lincasanova

oh yes. churros and chocolate are a must, but let's have someone local suggest the BEST place.

bad churros (cold.. doughy.. greasy) are NOT fun.

I am trying to figure out why those large dept. stores would have been closed on a friday morning...?? very unusual, must have been some local reason.

annhig

hi portlander,

to get over the possible siesta problem, why not hit a restaurant when you arrive - remember the spanish eat at different times to lots of other people - so lunch starts late - 2-3pm isn't late by their standards - and Dinner even later.

you could fill in the gap with tapas!

seriously, a wander around the little streets, a nice long lunch, some shopping, then some tapas in a bar would make a great day.

although you say you are not museum people, do consider either the prado or the reina sophia - they are both great for an hour or two especially in cold/wet december.

have a great 12 hours,

regards, ann

portlander

My mouth is already watering for some churros and chocolate so I eagerly await the suggestions I know are forthcoming. So far, I think I want to visit Salamanca to window shop, have tapas and churros and take the city tour. Just to reconfirm, the best way to do this is to take the bus to intercambiador (I don't know what that is, a named stop?), get off and walk up and down to see what we find. Then we make our way to the tour bus stop, where we'll hop on and off and eventually leave the city by bus again to the aeropuerta T4. Does that seem like it will fill the hours from 9:00 to 21:00? Thanks for all the help. I'm not feeling so nervous anymore.

lincasanova

The intercambiador is at Avenida America, and is the bus/metro/long distance "changing point".

you arrive underground, go upstairs and walk DOWN Maria de Molina street, turning LEFT at Serrano (where a lot of traffic turns left). You culd also turn left before at claudia coello..which is parallel to Serrano and leads into the heart of salamanca area.

Actually, near or IN the bus station there may be a good churros place, as the turnover would be very good. Porras (fatter and "airier" type churros) are also delicious and found at MANY bars.

www.softguide-madrid.com has madrid by sections, and you can read a lot about the salamanca area and others.

danon

since you don't have a lot of time and Madrid is a huge city, I would spend some money taking taxis .We took a cab from the ap. to the very center for about 25 euros.

lincasanova

she has a 12 hr layover. maybe 8-9 hours in town.

i agree, taxis IN the city are not expensive, but the bus to serrano area is a bargain and goes very quickly.

however, i agree some people would rather not lose the time spent looking for the bus, waiting 10 min for the next one.. etc., and just go for the taxi.

worldclass

portlander, as you heard from the posters her, you can enjoy a slice of madrid on a 12 hour layover. just be very, very, very, very careful of your belongings, esp your purse and/or wallet. specially around the crowded areas like puerta del sol, plaza mayor and all those other areas where there are a lot of tourists. just like in other big cities, there are pickpockets, purse snatchers and other petty thieves so please be very vigilant and aware of your surroundings. if i may add, somehow these petty thieves seem to be doing brisk business in madrid (and barcelona) my first and lone and hopefully the last, experience with street crime-purse snatching-was in madrid steps away from our rental car, infront of the europcar office in the business district of salamanca.

hope you have a great time in madrid.

portlander

Thanks, all. Now I'm ready and rarin' to go. And yes, we'll be careful of our possessions --- husband says even HE can't get his wallet out of his front pocket without a struggle. Absolutely refuses to get a better looking wallet because this one fits in so tightly. Me? I'll do the dreaded money belt thing and leave the purse behind --- hurts my shoulder anyway during a day of touring. I kind of like the idea of a plastic bag (but won't do it) : ) .

fmpden

Portlander I will be glad to give you he email address of a friend of mine who had the same attitude. For four trips -- no problems. In the Paris train station at the beginning of his fifth trip -- lost everything. And I mean everything. Since his wife carried a purse he deemed unsafe he carried everything in his front pocket -- two passports, credit cards, cash He, too, now uses a money belt. If you can get to it easily -- so can someone else.

FrankS

Unfortunately Madrid has a culture of crime and you have to be so vigilant. From the cabbie, to the dishonest waiter, to the purse snatcher, they all feel entitled to your belongings. What bothers me is, they have no shame in what they do. I have confronted these people in the act, and there is no remorse.

sf7307

There have been many many posts about crime in Madrid, and of course be careful with your belongings (do not hang your purse on the back of a chair, for example), but my daughter and I were there in August and we had no problems. We used the hop-on/hop-off bus because she was coming off a surgery for a broken ankle, but we also walked miles and miles - everywhere we didn't take the bus - shopped, ate, wandered, hit some museums, saw all the many squares and plazas, walked through Parque El Retiro, all for 3 full days in magnificent weather in late August. We were even worried about being ripped off by taxis and weren't (in fact, in answer to the other poster who said not to call for a taxi, but to hail one on the street, our hotel called one for us, it was there when we came downstairs, and the meter still didn't start running until we started driving). We stayed on the Calle Preciados which is a fun pedestrian shopping street (not high end). Madrid is just a lovely city -- the highrises seem to be relegated to the area out by the airport and the central area is populated by gorgeous old buildings. To me, it was much more of a place "to be" rather than a place to see specific tourist sites. We loved it.

danon

"From the cabbie, to the dishonest waiter, to the purse snatcher,..."

We were in Madrid for a week and
never had problems with taxi drivers, the waiters or purse snatcher.

portlander

I've decided I'm not the least bit nervous anymore ... and now I see there's a Christmas Market in Plaza Mayor! So I see my day as: Salamanca, MadridVision bus tour, tapas, Plaza Mayor, churros and chocolate caliente, and walking, walking, walking. Forgot to ask, though, can we check our rollaboards at the airport for the day? We'll already have checked our bags thru to JoBurg, I hope. If we have a locker, I'll leave my purse in it.

zeppole

http://www.airwise.com/airports/europe/MAD/

lincasanova

there is a CONSIGNA (left luggage) also at the bus station (intercambiador). i think it is 2 euros/day.

SUMMAGOLD

lola, you would be surprised how safe nyc subways are. been safe for soooo many years now. when is the last time youve been to nyc? 1985??