Madrid's Bullfights

Madrid's Bullfights

Bullfighting is an artistic spectacle, not to be confused with sport. For those not squeamish about the sight of six dying bulls, it offers all the excitement of a major stadium event, held every Sunday afternoon from April to early November. Nowhere in the world is bullfighting better than at Madrid's Las Ventas on Calle Alcalá in Salamanca. The sophisticated audience follows the happenings closely, and the uninitiated might be baffled by their reactions: cheers and hoots can be hard to distinguish, and it can take years to understand what prompts the wrath of such a hard-to-please crowd.

Tickets can be purchased at the ring or, for a 20% surcharge, at one of the agencies on Calle Victoria, just off the Puerta del Sol. Most corridas start in late afternoon, and the best fights of all -- the world's top displays of bullfighting -- come during the three weeks of consecutive daily events that mark the feast of San Isidro, in May. Tickets can be tough to get through normal channels, but are always available from scalpers on Calle Victoria and at the stadium. You can bargain, but even Spaniards pay prices of perhaps 10 times the face value -- up to EUR 120 or more.