As an active member of HC (http://www.hospitalityclub.org/) and Couch Surfing (http://www.couchsurfing.com/) everybody is invited to my home. Here I want to put a guide for visit Madrid.
Move in Madrid
The best way i using the subway service which have a really good service and you can go everywhere. The best thing is buying a turist ticket of the days that you are going to be in Madrid. With this tourist ticket you can caugth the subway whatever you want. The horary if subway is from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m..
Cultural Visit
Here you will found one of the most important pinacotecs of the world. You can see ones of the best pictures of the museum in high resolution with Google Earth going to the Prado Museum. Here you will found Artists like Velázquez, Goya, El Greco, Rafael, Tiziano, Durero, Rembrandt, … It’s closed on mondays. Sundays afternoons it’s free entrance.
Paseo del Prado s/n.
-
Subway:Banco de España.
Here you will found modern art and artists like Picasso, Dalí and Miró. The most important picture is El Guernica of Picasso where you will see the sufering of Guernica town in the Vasque Country when the Luftwaffe bombered it. Also, shows the suffering of a civil war where brothers figth against brothers. Here you will found art of XX century.
It’s close to Atocha.
It’s the biggest and most important private art collection. Impresionism, Constructivism, Abstract Art, Expresionism, Pop Art and everything that complement the other two Museums (Prado and Reina Sofía).
In front of Prado Museum.
There are more museums but are less important than these three. Some of it:
Sorolla Museum: http://museosorolla.mcu.es/ . Musseum of the spanish Artist Sorolla. General Martínez Campos, 37.
National Museum of Scientific Science: http://www.mncn.csic.es/home800.php . C/José Gutiérrez Abascal, 2
Party Visit
Spain and Madrid have a lot of party. Spain haves a big tradition of party that starts in early 80s when the democracy cames to Spain. The party time starts around 22:00 and will finish later than 6 a.m.. The disco-pubs close really late.
The places for going party are:
Huertas: In C/Huertas. Here are a lot of pubs where you can dance spaish and international music. Also, there are some irish pubs and similar where you can found many Erasmus people and foregneirs visiting and going party in Madrid (also spanish people).
Tribunal:
Malasaña:
La Latina: Typical for start with some “tapas” and beer and finishing in pubs of Via Cava Baja, or near Plaza Mayor.
Discos: Also you can go to the fashion disco of the moment where you will have to pay an entrance and the drinks will be from 6€ to more than 10€.
The drinks in Madrid are really expensive and not really good alcohol n the pubs, this is the reason why people makes “botellón”, which is went to a park and drink calimocho (a mix of wine and coke), sangría (mix of orange juice, lemos juice, sugar and red wine) or other mixed alcohol drinks. Make Botellón is illegal, but people do it.
If you are hungry or thirsty during the nigth (fridays and saturdays) in the most important streets of Madrid you will found Chinese people whom sells from cold beer to just make noodles and sandwiches (always in Gran Via street the whole nigth).
Sport Events
If you can Visit Real Madrid Football Stadium (called Santiago Bernabeú Stadium), and if you can go to a football match better, it’s impresionant. Is one of the biggest football stadiums in the world where plays the best team of the world (9 Champion League). It’s in the center of Madrid in Paseo de la Castellana and the prices for a match goes from 20€., the cheapest, to more than 100€.
Austrias Madrid
The Austrias Madrid is the oldest part of Madrid where the kingdoms live and the Madrid city life have been in the past centurys. Here you can foun the Plaza Mayor, The Royal Palace, …
Places to Visit
Retiro Park: In the past a private residence for spansh kings. Nowdays its open for free. It’s the huge park inside Madrid with a lot of fountains and gardens. Really nice for have a walk. Here there is an sculpture in honor of the daemon. Have an artificial lake where you can rent a boat.
Debod Temple: Spain helps for free with money and people for traslate the Abu Simbel Temple in Egypt, for thanks this the Egypt Goverment gave to Spain an ancient Egypt Temple. This temple is near Plaza España, and have a really beautiful views of Madrid and really fanfucktastic sunset.
