tessietoes

We're heading to Madrid for 7 nights in April for business...and of course, pleasure!

What is it about Madrid you love? Any particular museums, restaurants, tours, sunset spots, jamon stores, hotel, shopping, lounge bars you enjoyed? Where would be the best central area to stay?

I'd love to hear anything you got about Madrid!

Thanks

danon

One of my favourite cities. Visited five times ( last, in Oct 2014)
I always stay north of Retiro park in elegant Salamanca district .
Hotel Jardin de Recolrtos.
Madrid has excellent public transit....easy to get around
Some posters prefer staying closer to Mayor or Santa Ana or Prado.

Easy day trips to Toledo, Segovia, Aranjuez and more...

kimhe

Madrid is also one of my favourite cities.

I've previously posted these suggestions:

Have breakfast or lunch at Café del Círculo de Bellas Artes in down town Calle Alcalá, 42. One of the city's most emblematic cafés. Grab a window table and watch Madrid life on bustling Calle Alcalá. Take the lift up to the roof topp terrace (the azotea) for great views of the city. http://www.esmadrid.com/en/cargarApl...ntificador=179

Watch the sunset over the Guadarrama mountains from the terrace at El Ventorrillo in the Vistillas park. Great pollo al ajillo (garlic chicken), some say the best in town. Map, video and some pictures: http://11870.com/pro/restaurante-ventorrillo

Have lunch or some tapas at Casa Granada, on the 6th floor of an apartment building just off Plaza Tirso de Molina. Hard to find and an excellent terrace. http://www.tripfilms.com/Travel_Vide...ada-Video.html

Café Central, just off bustling Plaza Santa Ana, is a fabulous jazz venue with live performances from the best artists every night at 10. Artists shift every week. Entrance 15€. Good food also. Populart, a little further down the street, is also a great place. http://www.cafecentralmadrid.com/

Experience world class flamenco at one of the best tablaos. Madrid is arguably the flamenco capital of the world. Although the art form comes from the South (Andalucía), everybody has to conquer Madrid to get to the top. On their way there, or as an opportunity to try out new things and get an up close audience, many of them work the top tablaos. I recommend Casa Patas and Cardamomo, both close to Plaza Santa Ana.
http://www.casapatas.com/
http://www.cardamomo.es/

A stroll in the beautiful Retiro Park. http://www.aviewoncities.com/madrid/parquedelretiro.htm

Asturian Casa Mingo for the best grilled chicken and cider: http://www.casamingo.es/
Watch the video, and you're sold:
http://11870.com/pro/casa-mingo/videos/bc313f19

Txirimiri in Calle del Humilladero, 6 gives you an idea of why the Basque kitchen is considered among the best in the world. In the midst of one of the best tapas/restaurant districts in town, in and around Calle Cava Baja in La Latina.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...ri-Madrid.html

I never leave Madrid without having had the squid in its own ink and the famous cod at Casa Revuelta, also in the same district.
http://11870.com/pro/casa-revuelta

The Reina Sofia contemporary art museum. The second floor with Picasso, Dalí, lots of other painitings, posters, films, photos etc., dealing with a couple of the greatest civilizational breakdowns of the 20th century, the Spanish Civil War and WWII, completely blew my mind off a couple of years ago.
(And of course Prado and the Thyssen-Bornemisza museums)

emily71

1) Museums- Prado and Reina Sofia for Guernica which is simply amazing in person.

2) Él Retiro Park. Beautiful gardens with fish in the lake and entertainment for families.

3) Él Corte Ingles- department store in the city center with a wonderful 7th flr view.

4) La Mallorquina at Puerta del Sol-for some of the best pastries and café con leche in the city. It's an institution. Stand at the bar on the ground floor for the best experience.

5) I took the Madrid City Walk offered by the Tourist Office. While it only went to a few historic neighborhoods, it was a nice intro on the history of the city. Cost was around 12 euros.

6) finally just walking around on a weekend night around 11:30-12am and seeing all the families/people still out walking around.

7) Did I mention the cafe con leche?

travellingdad

I was in Madrid in November. Stayed in the wonderful Hotel Only You which is hip in a very happening and busy (in a good way) area. Retiro Park is my favorite place in the city, especially if you're a runner.
Loved my day trip to Toledo, but preferred Segovia with its fairy tale castle and incredible 2,000 year old aqueduct. Well worth going to and very easy to get around by train.

danon

Recoletos

kja

I loved the museums and so stayed near El Prado, where I was also within easy walking distance of some delightful restaurants and cafes.

I believe the National Archaeological Museum has recently reopened after a long closure.

The Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales is well worth visiting IMO.

I was glad I spent 2 full nights in Toledo, a night in Segovia, and a night in Avila. Many people choose to visit these places as day trips from Madrid. Depends on your interests.

joannyc

http://www.rewards-insiders.marriott.com/thread/11307

Above is a thread I posted on another site. Scroll down for my itineray in Madrid and some pics are further down the thread. Nothing beats sunset at Temple de Debod and the fountain behind it! Bring a camera and maybe a bottle of wine!

Further down the thread are some notes from my 2013 trip also.

Kja and I seem to have the same Iikes about Madrid (and Spain in general)! I completely agree about Segovia, Avila and Toledo! I recommend multiple nights if you have the time in each (3-4 in Toledo!)

