Best Day Trips from Madrid: Patones de Arriba

Patones de Arriba is a charming village full of stone and black-slate houses north of Madrid. Surrounded by Sierra de Guadarrama mountain range, it is a haven 45 minutes away from the concrete jungle. Patones has preserved the architectural tradition of slate construction, is known for great gastronomy options and offers several hiking routes. It's the perfect day trip from Madrid.

The first thing to do is to take a breath of fresh air as soon as you arrive. Then, wander the beautiful narrow streets and explore every single corner of Patones de Arriba. Alluring stone houses, many of which are covered in ivy, will make you want to move here and leave the stress of big cities behind.

Patones is considered one of the most beautiful villages in Madrid and as we have seen, it is an ideal destination to disconnect for a day. Unfortunately, there is a downside. The place is very popular and it's packed on weekends, especially in spring and summer. On this post I'm going to help you plan your visit to Patones so that you don't make the same mistakes as we did.

A BIT OF HISTORY
Nowadays Patones is all about tourism but once upon a time it was an agricultural-based village. Rumor has it that Patones even had its own monarch until the 18th century. If you love history, I have good news for you: Patones is surrounded by archaeological ruins. There are ancient caves from even before the Romans settled there and that were used by shepherds afterwards.

BEST TIME TO GO
Half a day is enough to see Patones so go very early in the morning -before 11:00- or before sunset. Lunch time is the busiest period. Many Madrileños go to this tiny village so it can get too crowded in summer, better to go in spring or fall.

WHERE TO EAT
Most of the buildings in Patones are restaurants so there are many options. All of them serve typical food of Madrid and their main dishes consist mostly of meat. Despite the amount of eateries, I advice you to make reservations before you go.

We had reservations at El Rincon de Patones. The food and service were great but the prices on the menu are misleading because they don't include taxes so dishes ended up being much more expensive than we expected. A piece of advice: if you don't want bread, tell them because they won't ask and they will charge you for it. If you book through The Fork, you get a 30% discount.

The #1 restaurant in TripAdvisor is El Rey Patones, even though we didn't try it, it looked like the best restaurant in the village from outside. If I were to go to Patones again, I'd surely eat there.

HOW TO GET THERE

• You can go by car but there are parking restrictions. From Madrid take motorway A-1 and exit 50. Google Maps
• If you prefer public transport, buses also get there. You can take 197 from Plaza Castilla. Google Maps

PARKING
If you go by car, the best thing is to park at Patones de Abajo and walk the 800m (10 minutes) to the village. Bear in mind that it's a steep path that you have to climb up.
Parking in Patones de Arriba is not allowed unless you have a restaurant reservation and that will cost you 5€.

MORE DAY TRIPS FROM MADRID
One of the most beautiful villages in Spain: Chinchon
A town full of history: Alcala de Henares
The Royal town of Aranjuez

WHAT TO WEAR
Patones is all hills and cobblestones so wear comfy shoes. If you want to blend in with the crowd, Madrileños wear sneakers, jeans and sweaters or hoodies.
You can find my Lacoste sneakers here.

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