A guide by Aroi
Beautifully kept and little known ornamental gardens behind the Royal Palace. A total respite from the hustle and bustle outside. Frequented at weekends by swarms of meringue clad brides and their grooms posing for the album in the lush elegant surroundings. When tired of the peace and solitude it is just a stone's throw from the large converted Estación del Norte shopping centre, and when you are sick of that pop straight down to the Goya frescos nearby, right next door to Casa Mingo where you can eat there yummy chicken for lunch washed down with real Asturian cider.
Take the C circular bus or go to Principe Pio metro station. For the frescoes in the chapel where Goya is buried and which he painted himself walk straight down the Paseo de San Antonio de la Florida to the twin chapels of San Antonio - only one has the breathtaking frescoes, recently restored.
The museum not to miss while in Madrid is the Thyssen-Bornemisza. This private art collection housed right accross from the infinitely more famous Museo del Prado, features paintings from the 16th through the 20th centuries by some of the world's most prominent artists, including Caravaggio, Monet, Degas, Gaugin, Van Gogh, Picasso, O'Keefe and Hopper, among others. The quality an diversity of the collection is uncomparable, yet it is a size that is manageable and won't cause 'museum-fatigue'. So you'll have enough time and energy after your visit to get out and see the rest of what Madrid has to offer!
Paseo del Prado, 8
www.museothyssen.org/Ingles/index.htm
Chueca is recognised as a gay neighbourhood in Madrid city centre, popular for its bars and discos of the same description. During the daytime there's a very tranquil, liberal vibe to the area. Then at night, especially on the weekends, it comes alive and everybody, gay or otherwise, mix together and have a great time. A perfect place for gay couples, free of prejudice.
Metro: Chueca
Madrid's second most famous art museum. It doesn't have Las Meninas or cute art students doing copies of the Old Masters. But nor does it have the Prado's crowds and the endless succession of suffering Jesuses and portraits of Spanish royalty and their mates.
Paseo del Prado, 8
This street is located in the Chueca neighbourhood. The narrow street has lots of designer shoe shops which are reasonably priced. Spain was one of the first shoe manufacturers, and this street is very good proof of that. In addition, La Calle Fuencarral, which is nearby, will offer you the coolest and most trendy shops in Madrid including Custo and El Mercado de Fuencarral.
Calle Augusto Figueroa.
Nearest metro is Chueca.
Fantastic museum full of modern art - if nothing else, it contains Picasso's incredible (and enormous) Guernica. Like a lot of the museums in Madrid, admission is free on Sundays.
Metro: Atocha; www.museoreinasofia.es/
A slightly less touristy version of the Plaza Mayor, here you can find fantastic authentic Spanish restaurants and tapas bars. The food is delicious yet cheap. Start your evening in the plaza itself, with a glass of rioja and some tapas. Then, choose any side street leading off from the square and you'll be sure to find a good quality restaurant. Once you have dined on 'oreja' (pork's ear fried in garlic), chorizo, jamon serrano and other carnivorous delights, you can walk down calle Huertas and choose a late night bar in which to finish your evening.
Plaza Santa Ana. A short walk from the tube station 'Sol' or 'Tirso de Molina'
Take the metro from Barajas airport to central Madrid for 1 euro - and every single trip costs the same. We bought a weekly card and did not use it. Everything in central Madrid is so close that we walked - from the Palacio Real to the Prado is only 20 minutes, provided you can avoid the bars!
A town in central spain that you can easily get to from Madrid.
It is my favourite place in Spain - it has an amazing aquaduct, a beautiful castle which is supposed to be the inspiration for the Disney/Cinderella Castle, a lovely cathedral and the usual well kept central plaza with lots of great bars/restaurants.
You can get a local train from Madrid to Segovia station.
Ignore the photo of Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock they've got hanging from the wall and wedge yourself into this small bar/restaurant for some fine, fine food.
Pedro Almodovar is said to love the place. After a few raciones it's hard to disagree. They deserve recognition for their liberal use of olive oil if nothing else.
