WHEN the summer reaches its hottest weeks, the idea of cooler climates suddenly becomes more attractive. And although Spain generally cannot offer temperatures similar to northern Scandinavia, not everywhere in the...
'Budget' Michelin tour: What to see and where to eat (Madrid and inland Spain)
24/03/2023
FEW of us would travel far beyond our home territory purely to eat out, even if it was at a Michelin-starred restaurant – and even though dining in Spain remains comparatively cheap with little change in prices in many years, someone on an average income would tend to treat these establishments as a once-in-a-lifetime, special-occasion venue, particularly if it has two or three stars.
The good news is that the Michelin guide for 2023 includes a 'budget section', where eateries that made the cut and met the tough, exacting standards required for entry still offer three-course meals for a similar price to your typical local favourites – the 'Bib Gourmand' list.
But even then, you probably wouldn't travel halfway across Spain with the sole intention of trying them out – there needs to be another 'hook'. A destination with something worth seeing, doing or experiencing, where eating out is merely part of your day's sightseeing.
If you've read our previous 'budget Michelin tour' article, you'll know where to find the top visitor attractions and their nearest 'Bib Gourmand' restaurants in the southern region of Andalucía, along the Mediterranean coast, and the Canary and Balearic Islands. We now turn our attention to western and central Spain, including the capital, Madrid.
Be prepared to see a side to Spain you never imagined if you've only ever experienced the Costas and islands – here's our guide to the best bits, and where to eat a Michelin-level meal for under €35 a head. With dessert, too.
Madrid
Even though Spain's capital – the second-largest and second-highest in altitude in Europe – is fairly compact in its centre, allowing for quick walking time between its top attractions, and has a fast, regular, modern and efficient metro system serving practically every street, you're certain to work up an appetite after a hard day's exploring.
With the vast, verdant Retiro Park, the 'big three' art galleries – the Reina Sofía, El Prado and Thyssen-Bornemizsa – and the enormous Royal Palace (nearly twice the size of London's Buckingham Palace) to hoof around before you even start on spending sprees in what is officially the world's top shopping destination, you'll have earned the right to tuck into three tasty courses.
For doing so at a Michelin-ranked restaurant and still leaving enough left in your bank account for said retail therapy, the choice is endless.
Bichopalo, La Maruca Castellana, Sisapo, Bacira, Bolívar, Casa Mortero, Gala, Garelos, La MaMá, La Maruca, La Montería, Las Toritillas de Gabino, Noi, Quinqué, Taberna Recreo, Taberna Úbeda, Tepic, Treze, and Vinoteca Moratín are all based in the urban hub itself.
But you can still find more in the wider Madrid region - La Sartén in Tres Cantos and Lamadrid in Colmenar Viejo.
Extremadura
Despite this western region's nearest sea coast being in another country altogether – in Portugal – Extremadura has one of the highest percentages of blue-flagged beaches in Spain. The province of Badajoz has 12 inland beaches, of which eight hold this prestigious award, six of them acquiring it for the first time in 2022.
It's also the province where the magnificent Roman metropolis of Mérida keeps visitors captivated for entire days – one of the biggest and most powerful seats of the Empire around 2,000 years ago, much of its original splendour remains intact.
And you do have a handful of options for dining like an Emperor at an affordable price whilst in Extremadura.
For Badajoz province, Drómo in the capital (of the same name) and El Acebuche in Zafra or, in the province of Cáceres, Nardi and El Almírez in the town of Hervás, La Finca in Jaráiz de la Vera, El Molino in Madrigal de la Vera, and Alberca in Trujillo – heavily visited due to its ornate and beautiful Renaissance central square - are all Bib Gourmand-ranked restaurants.
Castilla-La Mancha
Toledo city was discovered to be Spain's happiest town in research by LookFantastic using Artificial Intelligence to analyse selfie photos. Perhaps surprising, given that it's the capital of the province of the same name that's home to the town farthest from the coast anywhere in the country – although Nombela has managed to make this a tourist attraction in itself, and with a refreshing river-beach close by, its residents do not feel the need to be near the sea.
Known as 'The City of Three Cultures', Toledo's architectural gems are what bring in visitors from all over the world – its cathedral is a firm entrant in the tough competition for the most beautiful in Spain, and its buildings are clear evidence that Toledo was a highly diverse, cosmopolitan metropolis at a time when different cultures were unable and unlikely to be able to live harmoniously together.
