Madrid for foodies: a one-day food route through the city

A good food route through Madrid fits into a day and is done on foot around the centre: churros with chocolate for breakfast near Sol, a nibble at the Mercado de San Miguel, vermouth and croquettes before lunch, cocido madrileño (Madrid chickpea stew) or a roast at midday, tapas on the Cava Baja in La Latina in the afternoon and dinner in Malasaña or on calle Ponzano. It is an itinerary designed for eating well without taking the metro, which you can shorten or lengthen to suit your appetite.

If you want to know what each dish is first, start with our guide to typical Madrid food; here we focus on where and when to have it.

The classic route is traditional Madrid, but today's foodie Madrid goes far beyond cocido. The city has a fine-dining scene with restaurants recognised by the Michelin Guide, which usually require booking well in advance. If that is your plan, organise the rest of the day around that lunch or dinner.

For world cuisines there are two essential neighbourhoods. Usera is home to the city's largest Chinese community and a very authentic range of restaurants; we tell you about it in what to see in Usera. Lavapiés, meanwhile, brings together Indian, Senegalese, Moroccan and many other restaurants in just a few streets.

And if produce is your thing, the markets deserve a morning of their own: in our guide to the best markets in Madrid we explain which are for tapas and which for shopping.

• Mealtimes: in Madrid people have lunch late and dinner even later. Early in the evening many kitchens have not yet started dinner service.
• A tapa with your drink: quite a few bars still serve a small tapa with your beer or wine. It is not a rule, so do not take it for granted.
• From bar to bar: Madrid-style tapas means having something standing up in each bar and moving on. Order raciones (sharing plates) or half raciones if there are several of you.
• Book whatever matters to you: cocido restaurants, classic roast houses and signature-cuisine restaurants fill up, especially at weekends.
• Finish with a good coffee: if you never skip your after-lunch coffee, have a look at our selection of Madrid's cafés.

The whole route is inside the M-30. If you land in the morning, book a taxi from the terminal to your accommodation, drop off your suitcases and start with breakfast; the journey to the centre has a fixed fare of €33, the same on the way back. You can book it in advance from the taxi in central Madrid page.

If the route is on your last day, plan it the other way round: choose lunch or dinner according to your flight time and have your taxi booked from the last bar or from the hotel. For example, after dinner in Chamberí or after tapas in La Latina. Remember to reach the terminal about 2 hours ahead for European flights and 3 for international ones.