I was just there with my sister this summer. We had a blast and didn’t have to spend a ton of money. I’d recommend seeing as much history as possible. Just walking around the architecture – any tourist map will highlight those spots. We didn’t get to go, but on Sundays the bullfighting arena is open for bullfights. They also have a museum that’s kinda cool (and free). The Plaza Mayor is a nice place to go for dinner/tapas outdoors. The Palais Royal is awesome – buy an audioguide with your ticket and tour the palace (it takes a while depending how fast walk through) but it’s amazing. Of course there’s also a lot of shopping. Designers clothes and jewelry everywhere! Oh and get to an authentic Flamenco show if you can (if that’s your thing) because it was fantastic to see live.

Hmmm wow. I dunno… I was there for 2 or 3 days and liked it a lot. try my friend who lived there for 6 months…
want her myspace profile?

You will LOVE it – its a wonderful vibrant city with culture and so much vivacity. I hope you take a side trip to Barcelona, the Sagrada Familia there and Gruel Park both by Gaudi are phenomenal as are so many other parts and places in spain, I roadtripped south to Andalucia.

http://www.samoppenheim.com/spain/

Well, like most European cities there’s lots to see in Madrid.

Check out the three museums if you can, El Prado, Reina Sofia and Thyssen, they’re all really near each other. El Prado is classical, Reina Sofia is modern and Thyssen I believe is classical art.

Other places to go are the Plaza Mayor, which is the main square, the Palacio Real (royal palace and the parks around it), the huge Parque del Retiro (which is a great big park in middle of Madrid) and just generaly walk around, you’ll find lots of nice places and things to look at in Madrid.

im from barcelona spain. youll love madrid, and since the 80s its gotten even bigger and culturally more diverse. lots of museums (see prado) , and food is great. also night life is perhaps the best in the country! if you can, take the 10 hour train to Barcelona to see some of the country side, and stay a few nights in my city, barcelona! maybe you can find cheap rooms thru internet, maybe thru 43things even. if you cant, madrid and surrounding area will be plenty of fun and also very cultural. (maybe take a day trip to nearby toledo, for a taste of medieval history and a great old town surrounded by the famous Tajo river, its great ceramics, cheese and wine).
Have a good trip next summer. also, if you can send me email – if you got any other questions, you can also contact me thru my 43thins contact info! – peace – mike -

Kapital is a must, worlds largest nightclub, seven stories tall. There are two major art gallaries, Renia Sofia and the other one. Renia is modern art and I thought it was retarded, the other one (I forget the name) is older, Renaissance art and more to my liking. Right by Plaza Espana is the theater district, take in a show. Have a beer with your Big Mac at Mcdonalds (sounds too American, but you can’t have a beer at McDonalds here). Plaza Mayor has the worlds oldest restaurant, kinda touristy, but good food.

I haven’t been there since the late ’80, but I can tell you that the coast is nice, the people are friendly, and the bullfights are an amazing spectacle.

Madríd is a great city. I lived there for about a year in 91-92. Just have fun exploring! Retiro park is certainly worth a visit. And of course the Prado museum. And make it a point to check out El Rastro. One of the oldest neighborhoods in Madríd, it turns into a giant flea market on Sundays.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9D03E6D71E39F936A15757C0A964948260

If you make it out of town, I highly suggest a visit to Granada in the south. Wonderful town!

And whatever you do, make sure to eat at least one manchego (cheese) sandwich. I lived on those things!
Good luck!

Madrid is such a beautiful city, but like new york or paris, it is it’s own intity and doesn’t reflect the feel of the rest of the country. I will say the one thing I loved most about Madrid was that even though it was a bustling city, there are courtyards and parks all over. And they’re filled with people! The pace of city life goes much slower here than most cities. Most important tourist destination is the Prada museum. It is one of my favorite museums in Europe, and their collection of Valazquez/ Goya/ Zerobon is astounding! As far as bullfights go, they totally pander to tourists. 3/4 of the crowd will be like you, on holiday looking for the “traditional spanish” experience. I say forego the bullfight. Just my opinion though. I forgot the name of it, but there is a great food festival in Madrid (it may have been barcelona, not sure) But I think it’s in June. All the restaurants are open all night and all the courtyards are filled with food booths, musicians, and people drinking way too much sangria. Definitely ask around about the food fair.