The Santa María La Blanca Synagogue, with its Sephardic Museum, is a stunningly-attractive structure found in the Jewish quarter, the Cristo de la Luz ('Christ of the Light') Mosque, founded in the year 999, is one of the best-preserved in Spain – despite the Inquisition leading to numerous Islamic-style structures being demolished and Catholic churches and classical-inspired buildings being constructed in their ruins – and the San Juan de los Reyes Monastery, commissioned by the very monarchs who launched the Inquisition, King Fernando and Queen Isabel, is elaborately-carved and a visual delight.
The Alcázar, or fortress-like Mediaeval Arab palace, was originally a Roman structure, expanded and adapted in the Middle Ages, then finally renovated in the contemporary Catholic classicism style in the 16th century.
In fact, the whole of Toledo centre is a UNESCO heritage site and, upon seeing it, you'll understand why the world-acclaimed late-16th century artist El Greco produced so many beautiful paintings of his home city skyline. You can visit his old house and museum, too, just around the corner from the Santo Tomé church.
Although Toledo city does not have any Bib Gourmand restaurants, it does have one Michelin entry - Iván Cerdeño holds two stars – and the wider province has two of the Michelin 'budget' versions.
For Michelin-level dining at an affordable price, head for Granero in Quintanar de la Orden, and Palio in Ocaña.
The quaint, rustic-looking and small (54,000 inhabitants) city of Cuenca, in the heart of the highly-rural province of the same name – midway between those of Valencia and Madrid – is world-famous for its 'hanging houses', which genuinely appear to be dangling from the edge of a cliff. Precarious as they may look, this cluster of central-European-style five- or six-storey buildings, with their trademark wooden balconies, are very securely anchored; they've been one of Cuenca's key tourist attractions for decades and their construction dates back centuries.
Whilst exploring Cuenca city, cut-price Michelin-level cuisine can be found at Olea Comedor.
Out in the province, the flat, wheat-coloured landscape hides some real rural treasures – Las Hoces de Cabriel, a verdant oasis of dramatic canyons plunging down over 100 metres into rivers flanked by pine forest and running into secluded salt lakes, known as the Baños de la Sal. Known for its revitalising and therapeutic properties, natural mineral salt water eases aches and pains and softens the skin; people have been taking rejuvenating dips in the Baños de Sal since the Roman times. Natural pools in and around the town of Minglanilla, on the Valencia side of the province, regularly attract visitors in summer for bathing, especially those who live too far from the coast to spend their days on the beach.
Beyond its capital city, 'Bib Gourmand' eateries in the province of Cuenca are Mesón Nelia in Villalba de la Sierra, and La Martina in Tarancón.
A province with a much larger capital city – over 175,000 residents – Albacete is often overlooked as a tourism destination; it is not home to internationally-acclaimed monuments or huge global attractions, meaning this land-locked territory to the west of the provinces of Alicante and Murcia has to work harder to draw in visitors.
On the plus side, those visitors, expecting very little, are more likely to be pleasantly surprised; Albacete doesn't have to bother about trying to live up to the hype, because it doesn't have any hype.
The city itself is awash with modernist and neo-classical architecture – that very decorative and classy-looking style typical of the 'long' 1920s, when most of Albacete's key central buildings went up. Apparently ordinary, functional edifices – hotels, council offices, music schools, Red Cross headquarters – are of such enormous beauty that their somewhat pedestrian-sounding purposes become unimportant. And it's one of just three cities in Spain with a covered gallery shopping street.
Similar in design to the world-renowned Vittorio Emmanuele precinct in Milan, the glass-topped Pasaje de Lodares, with its splendid architectural detail, ornate balconies and neo-classical columns and arches, is in a class of its own along with the Pasaje Ciclón in Zaragoza and the Pasaje Gutiérrez in Valladolid. Indeed, it's one of the most-photographed views of Albacete city, practically its standard postcard image.
Then there's the excellent, cut-priced food at its sole 'Bib Gourmand' restaurant, Don Gil.
Elsewhere in Albacete province, one of the top-rated attractions and most dramatic pockets of scenery is the Los Calares del Mundo y de la Sima nature reserve in Riópar, part of the majestic-looking Sierra de Segura – a mountain range with its head in the clouds that bears a striking resemblance to Perú's Macchu Pichu, and which is split between the provinces of Albacete, Murcia and Jaén (Andalucía).
And despite its lack of fame, the province of Albacete is home to the town with the world's third-best illuminations – only beaten by İstanbul, Turkey, and Paris, France.
Alcalá del Júcar's lit-up landscape is so dazzling and magical that it once became the backdrop for Nescafé's annual Christmas TV advert.
And when hunger strikes whilst you're touring the province, stop off in Villarrobledo for a 'Bib Gourmand' meal at Azafrán.
