Best Photo Spots in Madrid

9 photo spots in Madrid, each with the hour it actually works and the angle worth walking to. The difference between a good frame and a queue of people in front of one is usually timing rather than gear.

Azotea del Círculo de Bellas Artes and Gran Vía are best at golden hour; Museo del Prado is best at morning; Parque del Retiro and Plaza Mayor are best at sunrise.

Gran Vía, Mercado de San Miguel and Museo del Prado get genuinely crowded — arrive at opening or accept people in the frame.

On light: old stone blows out under midday sun — the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset are when it has colour in it, open water and open sky mean the sky blows out before the land does; expose for the highlights and let the foreground come up afterwards and markets are shade-and-shaft light — early morning while the stalls are being set up is both calmer and cleaner to shoot.

A general rule that holds across Madrid: ask before photographing people, skip anything that looks like a religious rite in progress, and expect a tripod to need permission at ticketed monuments even where a phone is fine.