Hi

I adore Madrid. It is one of my favourite cities in Europe, that’s for sure.

Some cool things to do:

Go for hot chocolate at Chocolateria San Gines (off Calle Arenal, near Puerta del Sol)

El Prado – is a magnificent Museum – Goya, Velazquez, and the glorious series of Bosch paintings!

Reina Sofia – Guernica and brilliant other works of modern art

Real Madrid’s football stadium at Santiago Bernabeu

Wandering about Palacio Real at sunset – you can park your bum there and it’s a really lovely place to be

Shopping in Salamanca district

Tapas – tortilla espanol, aceitunas, manchego, patatas bravas etc etc.

Shoe shopping – Tierra, on Calle Mayor (and just off Plaza Mayor) has some great shoes, as does Camper, of course

Check out Las Ventas bullring – your choice whether you go in or not

Row boats in the lake at Monumento a Alfonso XII, Parc del Buen Retiro. The park is also a nice place to relax

The Palacio de communicaciones – what a wicked post office!!

Museo del Jamon

If you want some trips out of town, then the following place can easily be visited on a day trip:

- Toledo – beautiful, historic city which was the former capital of Madrid

- Avila, lovely walled heritage listed city

- Segovia – beautiful with its aqueduct and castle, can be chilly in winter though in June you should be grand!

- El Escorial – burial place for former royals of spain

- Valle de Los Caidos – Franco’s gargantuan memorial to himself – you can get a bus from El Escorial, though be warned, they are infrequent, so check times before departing!

Check out my Madrid pics too if you like

http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2103577038

I’m Irish and I´ve been living in Madrid for about 4 years. I still haven´t discovered everything there is.

Here are some places I would recommend:

Museo de la Reina Sofia – Here you have 4 floors of modern art and you can decide what you want to see and do.
Things you should see – Guernica – the famous Picasso painting. It is HUGE and gives you plenty to think about.

The Museum has had a trendy extension and it now has a very modern coffee shop. There are djs and sometimes they have cool parties. I went to have coffee several weeks ago and ended up in a Vogue party!

Nearby, there is a little square and there is a place called “El Brillante” – this is a place where you can eat all kinds of tapas… yum yum. Tacky but I like it.

Parque de los Jardines del Moro – this is near the Principe Pío metro station. You come out of the station and on your right you have a “shopping centre” incorporated into the train station and on the left, the entrance into the beautiful gardens at the back of the royal palace. Watch out for the peacocks!

The Plaza de Oriente – Royal Palace and the Cathedral and all the little cafe´s nearby. The “Jardines de Sabatini” are also here and are lovely.

“La Latina” – this is a neighbourhood with a lot of charm and lots of little bars and coffee shops.. you will both love it. Sunday afternoon to go people watching is the best.

“El Rastro” – the flea market. Gets PACKED.. but is worth seeing.

Retiro Park – huge park with a manmade lake in the middle for leisurely strolling in the summer….

A slightly more edgy neighourhood is Lavapies – it has been regenerated by a lot of new residents from other countries. There are some muggings and a slightly “dangerous” feel, but they have the best ethnic restaurants in Madrid.

In Moncloa you have the “Museo de las Americas” – which has displays from the Aztec period etc. Right beside it is the “Faro de Madrid” which is a 360% planform lift which takes you up very high for some amazing views of Madrid.

Chocolatería San Gines… you will be brown and sticky at the end.

In Sol – go to the Mallorquina.. it is a bakery and sells the most amazing “palermas de chocoloate”... you can see I like Chocoloate.

The Plaza Mayor – not far away is also very beautiful especially as the evening falls. Obviously it is a tourist trap so you need to hold on to your purse.

Madrid is very safe, but dont take risks with your possessions. Friends of mine have had their wallets and bags stolen.

Get a train out of Madrid to Cercedilla. Its in th mountains and will be a refreshing change to the city. Get the “funicular” from Cercedilla to Navacerrada.. this little train is pulled up the mountain through stunning scenery.

Hope you have a great time and if you want any more information.. pop me a line.

i only had a rushed 20 hours or so in madrid and visited the prado before heading off to bilbao and san sebastian. have fun!