Madrid

Russinating

Russinating

Russinating

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Joined
27 Dec 2005
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Going to Madrid for 3 nights next weekend. Haven't looked at what to do there at all yet (it's actually a stopover on the way back from another holiday), so can anyone give me some decent pointers.

We like independent cafes/restaurants/micro breweries/distilleries, and art galleries/museums etc. I know it's going to be stonking when we're there, probably 32-34c, so not fussed about parks or any outdoor public spaces.

We're staying in between Neptune Fountain and Plaza Mayor.

TIA!
 
Museo Reina Sofía - amazing. Picasso abound, with Guernica taking top slot. Awesome place. There is a free evening, Tuesday IIRC. More of a modern art theme.

Del Prado - buy tickets before you travel to avoid queues. Again, a brilliant gallery. More classic than the Reina Sofia, with El Greco, Goya and Monet. I was fortunate to coincide with a Bosch (El Bosco) exhibition. Again, jaw-dropping.

Food (you'll struggle to struggle!): Mercardo de San Miguel - go in the eveing. It is rammed, but a huge amount of tapas joints selling all sorts of stuff, including oysters, pinchos, wine and so on. A real treat.

Go to El Retiro Park -in the day it is great, in the evening, it is swarming with life. Absolutely wonderful atosphere.

Like a lot of continental cities, it just comes alive at night.

Been a few times, first time took some getting used to but it grows. There is a life there that really is missing in this country.
 
It is a fantastic place, I pretty much live there now. Mercado San Miguel is a very tourist thing to do as is sitting enjoying a beer and some jamon in plaza mayor right next to it. If you like football the Real Madrid stadium tour is fantastic. As for bars and restaurants there are so many to try. XO Street on the top of el corte inglese shop in Salamanca is a very in place at the moment, no booking you just have to queue. Get there before 8 even though it doesn't open until 8.30. Calle Ponzano near Rios Rosas metro is also a popular place for drinking and eating pinchos/tapas at the many bars there, it really comes alive after about 11pm. Where in the city are you staying?
 
Was there last week - apparently the (huge) flea market is more fleas than market - I declined to accompany my OH
Spent a lot of time in the el Retiro Park - and I mean a lot of time
Did the Thyssen Bornemisza gallery - there was a Monet related exhibition on, that was included in the price (€12), as well some Vaserely in the basement - plenty of different stuff to see
The Prado is huge and you could spend a couple of days there if you were so inclined (Saturn devouring his children still haunts me) - there are some times when you can get in for free, but it tends to be really busy then
On a whim we went to the Naval Museum and for €3 you are not going to get better value elsewhere - bit disappointed that they didn't have a portarit of Nelson to accompany their words along the lines of "this was the end of the Spanish Navy" <<snigger>>
Think about going to see some flamenco (we went to Las Tablas). It was a tad expensive at €29 each, but I doubt you'll see better
Already booked the flights for next year
 
ic1male said:
Is it a nicer place than London?
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Go for a wander down Calle de la Montera, it connects the Grand Via to Puerta del Sol, a lovely shopping street with nice young ladies standing under the trees , who will happily pass the time of day with you, if you catch my drift.

We spent a week in Madrid stopping on the Grand Via, visited all the atrractions and loved it, food was excellent and reasonably priced. Never felt concerned about safety at all, just used common-sense.
 
I've done a couple of nights in Madrid, enjoyed it. It feels different than Barcelona, different than London, but I really liked the experience.

Plaza Mayor was my favourite. Did the Santiago Bernabeu tour, if you're a football fan its worth doing.

I stayed at the Westin Palace (it was a work recognition award, so wined and dined for a couple days straight). I was drunk most of the time, so can't remember too much, really liked the city! :)
 
Super Tigers said:
Bit flash for my liking, we walked past there on the way to the Thyssen museum and a bunch of Bollywood stars were staying there, crowds of fans camping outside the hotel in 35C heat!
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It wasn't my choice of hotel, work booked it for all the award winners and paid for it. The Chelsea team were staying there either during, or a couple of days after, as they were playing Real in the Champions League. It's a lovely hotel, but I'd never pay £200 a night.
 
Russinating said:
Thanks everyone, sounds great. Jotted down a few places from Guardian/Telegraph reviews so will add these. We're there on the Sunday for the big market as well (forgotten the name).



We're on Calle del Prado.
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About two minutes walk from my house. The bareo de las letras is amazing for bars and restaurants.

Try Plaza Santa Ana for a sit outside with a cold drink, I like Vinoteca of all the bars there. It's just up from the palace hotel at the end of the paseo del Prado. My favourite bar is the jazz bar on calle Moratin, I can't stand jazz music but Kusi and Celia behind the bar are lovely.



Be careful in the market, pickpockets everywhere.
 
The Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial - train journey out of Madrid but absolutely beautiful and massive. Lunch in the nearby town is a must as well.

ic1male said:
I guess a lot of Spain speaks English, do they? Just out in the rural areas where one might come unstuck?
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Never had much of a problem before, but even if they do, learning the simple phrases is fairly simple. May I have, thank you, please and the bill is all you need :p.
 
doodah said:
Never had much of a problem before, but even if they do, learning the simple phrases is fairly simple. May I have, thank you, please and the bill is all you need :p.
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I am doing some Spanish audio course anyhoo but having listened to the native speakers - they must do about 3000 words per minute and I find it difficult to understand. :D And then they drop all the 's' as well.
 
Confidence and appropriately exaggerated hand/arm gestures is the key, but yes it does seem ridiculously fast to me and Italian.
 
ic1male said:
I guess a lot of Spain speaks English, do they? Just out in the rural areas where one might come unstuck?
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My OH went last year and didn't speak a word of Spanish and, not unsurprisingly, was treated a bit sniffily by more than a few places, even though she was pretty sure they spoke English
Before we went this year, I dusted up a bit of my 20 year old Spanish skills and had no problem
As above you only need a few phrases and a basic understanding of pronunciation and you'll be fine
 
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