Vacation photographer in Madrid

A Madrid city break is usually three days on foot, and the three places that matter are close: from the Retiro to Cibeles to Gran Vía is half an hour, so a holiday session can move through all of them without anyone sitting in a taxi. The month you travelled sets the hour. From November to March the day is short and clean and almost any time works, with the light lowest and best in the morning. In July and August the sun from nine onwards is at its hardest and the honest slot is the first hour, when it is around 24 degrees and the Plaza Mayor has four people in it. Families with grandparents usually do best under the Plaza Mayor’s arcades, which give shade at any hour, or at the Palacio de Cristal on a grey morning.

When to book in Madrid

Book the first morning of the trip rather than the last, so there is a spare day if the weather turns, and so the gallery arrives while you are still here. From November to March the session can start at nine or ten, after a proper breakfast, because the sun rises late and stays low. In April, May, June, September and October, the first two hours after sunrise and the last two before sunset are the good ones; mid-afternoon is hot and flat. In July and August the slot is at sunrise, between about a quarter to seven and twenty to eight depending on the week. Avoid the Saturday afternoon of a long weekend, when the centre fills with visitors from the rest of Spain.