What to do in Madrid?

Question

I will be going to Madrid in January and I was wondering if anybody could tell me some places I should visit. Thank you.

Answer 1

There's alot to do! I think that you should start off in the plaza mayor, in la puerta del sol, its an old plaza with amazing archetecture! If you have extra cash, sit at one of the cafes there and have a "bocadillo de calamares" it is a traditional sandwich made of sqid...if thats not your thing, have a "bocadillo de tortilla" which is a potato and egg thing that is amazing!! Once you've been initiated, walk around that area and take in the amazing architecture! The Plaza del oriente is nearby and AMAZING and it is right outside the Royal Palace. The palace itself is where an old moorish fortification used to be! Inside the palace is a bit boring, but there is a Gorgeous view from the back of the palace. Next to the palace are some gorgeous gardens, but they close by six pm so go before that and check it out! Really pretty for pics! If you are into museums...in fact even if you're not into them, you should go, first of all to the Prado museum and see "las meninas" by velazquez, it is a masterpiece. There is a lot of work there by el greco as well as rubens, titian and goya. But wear comfy shoes. The work in this museum is from the 100's and up. Another must see is the Reina Sofia museum, which is modern art. The masterpiece there is Picasso's Guernica! Be sure to check it out! They also have a nice Dali collection!!!
If you are into clubbing, check out Palacio on calle arenal! It is an old palace that is now a nightclub! On thursdays its international student night. Another fun place is Pacha, which is at metro Tribunal! Wednesday is hip hop, thursday i think is trance...There are a few places like Gabanna which is more formal. Another reallly fun place is chueca which is the gay district. All of these places, you will find on a metro map, so once you get to madrid, you can metro your way to your hotel. In the terminals of the airport you will see signs leading to the metro. You could also get a cab, but it costs about 30 euro to get from the airport to downtown! The metro is super easy to navigate, but guard your possessions like a hawk! They are really good at robbing tourists...
If you like shopping, go to Gran Via and Calle Princesa! The two streets link into one another and have great european fashion....one nice place for high quality leather thats fun is "Salvador Bachiller" also there is the Spanish department store "el corte ingles" their supermarket is great for learning about spanish food too! The largest H&M is on Gran Via, and well worth it!
There is a tour bus also called "Madrid Vision" that you can pay like 13 - 15 euro and hop on and off all day and they give you info, that way, you dont miss a thing....but a few highlights are
The Cibeles Fountain
The Atocha Station
The architecture of gran via
puerta del sol
the plaza mayor
plaza oriente
If you will be there for long enough, you should go on a day trip to Toledo! It is a gorgeous old city on a rocky outcrop and is only an hour or so drive by bus. If you are adventurous, rent a car! If not, then go to the Atocha Station, it is a gorgeous station in itself and go to the ALSA and Sepulvedana counter and buy a return ticket for toledo...it is like 8 euro round trip and wayyyy worth it! Toledo is a bit hilly, but so worth it! The bus you take from Madrid will drop you off in the bus station, which is down the hill, so look around and there are bus stops in the station and you can take one of those up to the Zocodover or main square, from which you can get all of your info.Once you get there, be sure to go on this little train that takes you around the small city! It will give you an idea of where you may want to explore on foot.
You may find spanish food a little weird, but one ok place is the italian chain ginos, and there is also the chain vips, which is spanish, trying to be american, but still so spanish...it is worth trying, but the food isnt all that....If you want fancy restaurants, try Bhudda del mar, it is an asian fusion place a little on the outskirts as well as Bice, which is on calle atocha i think...its italian and nice....have a blast!!!!!!

Answer 2

I just arrived home from Madrid on Tuesday. It is a beautiful city and there is so much to see. I highly recommend checking with your hotel to see about tours. You can also book them independently. We took several and really saved a lot of time and money.

www.gomadrid.com has a lot of helpful hints and links. You can also purchase the tour packages there.

Here are some not to miss places to see:
The Prado (we spent 5 hours there)
www.museoprado.es

Palacio Real
Beautiful tour of the Royal palace


The Real Madrid Stadium Tour (book it as a tour with lunch and a bus tour of the city- the meal was amazing- one of the best we had in Madrid and a great value) We did this on our first day there. It was very enjoyable.

Madrid Vision (a double decker bus that lets you get on and off all through the city- there are headphones in 8 different lanuages. There are two different routes- one historical and one modern http://www.madridvision.es/en/

Puerta Del Sol- Great shopping and just a lot of fun. The "heart" of the city.

Reina Sofia
http://museoreinasofia.mcu.es

Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
http://www.museothyssen.org

Plaza Mayor- fun shopping area and historical district

Make sure to take a day trip to Toledo. It was fabulous! We really enjoyed it. The city is full of art and historical landmarks. Make sure to buy some Mazipan. It is wonderful!

