A guide to Madrid
 

A very elegant city located in the center of Spain, there is so much to see and do in Madrid. The link below is my thoughts on the great city of Madrid, and my trip to nearby ancient city Toledo, along with photos from the trip.

http://passionforplaces.blogspot.co....rid-spain.html

Thanks for reading!!
Elis

Thanks .
Love Madrid, visited five times.

Thanks for posting this. Many people here are obsessed with Barcelona, but for us Madrid is the tops !

I agree!! I feel I should probably explore Barcelona more though before forming an opinion, but Madrid is so underrated! I didn't really know anything about the city before going, but I really loved it.

Madrid is definitely on my wish list--maybe next year.

Great, thank you! We'll be there in May, so this is very helpful!

Excellent! I certainly agree about Madrid being underrated! One of my favorite cities indeed.

Elis,

Thanks for posting, another Madrid lover here! I'm heading back to Madrid in February. I have lost track of how many times I've been in the last 30+ years, I always have a great time.

This is perfect, thank you! My bf and I will be in Madrid this April. It'll be our first time discovering the city...very excited.

Me mola Madrid!

Before I left, everyone said that Madrid was good for two days and then leave. However, I enjoyed my stay here as I'm an art/history lover. The food was great, people were surprisingly friendly for a bid city and the Retiro park was gorgeous. Plus the Metro was clean, cheap and easy to use-and ran more often than the Metro in DC.

Bus service in a Madrid is also very good.
We also used Cercania for day trips.

"everyone said that Madrid was good for two days and then leave" -- I frequently note that for any art lover, it easily merits a minimum of 4 full days. Glad you enjoyed it!

There are number of posters who used Madrid only as a base to see small towns nearby.
Not everyone has interest in art museums or moving away from crowded Sol and Mayor area.
I highly recommend venturing north of Retro park along and east of Serrano all the way past Goya
to Jose Ortega ..
lovely , tree line streets, high end shops, galleries, non- touristy Madrid of well to do locals.

I also liked the area around the Teleferico bordering Parque Oeste. Some lovely high end buildings. Is that still considered the Salemanca district? Reminded me a bit of the Central Park West in NYC.

No, Salamanca is north of Retro park...more like the Upper East side..

I am not sure where the concept of being an under rated began. It is a world class city with three world class museums and it is an excellent hub to visit other towns. There are many other places and customs that are touristy and not. It is the center of government and does have the feel of a company town. I like some others prefer Barcelona, but that does not mean I do not appreciate Madrid.


BTW, the museums and parks that are also used by Madrileños, especially on Sunday. Although I try to avoid the Plaza Mayor, there are stamp sellers on Sunday morning and one the unique stores nearby called Casa Hernanz that sells all sorts of products made of hemp, but not that.

You do not get to know a place until you ready to leave and a week in Madrid passes very quickly.

A friend says that Madrid is a Spanish city and Barcelona an international one.

No, Madrid is a capital city and Barcelona a provincial one.

As much as I like Madrid, I would never call Barcelona "provincial" anything...
It is elegant, interesting, multicultural , full of great art , lovely vistas of the sea ...
one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.

Well, young Elis, you seem destined to be an explorer of many places. Come on over to Boston someday. I did glance at your photos. Other places too. You might consider more "people pictures," i.e. street scenes, tapa bars.

As for Madrid, truly a bustling city with nice parks and fountains. We stayed last October just off Gran Via. You did not include the Prado nor Royal Palace which should be highlights. But maybe you are too young for Goya and company (myself an admirer incl. the Goya exhibit in Boston in January).

To clarify about people in photos, you have many buildings pictured. But in Copenhagen you surely could include people relaxing along Nyhavn and also fishermen and boats along Amalfi Coast. I always try to get a few children, too.