Eat at the oldest restaurant in the world

In terms of shameless box-ticking, this one is right up there. But it’s undoubtedly a cool thing to say you’ve done. According to Guinness World Records, La Casa Botín on Calle de los Cuchilleros has been dishing up food for longer than any other restaurant on earth, and has been in operation since 1725. It’s a little bit of a tourist trap, but it’s undoubtedly packed with charm. The big, antique wooden doors lead upstairs to a wooden-beamed roof, blue-and-white tiled walls, rickety chairs and lots of paintings.

Madrid's Casa Botin, the oldest restaurant in the world!

The waiters are dressed up in an almost comically smart manner, with white tuxedos and black bow ties, while the hand painted ceramic sangria jugs are just gorgeous.
But what about the food? Well there’s a reason that Casa Botín has been around for so long – its cochinillo (suckling pig) is legendary. There’s no attempt to spare the heart strings as it comes out – the little piglet’s tail is still on – but you’ll struggle to find more tender, juicy meat. For literature lovers, Casa Botín also features at the end of Ernest Hemingway’s novel, The Sun Also Rises.

Go on a tapas crawl

Of course, Madrid’s other great dining option is to keep consuming little bits over the course of an evening. Well, I say evening, but when done the Madrid way, it inevitably stretches long into the night as well. Madrid is a sensational city for nightlife – it’s a city with thousands of small bars rather than the big barn-like joints that can be found elsewhere. Each has its own distinct vibe, and crawling around them is tremendous fun.
As is the Spanish way, a lot of the bars will serve small tapas portions to people buying a drink. Most of the time, these will be free of charge but where they’re not, the raciones are rarely expensive.
The Chueca area is arguably the best place to go for a tapas bar crawl. It’s just off Gran Via in central Madrid, and there’s an incredible array of bars. Some are aimed at the gay community, some are more upmarket wine bars, some are packed with foreign backpackers and some are the Spanish equivalent of old men pubs.
The variety is awesome, and by the end of the crawl, you’ll almost certainly be turning away the free food. (You can book a tapas tour in Madrid over on the Viator website, a great Madrid night activity.)