Another overlooked province, sandwiched between Madrid and inland northern Andalucía, is Ciudad Real – not typically on the tourist trail, it is, nevertheless, one of Spain's most unusual.
Six geysers have been discovered in the shire known as Campo de Calatrava since the Millennium, although with their reddish-coloured and tepid water, they do not completely qualify for the description in the same way as those of Iceland and the USA's Yellowstone Park do. But aside from the colour, they look exactly the same to anyone without specialist geological knowledge.
And one of them is actually indoors – in a farm hut – and gushes out through the windows during times of heavy rainfall.
The area is, semi-officially, referred to as the Provincia Volcánica de Calatrava – mainly because it's home to at least a dozen volcanoes. You won't have to worry about a swift evacuation on your holiday due to a sudden emergence of lava, though – the most recent eruption in Ciudad Real was around 1.75 million years ago.
Whilst the location of the exact centre of mainland Spain has long been in dispute, the small, cosy and friendly town of Alcázar de San Juan is one of three which claims to be sitting on top of 'kilometre zero' – and, like much of the province, is otherwise a tourism magnet due to its Don Quijote-style windmills. In fact, it even has one right next to the railway station platform.
With all this to see, any attraction that beats it in terms of popularity would have to be truly spectacular – and that's certainly the case with the sturdy, turreted Peñarroya Castle in the town of Argamasilla de Alba, voted as the top tourist sight in Ciudad Real in summer 2021.
Don't be put off if you hear wisecracks about how Ciudad Real is officially the most boring province in Spain. This is one of the longest-standing geographical jokes among Spanish society, and it could be this was even deliberately encouraged by Ciudad Real to get people talking about it, or to tempt the rest of the country to visit it to find out exactly why it is so 'boring'.
Yet it's hard to believe how anyone could be bored with geysers, volcanoes, and the white towering mills that spooked the hapless and deluded would-be knight of the best-selling Spanish-language novel in history.
In the unlikely event you do, in fact, find Ciudad Real to be a tedious experience, you certainly won't have a wasted trip – the dining out is excellent, and very affordable, with two Bib Gourmand-ranked restaurants in the province.
These are Mesón Octavio in the capital, Ciudad Real city, and Las Musas, in the town of Campo de Criptana.
Related Topics
FEW of us would travel far beyond our home territory purely to eat out, even if it was at a Michelin-starred restaurant – and even though dining in Spain remains comparatively cheap with little change in prices in many years, someone on an average income would tend to treat these establishments as a once-in-a-lifetime, special-occasion venue, particularly if it has two or three stars.
The good news is that the Michelin guide for 2023 includes a 'budget section', where eateries that made the cut and met the tough, exacting standards required for entry still offer three-course meals for a similar price to your typical local favourites – the 'Bib Gourmand' list.
But even then, you probably wouldn't travel halfway across Spain with the sole intention of trying them out – there needs to be another 'hook'. A destination with something worth seeing, doing or experiencing, where eating out is merely part of your day's sightseeing.
If you've read our previous 'budget Michelin tour' article, you'll know where to find the top visitor attractions and their nearest 'Bib Gourmand' restaurants in the southern region of Andalucía, along the Mediterranean coast, and the Canary and Balearic Islands. We now turn our attention to western and central Spain, including the capital, Madrid.
Be prepared to see a side to Spain you never imagined if you've only ever experienced the Costas and islands – here's our guide to the best bits, and where to eat a Michelin-level meal for under €35 a head. With dessert, too.
Madrid
Even though Spain's capital – the second-largest and second-highest in altitude in Europe – is fairly compact in its centre, allowing for quick walking time between its top attractions, and has a fast, regular, modern and efficient metro system serving practically every street, you're certain to work up an appetite after a hard day's exploring.
With the vast, verdant Retiro Park, the 'big three' art galleries – the Reina Sofía, El Prado and Thyssen-Bornemizsa – and the enormous Royal Palace (nearly twice the size of London's Buckingham Palace) to hoof around before you even start on spending sprees in what is officially the world's top shopping destination, you'll have earned the right to tuck into three tasty courses.
For doing so at a Michelin-ranked restaurant and still leaving enough left in your bank account for said retail therapy, the choice is endless.
Bichopalo, La Maruca Castellana, Sisapo, Bacira, Bolívar, Casa Mortero, Gala, Garelos, La MaMá, La Maruca, La Montería, Las Toritillas de Gabino, Noi, Quinqué, Taberna Recreo, Taberna Úbeda, Tepic, Treze, and Vinoteca Moratín are all based in the urban hub itself.