<< The Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales is well worth visiting IMO. >>

Kja is so correct! This convent is stunning! It is well worth multiple attempts to get in! I think it took me 3 or 4 tries before I could make the cut!

kja

Oh, and I agree with joannyc about sunset at the Temple of Debod!

cruiseluv

I like staying in the Plaza Santa Ana/ Prado museum area as I find it convenient to other areas in the city. This February we'll be staying at the Westin Palace using Starwood points. Another hotel I like which is less expensive is Catalonia Las Cortes.

You've gotten some very good advice above. Yes, by all mean include a stroll in Retiro park. Hopefully you'll have decent weather in April. We've lucked out even in March.
Try and visit Mercado San Miguel, near Plaza Mayor. A fun way to try tapas.
Museums : Prado, Reina Sofia, Thyssen Bornemisza

Enjoy!

tessietoes

Nice!!

Your food and museum suggestions have me drooling...terrific list thanks so much. I think we may only have time for 1 day trip and so far Segovia is the top contender, thanks travellingdad! I'm more of a jogger slash brisk walker slash lazy stroller so I like the idea of being close to Retiro Park south of the Salamanca area but still considering other areas, thanks cruiseluv.

danon, continuing to love all your recs...wow 5 times in Madrid! This will be our first time {going with bf}. What would you say is the best mode to get around the city from Salamanca?

kya and joannyc, great minds think alike...thank you! Debod Temple looks amazing, took serious note to bring a bottle. Any tricks on how to get in the convent the first attempt? I'm reading through both your Spain threads and learning a lot.

emily, thanks for a great list, just googled La Mallorquina at Puerta del Sol...yum. A relative gave me a gift from Corte Ingles once and want to return the favor so will check out the 7th floor views.

kimhe, you're awesome! Appreciate the insight on both cities. Your squid ink just made it on my 'to eat' list, not to mention all the other wonderful spots you recommended on my San Sebastián thread.

We usually prefer apts for the price, space and terrace views but with work stuff going on we decided to splurge on a nice hotel for a week. Will look up the ones mentioned here next, thank you everyone!

tessietoes

I should get tested for dyslexia...this has been happening to me a lot lately. Kja not kya

joannyc

El Corte Inglés stores have a grocery store in the basement level. Great place to pick up wine, cheese, snacks.... and olive oil to bring home! I love, love, love Fuenroble Olive Oil!

My nephew bought a couple of bottles on Amazon as a Christmas present for me this year. Shipping charges are quite high. But, in previous years, I've bought a couple of bottles or cans in El Corte Ingles and brought it home with me.

http://www.amazon.com/Fuenroble-Fras.../dp/B003KIQJUO

Also, a nice place to buy fashionable scarves.

danon

I stay close to Retiro.....there are several metro stops ( Retiro and Banko De Espana) , bus lines and Cercania near by. Salamanca is a good size area.
A walk to Prado is about 10min...., I also walk to Sol , Mayor and even further...
if you don't stay in Salamanca, take a walk through its lovely streets ..and do some window
shopping ...they call it :barrio de dinero ( neighbourhood of the wealthy)
Many posters prefer to be closer
to Sol ( the very centre of Madrid) ...and Mayor with many restaurants, tapas bars etc..
Before you decide on the hotel, take a look at the metro map of Madrid . It is impressive.

kja

"Any tricks on how to get in the [Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales] the first attempt?" Sorry, no. Just a bit of a warning: Many groups of people have just one person stand in line, so the line seems to move exceptionally slowly and it often looks like people are cutting in. I remember thinking that i was something like 16th in line, but I had to wait through 2 full cycles because of that. But it was worth it IMO!

joannyc

And, because they speak only Spanish, I had no idea what the nun was saying. Another tourist told me she said there were no more tours that day as they walked away. But, a number of people remained hanging out so I asked someone why. She told me that the nun said another tour may start in a 1/2 hour. So finally, after my previous unsuccessful attempts to get in, I finally made it in! Woohoo!!!

joannyc

Btw, it was only on my second day of trying that I got in! That is how much I wanted to see it!

tessietoes

Oh now I really wanna see the convent!

joannyc, thanks for introducing me to fuenroble olive oil, so excited to try it! Any favorites on butter? I received a delicious CAN with the gift from Corte Ingles but we don't remember the brand. The yumminess was memorable so now I'm on a mission.

Thanks danon, the metro map looks simple and efficient. I agree, won't miss strolling in your hood if we don't end up staying in Salamanca. Haven't solidified hotel yet but thinking of The Principal, Palacio de Tepa, maybe the Fenix...rooftop terrace would be wonderful.

My bf came up with the brilliant idea to visit Rioja to check out the wineries & the Gehry hotel. We'll be coming from San Sebastian with a car and staying maybe a night or two? Aaaah so tempted to splurge on that hotel! ..or maybe lunch. Anyone been? Any favs around this area? Any winery recs are greatly appreciated. Two Gehry masterpieces in less than a week...swoon!! <3

Thanks kya for always sharing, going to your Spain thread now..a ton of good stuff there too!

danon

If you stay at Melia Fenix don't miss Platea next door...an old theatre converted into
several restaurants and bars..
A grate spot !

Robert2533

You'll need reservations to visit the wineries in the Rioja, but there are a few now with wine bars, including the Bodegas Marques de Reical (check out Maribel's Guide to the Rioja for additional information and recommendations).

For staying in the Rioja, near Elciego, you can see if Villa de Álbalos (www.hotelvilladeabalos.com) has anytime available, and for a great 4-star, try Hotel Viura in Villabuena de Álava (www.hotelviura.com). If not to your taste, then you can stay at the Villa de Laguardia (en.hotelvilladelaguardia.com), a few minutes north of Elciego.