Just back from Madrid, with teens and a 9-year-old
Aug 2nd, 2006, 01:05 PM
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Just back from Madrid, with teens and a 9-year-old
Thanks to everyone who posted suggestions to this site. It was extremely helpful, especially Maribel's guide, which provided information that is impossible to find in guidebooks.
Our trip was wonderful, albeit a bit odd. My 16-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son stayed with me in a hotel, while my 18-year-old son stayed with several European friends in a youth hostel nearby. We tried to get together at least once a day and find activities that everyone would enjoy.
Here are some highlights:
Lodging:
We were at the Lope de Vega, which is a half block from the Prado. Great little hotel, wonderful staff, excellent value, perfect location.
The boys were at the nearby Cats hostel, which was another bargain at 18 Euros the night with breakfast. It is in an historical building right off of Atocha street next to a Flamenco club. They said it was clean and fun, but by the end of the week they complained that there were more seniors than young people.
Museums:
Follow Maribel's advice on how to visit the museums. It really helps avoid the crowds.
We all loved the Palacio Real, especially the view, the Royal Pharmacy and the Armory.
The current Picasso exhibit at the Prado and Reina Sofia is definitely worth seeing, although it is rather crowded. The teens especially enjoyed "Guernica" at the RS.
The Prado is free on Sundays, RS free Saturday late afternoons and Sundays.
The rest of us visited the Thyssen as well, which has no free days and might explain the fact that it is quieter and less crowded. Our 9-year-old especially liked the Dalis.
We waited in line for the Descalzas Reales, but the line was hours long and it was so hot that we ended up skipping it.
Other entertainment:
El Retiro Park: If you don't mind the gypsies who try to sell you rosemary and play accordion music in your face whether you like it or not, this is a great place to relax and people-watch. We found many quiet corners to sit in the shade or on benches and read or otherwise beat the heat.
The Palacio de cristal (in the park) has a current exhibit that we call the "sock" exhibit. It's empty except for some shiny plastic tiles on the floor, and it's about 100 degrees inside. At the (free) entrance the attendant rips open a new pair of socks from a plastic wrapper, and gives them to you so that you can slide around on the floor, all the while listening to some unsettling animal scratching sounds coming out of the speakers. When you've had enough fun, you can either give the socks back to the attendant, who puts them in a big bag to be thrown or given away, or you can take them. Since we were doing our own laundry on the trip, we opted for keeping the free socks, and still wonder if we somehow missed the point.
Food:
La Plateria: Calle Moratin 49. Maribel suggests this place for lunch or coffee after the Prado. It became our daily stop, sometimes several times a day, but certainly for breakfast. The staff is very pleasant and hardworking and the food is quite good.
Taberna Maceira: Huertas 66. This was supposed to be the place we all went together for our big feast. As such, it was a bit disappointing. It's a Galician tapas bar, which would have been fine, but the waitresses were pretty rude, not keen on teens, and one was horrified that we asked for Coke. The tables were so close together that we kept falling into other diners and vice versa. Having said that, the food was great (especially the patatas bravas and the pimientos patron.) I would try it again hoping for a better night.
Other good tapas bars in the (Santa Ana) area were:
La Casa del Abuelo, Calle Victoria 12
Taberna Dolores, Pza. Jesus 4
Cervezas la Fabrica, Calle Jesus 2
For quick snacks: Try either VIPS, Pans & Co. or Rodilla, with Rodilla being the best of the three.
Shopping:
Corte Inglés is the best option for picking up a few fans or perfumes or scarves for gifts. The one at the Puerta del Sol is quite crowded; the one in the Salamanca neighborhood is better. We especially liked the book, music and gourmet sections, which are at some locations in separate buildings. We bought a lot of gourmet items there to take home as gifts.
For espadrilles, the Casa Hernanz is right off the Plaza Mayor at Calle Toledo 18. They have every imaginable type and price, although they close for lunch, Saturday p.m. and Sundays.
The kids' favorite place to buy good souveniers was at the stands on the median in front of the Prado, at Plaza Cibeles. They bought shawls for 8E, cloth purses for 10E, bullfighting posters with their names on them as bullfighters for 8E, t-shirts and scarves. The prices and quality there were as good if not better than anywhere else.
