medousa
Eindhoven
Kokoboscho
San Diego
If you love art definitely go to the Prado as well as to the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia!
Kokoboscho
San Diego
Ah, you should have done it anyway ;o) Like Steve Martin in LA Story: Gliding through the galleries on roller skates while your friend is filming it. I should put that on my list of things to do! Glad you enjoyed it, though!
Amelia Oliver
United States
Definitely go to the Prado museum! Although you love art, even if you didn’t, it’s amazing. Make sure to check out the Greco wing, and stop by the section with Goya’s kitchen walls. I also remember liking Velazquez’s art as well.
As for food? most everything is good, haha. A good way to become acclimated is to pop into a restaurant right off the street and try some tapas (little snacks). Alot of people also like churros and chocolate, and I believe there’s one restaurant near the Plaza Mayor that is supposed to serve the best churros con chocolate in Madrid. (I think that this is the place (?): http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Spain/Comunidad_de_Madrid/Madrid-262020/Restaurants-Madrid-San_Gines_Chocolateria-BR-1.html)
The Royal Palace and accompanying gardens are gorgeous; try to walk by them if you can! Also, when digging behind the palace (I believe to expand something?) I remember hearing that they uncovered ruins from a previous city! Maybe the Moors while they were in Spain?
Have fun in Spain!
medousa
Eindhoven
Hi, well I really do love Churros but the ones I had were awful! And they were supposed to be the best of Madrid… Maybe because I had them before midnight?? ;)
The rest was great though!
And a little tip for those who doesn’t want tapas but a small plater and a cocktail: cafe del Soul! Great atmosphere, delicious canelloni and super Daiquiri’s.
Bruno Girin
London
As mentionned above: the Prado and Centro de Arte Reina Sofia. The first one is classical paintings, the second is modern art and contains Picasso’s Guernica. Lose yourself in the narrow small streets south of Plaza Mayor and have tapas there. Avoid Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol for food as it’s too touristy but do have a look at them for their architectural value. Then the statue of Cibeles. Have a stroll through Parque del Retiro. If you feel like it, go to Atocha station to see the memorial to the victims of the 11-M bombings and to the Bosque del Recuerdo (inside Parque del Retiro) dedicated to the same thing. The Royal Palace is great too. And if you still have time, do a day trip to El Escorial. If you can rent your own car and have a good map, the sierra between Madrid and El Escorial is beautiful.
medousa
Eindhoven
We didn’t went to Prado but we did go to some other museums. I was looking forward to the homage for Guernica by some graffiti artists in Reina Sofia but we were 2 days too late :(
I did had some nice tapas not far from Plaza Mayor. I believe you call these “huevos”...
Our hostal was near Sol so we saw it almost every day…
ginacarla
North Carolina
Take a day trip to Toledo by train or bus.. it is very beautiful. On Sunday, you should go to El Rastro..off of metro La Latina. It is a huge open air flea market.. best to go early to avoid overwhelming crowds. You can find some cool jewelry, clothing, t-shirts, music souvenirs… A cool place to shop is Mercado de Fuencarral.. Also, the best nightlife is in the neighborhood Chueca (aka the gay part of Madrid) Best music, most fun… If that’s not your thing..you can always go to the more commercial/dressy clubs like Kapital, Joy, and Pacha. Have fun!
medousa
Eindhoven
El Rastro was indeed very crowded and huge! Every where we went there was the market… really overwhelming. Didn’t buy anything though except for some Mickey Mouse push pins for a Disney-freak-friend.
We didn’t go clubbing or anything, mostly we were to tired from walking all day (we didn’t bother to take the metro, the weather was to nice). but we did go to a Jazz club, Jazz is not really our thing but it was great and relaxing, so … ;)
For the rest we just hung out at the bar/cafe where we had a snack or dinner.
JenBee
Burke
These are all excellent suggestions I think! Though I really wasn’t all that impressed by the Prado – Sorry! All I can add is to ask around for the best chocolat y churro shop nearby wherever you’re staying (p.s. they taste better after midnight.) Maybe as a stopover between a night at a club or pubcrawl? If you’re looking for clubs, there’re a ton of great ones, but just be aware that Madrid has some strict club dresscodes, especially for men, so no shorts/open toed shoes, ect. if you’re bringing a guy friend.
Even just wandering around Madrid aimilessly is lots of fun, and though I’ve heard lots of real horror stories about crime around the city, I and a couple other girls I was hosteling with missed the last metro ride of the night and walked for 3 hours in some pretty sketch areas around 2am and were fine.
Have fun!!
Oh, and p.s. Nice Threadless shirt!
