Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Mi primo está de visita en Madrid esta semana.

In Spanish está (with an accent) is the third-person singular form of the verb estar (“he/she/it is”). The accent mark shows that this is a verb, not the demonstrative adjective esta (“this”). So in Mi primo está de visita… the accent tells you it’s a verb; in esta semana it’s simply “this week.”

What does estar de visita mean, and how is it different from visitar?

Estar de visita is an idiomatic expression meaning “to be visiting” as in “to be here as a guest.” It uses the verb estar plus the noun visita.
By contrast, visitar is the action “to visit” (a place or a person).
• Mi primo está de visita en Madrid = “My cousin is here visiting Madrid” (focus on his current status).
• Mi primo visita Madrid = “My cousin visits Madrid” (focus on the action of visiting).

Why is there a de before visita in estar de visita?

The de is part of the fixed phrase estár de + [sustantivo] which indicates a temporary state or role. Similar examples:
• estoy de vacaciones (I’m on vacation)
• está de acuerdo (he/she agrees)
Without de, the meaning changes or the sentence becomes ungrammatical.

Why don’t we use any article before Madrid? Could we say en el Madrid?

In Spanish, most city names are used without an article:
• en Madrid, en Buenos Aires, en Lima
You would only add an article if the city’s name traditionally includes it (e.g. el Cairo, la Habana) or for stylistic reasons, but not el Madrid.

Can we say en esta semana instead of just esta semana?

Time expressions like hoy, mañana, esta semana, el lunes, etc., usually don’t need a preposition. Adding en (en esta semana) isn’t wrong but sounds redundant and less natural in everyday speech. You’d reserve en for more specific time frames, e.g. en la primera semana de julio.

Is it okay to move esta semana to the front of the sentence?

Yes. Spanish has flexible word order for emphasis:
• Esta semana mi primo está de visita en Madrid. (emphasizes this week)
• Mi primo está de visita en Madrid esta semana. (neutral)
Both are correct; you choose based on what you want to highlight.

Could I just say Mi primo visita Madrid esta semana?

You can, but there’s a nuance:
• Mi primo visita Madrid esta semana uses visitar (the action of visiting). It’s direct and neutral.
• Mi primo está de visita en Madrid esta semana highlights his temporary state of being a guest.
Use whichever fits your emphasis: action vs. status.