But you can still find more in the wider Madrid region - La Sartén in Tres Cantos and Lamadrid in Colmenar Viejo.
Extremadura
Despite this western region's nearest sea coast being in another country altogether – in Portugal – Extremadura has one of the highest percentages of blue-flagged beaches in Spain. The province of Badajoz has 12 inland beaches, of which eight hold this prestigious award, six of them acquiring it for the first time in 2022.
It's also the province where the magnificent Roman metropolis of Mérida keeps visitors captivated for entire days – one of the biggest and most powerful seats of the Empire around 2,000 years ago, much of its original splendour remains intact.
And you do have a handful of options for dining like an Emperor at an affordable price whilst in Extremadura.
For Badajoz province, Drómo in the capital (of the same name) and El Acebuche in Zafra or, in the province of Cáceres, Nardi and El Almírez in the town of Hervás, La Finca in Jaráiz de la Vera, El Molino in Madrigal de la Vera, and Alberca in Trujillo – heavily visited due to its ornate and beautiful Renaissance central square - are all Bib Gourmand-ranked restaurants.
Castilla-La Mancha
Toledo city was discovered to be Spain's happiest town in research by LookFantastic using Artificial Intelligence to analyse selfie photos. Perhaps surprising, given that it's the capital of the province of the same name that's home to the town farthest from the coast anywhere in the country – although Nombela has managed to make this a tourist attraction in itself, and with a refreshing river-beach close by, its residents do not feel the need to be near the sea.
Known as 'The City of Three Cultures', Toledo's architectural gems are what bring in visitors from all over the world – its cathedral is a firm entrant in the tough competition for the most beautiful in Spain, and its buildings are clear evidence that Toledo was a highly diverse, cosmopolitan metropolis at a time when different cultures were unable and unlikely to be able to live harmoniously together.
The Santa María La Blanca Synagogue, with its Sephardic Museum, is a stunningly-attractive structure found in the Jewish quarter, the Cristo de la Luz ('Christ of the Light') Mosque, founded in the year 999, is one of the best-preserved in Spain – despite the Inquisition leading to numerous Islamic-style structures being demolished and Catholic churches and classical-inspired buildings being constructed in their ruins – and the San Juan de los Reyes Monastery, commissioned by the very monarchs who launched the Inquisition, King Fernando and Queen Isabel, is elaborately-carved and a visual delight.
The Alcázar, or fortress-like Mediaeval Arab palace, was originally a Roman structure, expanded and adapted in the Middle Ages, then finally renovated in the contemporary Catholic classicism style in the 16th century.
In fact, the whole of Toledo centre is a UNESCO heritage site and, upon seeing it, you'll understand why the world-acclaimed late-16th century artist El Greco produced so many beautiful paintings of his home city skyline. You can visit his old house and museum, too, just around the corner from the Santo Tomé church.
Although Toledo city does not have any Bib Gourmand restaurants, it does have one Michelin entry - Iván Cerdeño holds two stars – and the wider province has two of the Michelin 'budget' versions.
For Michelin-level dining at an affordable price, head for Granero in Quintanar de la Orden, and Palio in Ocaña.
The quaint, rustic-looking and small (54,000 inhabitants) city of Cuenca, in the heart of the highly-rural province of the same name – midway between those of Valencia and Madrid – is world-famous for its 'hanging houses', which genuinely appear to be dangling from the edge of a cliff. Precarious as they may look, this cluster of central-European-style five- or six-storey buildings, with their trademark wooden balconies, are very securely anchored; they've been one of Cuenca's key tourist attractions for decades and their construction dates back centuries.
Whilst exploring Cuenca city, cut-price Michelin-level cuisine can be found at Olea Comedor.
Out in the province, the flat, wheat-coloured landscape hides some real rural treasures – Las Hoces de Cabriel, a verdant oasis of dramatic canyons plunging down over 100 metres into rivers flanked by pine forest and running into secluded salt lakes, known as the Baños de la Sal. Known for its revitalising and therapeutic properties, natural mineral salt water eases aches and pains and softens the skin; people have been taking rejuvenating dips in the Baños de Sal since the Roman times. Natural pools in and around the town of Minglanilla, on the Valencia side of the province, regularly attract visitors in summer for bathing, especially those who live too far from the coast to spend their days on the beach.
Beyond its capital city, 'Bib Gourmand' eateries in the province of Cuenca are Mesón Nelia in Villalba de la Sierra, and La Martina in Tarancón.
A province with a much larger capital city – over 175,000 residents – Albacete is often overlooked as a tourism destination; it is not home to internationally-acclaimed monuments or huge global attractions, meaning this land-locked territory to the west of the provinces of Alicante and Murcia has to work harder to draw in visitors.