Transportation:
Suggest the Aerocity shuttle from the hotel to the airport. It's reliable and much more comfortable than a cab, bus or metro. The hotel can reserve it for you.
Our trip was wonderful, albeit a bit odd. My 16-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son stayed with me in a hotel, while my 18-year-old son stayed with several European friends in a youth hostel nearby. We tried to get together at least once a day and find activities that everyone would enjoy.
Here are some highlights:
Lodging:
We were at the Lope de Vega, which is a half block from the Prado. Great little hotel, wonderful staff, excellent value, perfect location.
The boys were at the nearby Cats hostel, which was another bargain at 18 Euros the night with breakfast. It is in an historical building right off of Atocha street next to a Flamenco club. They said it was clean and fun, but by the end of the week they complained that there were more seniors than young people.
Museums:
Follow Maribel's advice on how to visit the museums. It really helps avoid the crowds.
We all loved the Palacio Real, especially the view, the Royal Pharmacy and the Armory.
The current Picasso exhibit at the Prado and Reina Sofia is definitely worth seeing, although it is rather crowded. The teens especially enjoyed "Guernica" at the RS.
The Prado is free on Sundays, RS free Saturday late afternoons and Sundays.
The rest of us visited the Thyssen as well, which has no free days and might explain the fact that it is quieter and less crowded. Our 9-year-old especially liked the Dalis.
We waited in line for the Descalzas Reales, but the line was hours long and it was so hot that we ended up skipping it.
Other entertainment:
El Retiro Park: If you don't mind the gypsies who try to sell you rosemary and play accordion music in your face whether you like it or not, this is a great place to relax and people-watch. We found many quiet corners to sit in the shade or on benches and read or otherwise beat the heat.
The Palacio de cristal (in the park) has a current exhibit that we call the "sock" exhibit. It's empty except for some shiny plastic tiles on the floor, and it's about 100 degrees inside. At the (free) entrance the attendant rips open a new pair of socks from a plastic wrapper, and gives them to you so that you can slide around on the floor, all the while listening to some unsettling animal scratching sounds coming out of the speakers. When you've had enough fun, you can either give the socks back to the attendant, who puts them in a big bag to be thrown or given away, or you can take them. Since we were doing our own laundry on the trip, we opted for keeping the free socks, and still wonder if we somehow missed the point.
Food:
La Plateria: Calle Moratin 49. Maribel suggests this place for lunch or coffee after the Prado. It became our daily stop, sometimes several times a day, but certainly for breakfast. The staff is very pleasant and hardworking and the food is quite good.
Taberna Maceira: Huertas 66. This was supposed to be the place we all went together for our big feast. As such, it was a bit disappointing. It's a Galician tapas bar, which would have been fine, but the waitresses were pretty rude, not keen on teens, and one was horrified that we asked for Coke. The tables were so close together that we kept falling into other diners and vice versa. Having said that, the food was great (especially the patatas bravas and the pimientos patron.) I would try it again hoping for a better night.
Other good tapas bars in the (Santa Ana) area were:
La Casa del Abuelo, Calle Victoria 12
Taberna Dolores, Pza. Jesus 4
Cervezas la Fabrica, Calle Jesus 2
For quick snacks: Try either VIPS, Pans & Co. or Rodilla, with Rodilla being the best of the three.
Shopping:
Corte Inglés is the best option for picking up a few fans or perfumes or scarves for gifts. The one at the Puerta del Sol is quite crowded; the one in the Salamanca neighborhood is better. We especially liked the book, music and gourmet sections, which are at some locations in separate buildings. We bought a lot of gourmet items there to take home as gifts.
For espadrilles, the Casa Hernanz is right off the Plaza Mayor at Calle Toledo 18. They have every imaginable type and price, although they close for lunch, Saturday p.m. and Sundays.
The kids' favorite place to buy good souveniers was at the stands on the median in front of the Prado, at Plaza Cibeles. They bought shawls for 8E, cloth purses for 10E, bullfighting posters with their names on them as bullfighters for 8E, t-shirts and scarves. The prices and quality there were as good if not better than anywhere else.
Transportation:
Suggest the Aerocity shuttle from the hotel to the airport. It's reliable and much more comfortable than a cab, bus or metro. The hotel can reserve it for you.
