan. And for them, two nights in Madrid is two too many. I guess it is said with humour, but still!

Barcelona

Nobody can deny that Barcelona has much to offer. I think everyone should see Sagrada Familia at least once. And you have Gaudí’s Casa Batelò, La Pedrera, and Park Güell. At the same time, we can all agree there are too many tourists in the city, and even the locals have started to make that very clear. Barcelona is a bit more relaxed, a bit more bohemian. The museums are also a bit more niche. Palau de la Música is an interesting concert hall to visit.

Madrid

I arrived in Madrid in the late afternoon, so it was already getting dark. Therefore, I got up really early the following morning to see the sunrise and the quietness in the streets. Since it was December 19th, it was very much the lead-up to Christmas, and the shopping streets were packed in the afternoon. The temperature was around five degrees Celsius, so for the Spanish, this is quite cold. In Norway, you hardly see any fur coats anymore, but this is not the case in Madrid, where I saw several.

If one were to mention the pros of Madrid, it must be its museums, and at the top are the Prado and Reina Sofía. Teatro Real is also a big draw, but unfortunately, there were no performances there in the run-up to Christmas. You have the big boulevards, more monumental architecture, and a royal touch. And since there are so many fewer tourists here, you get the feeling of the city being more Spanish.

The Museums

I have been to Prado and Reina Sofía before, so this time I chose not to visit them. Instead, I visited the CaixaForum Madrid. This is a cultural centre located in a former power station. It opened its doors in 2008 and hosts temporary art exhibitions and cultural events. The Vertical Garden at the square is also well-known. There are fixed installations there, and the exhibition at this time was an interesting one, Chez Matisse. The staircase has an interesting photo opportunity.

Estación Museo de Chamberí

A little quirky and free museum is Estación Museo de Chamberí. This is an original metro station from 1919. It was closed down in 1960, when they had to build longer stations for the new longer trains. It was quite close to the stations on either side, so they decided to close Chamberí down and prolong the two others. In 1998, they reopened the station as a museum, and behind the plexiglass, the regular trains pass regularly.

Visitors can see for themselves that the walls, archways and advertising panels, as well as the furniture and platforms, have all been fully restored. A visit to the 1919 station begins at the ticket booths and continues down to the platform, where you discover the terminal’s original elements (ceramic advertising panels, period furniture, etc.). As I said, it is free. You can book a ticket in advance online or queue up; it is a guided tour, and mine was in Spanish, so I did not understand much. Still, it was interesting. Imagine if they did that with the Valkyrien station in Oslo, which closed down in 1985.

Museo Geominero

Another place of interest I will tell you about here is the Museo Geominero (Geomineral Museum), a geology museum displaying minerals and fossils from Spain and its former colonies. I have to admit, fossils and minerals aren’t my favourite subjects, so I don’t usually visit this kind of museum; however, I had read that this museum is situated in a beautiful building, with balconies all around and a glass window ceiling.

As I entered the free museum, it was packed with people, and a choir was singing Christmas carols. I recorded a short video, but it didn’t turn out well. Apart from my Christmas Lunch with my colleagues, this was the most Christmassy thing I did this year. It was nice, though, with fantastic acoustics in this high-ceilinged room, people standing, and even singing along to Silent Night.

I also passed by the Temple of Debod, an ancient Nubian temple. The temple was originally erected in the early 2nd century BC south of Aswan, Egypt. The Egyptian government donated the temple to Spain in 1968. It was dismantled, transported, and rebuilt at the Parque de la Montaña in 1970–1972. It is one of the few works of ancient Egyptian architecture relocated outside Egypt and the only one of its kind in Spain. This concluded my two days in Madrid, I enjoyed it and might go back one day!