On the plus side, those visitors, expecting very little, are more likely to be pleasantly surprised; Albacete doesn't have to bother about trying to live up to the hype, because it doesn't have any hype.
The city itself is awash with modernist and neo-classical architecture – that very decorative and classy-looking style typical of the 'long' 1920s, when most of Albacete's key central buildings went up. Apparently ordinary, functional edifices – hotels, council offices, music schools, Red Cross headquarters – are of such enormous beauty that their somewhat pedestrian-sounding purposes become unimportant. And it's one of just three cities in Spain with a covered gallery shopping street.
Similar in design to the world-renowned Vittorio Emmanuele precinct in Milan, the glass-topped Pasaje de Lodares, with its splendid architectural detail, ornate balconies and neo-classical columns and arches, is in a class of its own along with the Pasaje Ciclón in Zaragoza and the Pasaje Gutiérrez in Valladolid. Indeed, it's one of the most-photographed views of Albacete city, practically its standard postcard image.
Then there's the excellent, cut-priced food at its sole 'Bib Gourmand' restaurant, Don Gil.
Elsewhere in Albacete province, one of the top-rated attractions and most dramatic pockets of scenery is the Los Calares del Mundo y de la Sima nature reserve in Riópar, part of the majestic-looking Sierra de Segura – a mountain range with its head in the clouds that bears a striking resemblance to Perú's Macchu Pichu, and which is split between the provinces of Albacete, Murcia and Jaén (Andalucía).
And despite its lack of fame, the province of Albacete is home to the town with the world's third-best illuminations – only beaten by İstanbul, Turkey, and Paris, France.
Alcalá del Júcar's lit-up landscape is so dazzling and magical that it once became the backdrop for Nescafé's annual Christmas TV advert.
And when hunger strikes whilst you're touring the province, stop off in Villarrobledo for a 'Bib Gourmand' meal at Azafrán.
Another overlooked province, sandwiched between Madrid and inland northern Andalucía, is Ciudad Real – not typically on the tourist trail, it is, nevertheless, one of Spain's most unusual.
Six geysers have been discovered in the shire known as Campo de Calatrava since the Millennium, although with their reddish-coloured and tepid water, they do not completely qualify for the description in the same way as those of Iceland and the USA's Yellowstone Park do. But aside from the colour, they look exactly the same to anyone without specialist geological knowledge.
And one of them is actually indoors – in a farm hut – and gushes out through the windows during times of heavy rainfall.
The area is, semi-officially, referred to as the Provincia Volcánica de Calatrava – mainly because it's home to at least a dozen volcanoes. You won't have to worry about a swift evacuation on your holiday due to a sudden emergence of lava, though – the most recent eruption in Ciudad Real was around 1.75 million years ago.
Whilst the location of the exact centre of mainland Spain has long been in dispute, the small, cosy and friendly town of Alcázar de San Juan is one of three which claims to be sitting on top of 'kilometre zero' – and, like much of the province, is otherwise a tourism magnet due to its Don Quijote-style windmills. In fact, it even has one right next to the railway station platform.
With all this to see, any attraction that beats it in terms of popularity would have to be truly spectacular – and that's certainly the case with the sturdy, turreted Peñarroya Castle in the town of Argamasilla de Alba, voted as the top tourist sight in Ciudad Real in summer 2021.
Don't be put off if you hear wisecracks about how Ciudad Real is officially the most boring province in Spain. This is one of the longest-standing geographical jokes among Spanish society, and it could be this was even deliberately encouraged by Ciudad Real to get people talking about it, or to tempt the rest of the country to visit it to find out exactly why it is so 'boring'.
Yet it's hard to believe how anyone could be bored with geysers, volcanoes, and the white towering mills that spooked the hapless and deluded would-be knight of the best-selling Spanish-language novel in history.
In the unlikely event you do, in fact, find Ciudad Real to be a tedious experience, you certainly won't have a wasted trip – the dining out is excellent, and very affordable, with two Bib Gourmand-ranked restaurants in the province.
These are Mesón Octavio in the capital, Ciudad Real city, and Las Musas, in the town of Campo de Criptana.
Related Topics
More News & Information
Just two months after Valencia was voted by Forbes Magazine the best city in the world to live in (https://www.thinkspain.com/news-spain/33510/valencia-is-the-world-s-most-liveable-city-here-s-why), two other Spanish...
DINING with the stars is perfectly possible almost anywhere in Spain – if you have the budget to do so.
BACK in combat after a three-year hiatus, the world's biggest food fight has had thousands painting the town red.