Madrid, the capital city of Spain, has a great mix of old and modern and makes a great base for day trips to nearby historic cities.
My Posts on Madrid
Areas:
Attractions:
Events:
- Watching the 2010 World Cup Semifinal in Madrid (Spain vs Germany)
Introduction to Madrid
I’ve visited Madrid four times and passed through on an overnight layover another time. With excellent historic sites, beautiful architecture, and delicious food, it makes for a great few days of exploration. There’s something to interest every traveler and I always look forward to going back to see more. It’s also a good base for day trips to a few other cities.
Getting to Madrid
Most visitors will arrive in Madrid at the airport, but if you’re already in Spain you can take the train.
Madrid Barajas International Airport
Madrid Barajas International Airport is the largest airport by size in Europe and one of the busiest as well. There are plenty of shops and restaurants in the airport which makes it a pleasant place to have a layover or fly out of.
You can get into the city using the metro or 24-hour airport buses. The buses run every 15 to 35 minutes and cost 5€ (as of August 2024). The route takes you to Atocha Railway Station with a stop at Plaza de Cibeles, in front of the Bank of Spain. Between 11:30pm and 6am, the terminal station is Plaza de Cibeles.
Train Stations
There are two main train stations in Madrid, Atocha Railway Station (Estación de Madrid Atocha) and Madrid Chamartín. Atocha serves destinations to the south, Barcelona, Valencia, Zaragoza and Marseille. Chamartín serves destinations to the northwest, León, Segovia, and Lisbon.
Getting Around Madrid
To get around, I’ve always used the Madrid Metro, which is very convenient. The best deal for getting around the city during your stay is to buy a tourist card from one of the automated machines at any metro station. It includes unlimited use for a period of 1, 2, 3, 5, or 7 days from initial use, including to and from the airport. They cost between 8.40€ for 1 day and 35.40€ for 7 days (as of August 2024). Alternatively, you can buy a normal Multi Card (Tarjeta Multi) and add credit as you go.
Where to Stay in Madrid
Madrid is full of excellent choices for accommodation, whether you plan to stay in the historic city center for an extended period or have a layover.
Hotel Arosa (Permanently Closed)
The first hotel I stayed at in Madrid was the Hotel Arosa in 2010, located in the middle of Gran Vía. It’s in a historic building built in 1922. The room was a decent size and the location was unbeatable. I was able to walk to many of the places I was interested in visiting.
The Arosa is permanently closed, but it reopened at the end of 2019 as the Pestana CR7 Madrid Lifestyle Hotel, a luxury hotel with Cristiano Ronaldo as an investor.
Hostal Viky
For an overnight layover, I stayed at Hostal Viky, which is located near the airport in the historic center of Barajas. I needed an easy overnight and this small hotel did the trick. They have a free airport shuttle and it’s only five minutes to the international terminal.
Melía Barajas
On a one-day trip, I stayed at the Melía Barajas. It’s also a short drive from the airport and includes a free shuttle. I used the metro to get there from the airport and into the city center. It’s only a seven minute walk to the metro station.
The hotel has nice rooms, a swimming pool, and breakfast included in the rate. The only problem was that the bed sunk in the middle. They could definitely use some new mattresses.
Where to Eat in Madrid
For restaurants in Madrid, unfortunately I can’t remember anywhere I ate back in 2010 other than when I went on my tapas tour. My only record of restaurants are from three separate one-day trips.
El Café de la Ópera
El Café de la Ópera is a good restaurant in the historic city center. It’s only a few steps from the Royal Theatre and Plaza de Oriente.
They have a good selection of tapas, paellas, main dishes, and fixed price menus. Breakfast is served from 8am to noon, lunch from 1:30pm to 4pm, and dinner from 8pm to 11pm. The cafeteria and gastrobar are open from 8am to midnight.
I had a fixed price menu consisting of gazpacho and potato purée wrapped in zucchini and topped with tomato sauce. The manager brought over a complimentary tapas dish as well. The meal was excellent and the price was reasonable. I would happily eat there again.
En Copa de Balón
If you want to try a bocadillo de calamares (calamari sandwich), a typical meal in Madrid, we enjoyed ours at En Copa de Balón on Plaza Mayor. This small lounge also serves up tapas and has a good selection of wine.
El Camarote
Another place I tried a bocadillo de calamares is at El Camarote in La Latina. It’s a simple place with decent service and outdoor seating, but the sandwich wasn’t very good.
La Lonja
One place to avoid is La Lonja, located on Plaza de Oriente near the Royal Palace We sat outside for a quick coffee with the thought of having a late lunch there. The server ignored us for a good five minutes before coming to take our coffee order. When Marisol asked what kind of coffees they had, he snapped and said “whatever you want”. She asked to see a menu and instead of bringing one he said “you can have whatever you want”. We both ordered a cappuccino, which tasted like burnt coffee mixed in lukewarm water. It’s too bad we had the bad experience because the menu looked great.
Tapas Tours with Walks of Spain
On a visit to Madrid, you can’t pass up the chance to take a tapas tour and learn more about this Spanish specialty. I chose Walks of Spain with Andrés Jarabo because it seemed like the most authentic tour available. Tours cost €75 per person (as of August 2024) and include all food and wine. There’s a minimum age of 21 to join the tour. Tours are available daily and groups are kept small at no more than 10.
First, I emailed Andrés to ask about available tour dates. Once I chose a date, he asked me to meet the group at 7:15pm in Plaza de la Villa. Including me, it was a small group of seven people mostly from the US. We visited three different restaurants, but unfortunately I only remember the name of one of them – Toma Jamón in La Latina.
The most memorable dish we tried was jamón ibérico de bellota, which is made from free range pigs that feed on acorns. This is considered the finest quality ham in the world. It was served with toast topped with tomato sauce and olives.
At another place on Calle de Segovia, we sat outdoors and had an excellent squid with risotto cooked in its ink.
My Thoughts on Walks of Spain
The tapas tour was enjoyable and excellent and there was more than enough food for a full dinner. Andrés picked the best tapas I’ve had on any of my trips to Spain and paired them with wines from his personal cellar. Each wine he chooses is very highly rated and is almost impossible to find anywhere else. He also does a wonderful job explaining each dish and wine. Personally, it didn’t feel touristy at all. It was more like a friend showing me his favorite places to eat, and the group had some great conversations as well.
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Football in Madrid
Real Madrid CF and Atlético de Madrid are two of the biggest football clubs in Europe. Real play at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu while Atleti play at the Wanda Metropolitano. I’ve visited the Bernabéu on a tour but haven’t had the chance to attend a game for either team (at least in Madrid).