We went to the Florida Park Flamenco Show. The show was great, the food was a litle to be desired. You can just have drinks if you want. We did it with a city night tour and the Tapas dinner. Don't do the Tapas dinner- if you are going to dinner do the full dinner.

If you are there on a Sunday, you have to make sure to visit the Rastro flea market. Watch out for pickpockets though. My friend had her wallet stolen last year on a trip there. We also enjoyed the The Retiro Park on Sunday. It is very fun. There are vendors, street performers, and outdoor cafes.

Answer 3

Get a ticket for the three big art galleries Prado, Reina Sofia and thyssen (I think thats what its called) I'm not normally an art buff but these were fabby. You can view Picasso's Guernica in one of them its very interesting. Take the tour bus its really good. There is loads and loads to do so just go with the flow. The train station atocha is beautiful (it may have changed since the bombing). Every time you order a drink you will get a tapa whether you want it or not. Ohh and be warned my Spanish teacher assures me that Madrid has 9 months of summer and three of winter and in January it will be very, very cold.

Answer 4

Lucky you! Madrid is fabulous! One hot tip when you are there is to buy a Madrid Vision Panoramic buss pass. This is 14.50 euros for one day or 17 euros for two and is worth its weight in gold. You can hop on and hop off to visit all the major attractions, or you can sit through the 3 different 75min tours that the bus does to see 'Historical Madrid', 'Modern Madrid' and 'Monumental Madrid'. Its the easiest way to get about the city!

Another good tip is that all museums are free on a Sunday so save expensive sites like the Prado for a sunday for the best value.

The art galleries are one of the main reasons to visit Madrid. The Prado is an absolute must-see (its their version of the Lourve/National Galleries). Be sure to go see the exhibition of national painter Goya when he went nuts (I think they are called the Goya Negres or 'black goya' collection). My other top tip would be to go to the Museo Reina Sofia which is a museum of modern art containing some absolutely amazing stuff. For both museums (the Prado especially) I would recommend setting aside a whole day each. I also recommend that you pay the small cost to hire a portable audio guide in each of them. Its only a few euros and it tells you all sorts of cool stuff that really brings the experience alive (especially in the modern art museum where little is as it seems!).

Other must see's are the royal palace (Real is Spanish for royal) and the Retiro park which is really gorgeous. When I was there it was in the middle of a national festival and the park was full of street performers, artists and local families. I imagine similar things go on there most of the year round. Be sure to take a picnic though as the small cafe's in the park cost more for lunch that dinner in an inner city restaurant!

Madrid is a beautiful city and it is well worth just taking the time to walk around it and experience it as a whole. Its not a huge city (akin to the size of Edinburgh when talking about the main bits) so you can walk round most of it in a day if you were feeling adventurous!

Also, if you get the chance be sure to try Churros a yummy sort of fried cakey type thing a bit like doughnuts. You order them with hot chocolate and dip them in. Delicious! Also, be warned, Madrileno cooking is a little eccentric in places. For some reason they love sticking fried eggs on top of things. But while you are there be sure to have some Paella, Sangria (yum!) and of course the ubiquitous Jamon! Spaniards love their Jamon (ham) and there are a chain of shops in Madrid called 'Museums of Ham' which are an experience in themselves! There is nothing nicer than munching some good ham, cheese and bread whilst drinking a beer and watching the world go by.

I am so jealous! I wish I could go back. Hope you enjoy your trip!

Answer 5

The art galleries and museums are the best reason for visiting Madrid. These include the Thyssen and the Prado, both full of wonderful paintings.

Answer 6

Watch the Real Madrid FC Champions League games in Santiago Bernabeu.

Raul, Cannavaro, Beckham, Nistelrooj .. dreams come true.

Answer 7

I live in Madrid. I am Spanish. Youd should visit: ·El Palacio Real, Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, Museo del Prado, Museo Reina Sofia, Plaza de las Ventas (bulls), Catedral de la Almudena.
You should visit Aranjuez y El Escorial.
Toledo is wonderful!!
Bar & Music: Plaza de Santa Ana, calle Huertas, Avda de Brasil.
Enjoy all the night.
Foods: paella, cocido madrileño, patatas bravas, tortilla de patatas and SANGRIA.
If you want to tell other quesion. My mail is [e-mail]
Buen viaje

Answer 8

Madrid is the capital of Spain. see http://www.spain4uk.co.uk/places/madrid.htm for more details

Answer 9

they performed the sorriest crew in l. a. liga. a crew that purely accended. they havent done a lot yet so relax dawg.... barca smacked atletico the day previously immediately, they are the perfect. Messi+Iniesta+Dani Alves> the completed Madrid squad

Answer 10

I just came back from madrid.. You need to learn how to say VIVA BARCA!!! Mardid is a beautiful city, but the people are as rude as can be so when they are idiots just say VIVA Barca it will piss them off!