Calle de la Libertad 4-6;
Tel: 91 532 12 19;
Metro: Chueca
A traditional tapas bar in a funny old corner shop.They serve good ham and gulas (funny little eels). It's a cool place to visit because it is on the edge of the red light district and run by a very camp couple. They serve drinks, bitch with customers and chase out drunks and undesirables whilst neatly arranging your ham and goats cheese tapas. We felt welcomed and entertained. Check out the wig shop down the road.
Calle Hortaleza, Chueca
Arturo Barea's The Forge is not a novel, but it takes you to the heart of Madrid in the first half of the 20th century as the author grows up on both the rich and the poor sides of the tracks.
Malasaña is a street and an area well known by all true 16-30 Madrileños. In the day time you can shop for some retro treasures in the two 'Popland' boutiques (one for bags, badges and tee-shirts, the other for sixties home decorations and posters). Then, well after dark, you can return and be part of the Madrid sub-culture night life. Go into some bars off Plaza Dos de Mayo and you'll think you've stepped onto the set of Austin Powers (without the irony!) There are all types of bars and clubs round here, but they all have one thing in common: the cool factor. The music is cool, the people dress cool, but most importantly, the attitude is cool, that is to say, laid back.
Malasaña district. Nearest tube: Tribunal.
There are plenty of sidrerias (cider bars) in Madrid, but this one in the gay-friendly Chueca district is a huge stand-out for the quality and, especially, the quantity of the complimentary tapas. 1.50 a 'caña' isn't cheap, but you'll get a steaming pile of piggy, bready delights along with it, and that's every time you take a drink.
Also a great place for vast filled 'bocadillos' (baguette sandwiches), and various other tasty 'raciones'. Just watch out for complimentary paella - myself and others have been laid low by food poisoning for some time after a visit. The fact that I'm still recommending the place tells you just how good it is.
One final thing - get there early if you have any kind of designs on a table.
c/ Infantas, metro Chueca
Part of me is loathe to share this tip - it's my restaurant. No trip to Madrid is complete without lunch here for this former Madrid resident.
A local neighbourhood restaurant, sandwiched between the traditional madrileno working class district of Lavapies and Plaza Santa Ana.
Don't be put off by the long menu translated into English and German as I initially was. If you arrive on a Monday or Thursday lunchtime the queues of Madrilenos, business men in suits to builders in boilersuits, waiting for their cocido and paella specials will convince you it's not a tourist trap.
The service is at times brusque. I ate here at least once a week for a year and only during my last week in Madrid did the waiters show me any familiarity - and I lived next door.
The food is simple but good. There are a selection of menus at various prices to suit any budget.
The atmosphere is pure Madrid. TV blaring in the corner, twice as many tables crammed in as should really fit and shouted conversations echoing off the tiled walls and wooden floor. You do not come here for a relaxing lunch. But all the same don't come here if you are pushed for time. You can be out the door in 40mins having eaten a 3 course meal or waiting for your dessert 2 hours later.
Try the pollo al ajillo. Or the grilled asparagus. or the fried aubergines. or just about anything!
Enjoy.
C/Amor de Dios
M. Anton Martin.
This tiny and historic tiled bar in a sidestreet near Sol serves up sensational cod croquettes and battered fish pieces fresh from the fryer, as light and fluffy as deep-fried cloud.
Wash them down with glasses of house wine if you can get to the bar. A Madrid institution.
Calle Tetuán, 12
www.casalabra.es
Possibly the best place in Madrid for breakfast or a midday snack: help yourself to consomme (including a selection of sherries to complement), delicious pastries and some of the best croquetas I've ever tasted. Find a place to perch around the edge of the shop (no tables). They will also pack food for a picnic. Not cheap, but managed on a student budget.
Metro Sol, c/ carrera san jeronimo 8
(note: there is also a restaurant attached)
Fantastic tapas - a great place to watch the world go by. I go there every time I visit!
metro - sol - plaza santa ana
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