Camelspit

Third posting - Our family will have a 24 hour layover in Madrid on our return trip to the US in early July. We have two small children. I'd like to make the most of the time. Two big questions:

1)Where should we stay (airport, downtown, hotel suggestions)?

2) What is the "must do" with such a short time to spend?

Thanks.

m_kingdom

Madrid is such a large city, one I am not fond of, you're best to stay at an airport hotel with a pool, sleep, rest, swim, amuse your children.

rex

You don't have to keep posting new questions to ask the same thing over and over - - you will often get more responses by "topping" (bringing your message back "up to the top" by adding any, even insignificant new mesasge to it) - - than re-posting.

I'm sorry that I cannot answer your question. you WILL get soe answers here, eventually, I suspect. Keep topping this one.

And visit the excellent website www.madridman.com - - a labor of love from a guy in Columbus, Ohio - - good for other parts of spain, too.

Best wishes,

Rex

p.s. Perhaps you didn't know how to FIND your previous posts to top them - - just click on your own name.

Iregeo

With small children, perhaps you'd like to spend at least a portion of your day in Retiro Park. I don't know if they offer this all the time, but when I was there, they had boats to rent on the lake, puppet shows, street performers and toy and food vendors. I had a wonderful afternoon there.

As far as hotels, I enjoyed the Villa Real. Walking distance to the park, an arboretum, the Prado... Have fun!

ms_go

Without knowing how the logistics of getting into central Madrid affect your time there (ie, what time you arrive and when you need to be back at the airport), it is hard to say. However, it seems a shame not to take advantage of your time there if you have most of one day.

We had a very enjoyable six-day vacation in Madrid last October, with a 10-year-old along. We quite liked Madrid -- search for our trip report posted by my husband, mr_go.

With 24 hours, I'd suggest (as Iregeo has) spending some time in the Parque del Retiro. We took a boat out on the lake. There also is a zoo, although we tried to go too late in the day and it was closed.

For the evening, find a spot at one of the bars/restaurants around the Plaza Santa Ana for people watching, tapas and drinks. There are a couple of playgrounds there, and there were lots of local families hanging around with their children.

Old Madrid is a fairly compact area, and you can see a lot by strolling around for a couple of hours -- including the Plaza Oriente, the outside of the Palacio Real, the Plaza Mayor and the Gran Via. Try to get ahold of Maribel's file for Madrid; she outlines a nice walking tour.

We stayed at the Best Western Carlos V, which is about as central as it gets. They also have rooms that accommodate three or four people, and a decent breakfast buffet. There are many other similar places to stay, and you can learn more by doing a search here.

Maria

I just happened to see this posting when I clicked on the Europe Forum. But it does not come up when you select Spain. It seems that when you first posted this you did not indicate that it was a topic for Spain, so most people who could and would help you are not even seeing your post!!!

Maybe you erroneously selected another country and it is showing up on the Sweden postings??!!

To answer your questions:

How small is "small children"? Toddlers?
Madrid will be an oven in July so spending time outdoors will probably be near impossible for you or your kids. If they are not able to enjoy museums (the Prado, Reina Sofia or Thyssen-Bornemiza) you probably need to go with the hotel with pool suggestion.

Maria

Camelspit

Thank you all for your responses. I actually did post it to Spain the first time, but then I couldn't find it there myself. And when I search for my name, not all of my postings are coming up, either. At any rate, you've all been helpful. Thanks.

Jocelyn_P

Don't do a search for your name, as it takes several days for your posts to be indexed; just click on your name in the top left corner (or anywhere else it may be on the screen).

BrimhamRocks

Yes, just click on your own name and any threads that you have begun and/or contributed to will show up on the left of your screen.

rex

Wouldn't it be good if Fodors sent this (and maybe a handful of other) tip(s) in an e-mail - - either when a person first registers, or when they first post (probably about the same time)?

Anyone feel like a writing campaign?