El Rastro: All sundays of the year is a street market in the centre of Madrid. Here you can found what ever you want. You have to have 1000 eyes because there can stole you. Same famous pictures have been founded here.
The Royal Palace: Where the ancient kings of Spain use to live. In front of the Palace there is a really nice park called Orient Gardens which have sculptures of all ancient kings of Spain.
Cibeles
Plaza Mayor
Where take “tapas“
I recomend 2 places which are always full. With each beer the give you something diferent of food for free. With 5 € you will drink 4 beer and eat enought.
* El tigre: C/de las Infantas. Close to Garn Vía. Typical Asturian pub. They put jamón, croquetas, paella and whatever of tapa. REALLY GOOD.
* Casa Pepe: With the 2 first beer they put you fried chicken. Later you can have chorizo, pig ear, cheese, … The best thing: potatoes with 2 sauces.
Other places:
In La Latina: “La burbuja que ríe”, Calle del Ángel19, (Asturian pub always full) and “El Almendro”, Calle Almendro 13, (have to taste “papás emporrás”, potatoes with gazpacho). There are more expensives but really good. If you want to taste a typical spanish dish go to “Los huevos de Lucio” in Calle Cava Baja and ask for eggs with spanish ham and potatoes (12€).
If you want to drink spanish sangría the most popular place are “Las cuevas del Sésamo” in the center of Madrid (9€ each jar)
Near Plaza Santa Ana and Plaza Mayor are many places but are more for tourists.
Where eat & dinner (not yet)
Typical food
Breakfast: Churros with chocolate, madalenas, sobaos, ensaimada (typical of Balear Islands).
Eat: Cocido of Madrid.
Paella. The best ones are in Valencia and near Valencia. It’s a way of making rice.
Jamón. Spanish ham. Have to be Iberic. There are a lot of clases of Spanish Ham ones better and expensives than others. The iberic ham cames from an spanish specie of pig, the iberian pig which lives in Spain and Portugal. Here are diferent clases, bellota ham, does it mean that the pig only have eaten acorns in his live, and black leg (“pata negra”) its a specie which have black legs. Also, are 2 kinds of pig legs the “jamón” are the back legs, and the “paleta” are the front legs. Also, the ham needs a time fr fermentation (yes like wine), and with more time, better ham (and more expensive). The best hams are the Guijuelo ones because there exist a special bactery for fermentation. But there other good ones from Extremadura and Andalucía.
Potato omelete. Economic and typical spanih.
Embutido: chorizo, lomo, …
Gazpacho: tomato juice with more things. It’s original of Canary Islands. It’s typical in summer.
Morcilla: Typical of Burgos. Really nice.
Anchovies from Cantabria.
Calamares fritos (fried squid)
Migas
Asturian Fabada
There are hundreds of kinds of cheese, everyone is wonderful.
There are hundred of foods in Spain, each typical of a region, but nowadays is really globalized and you can found in everypart of Spain. In this country they have areally big gastronomic culture and is difficult to found a country in the world with his cuality and offert.
Dessert: flan, rice with milk , torrija (typical Easter food), turrón (Typical in Christmas time)
What drink
Spanish beer: I recomend always “caña”, beer tap, the best ones: Estrella Galicia and Alhambra, but they are dificult to find in Madrid. I this case, taste Mahou 5 stars. Also, you can drink a “clara” which is a glass with a half o beer and the other half of lemon juice or water with bubbles.
Wine: I shall recomend Ribera de Duero wine which always its ok. If you have money you can taste one Rioja. When you go to a restaurant there is a tradictional words: “At home the outside wine and at outside the home one”. Does it mean that the most of the restaurants have his own wine which is economic one and always its aceptable, but they can give you an outside one which is expensive and not have to be good.
Sidra:Cider.
Mosto: Grape juice without fermentation.
Close to Madrid: El Escorial, Aranjuez, Toledo and Segovia. (1 hour more or less)
Chema Larrea 