Going to Madrid this Summer, need your advice!!
Jan 11th, 2012, 05:26 PM
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Going to Madrid this Summer, need your advice!!
Going to madrid this summer and will be traveling by train southward. Going with Teenagers, what sights should be see? sidetrips? Escorial and Valley of the Fallen? What's good to do? How about restaurants? Any tour companies you recommend?
Jan 11th, 2012, 05:41 PM
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How many days? How many teens? What are your interests? Exactly when in Summer? Gets super hot in S. Spain in summer. What are the teens intersted in?
Generally, get up early to do outside touring like walking in Toledo or Seville. Hit a museum and take a long break in the middle of the day to swim and nap. Tour and walk in the early evening. Go to a central plaza in the late evening. There are often artists and muscians playing. Eat very late. I took a small group of teens to Spain. They loved Barcelona and Segovia. They were impressed by the cathedral in Toledo and the Prado in Madrid.
Generally, get up early to do outside touring like walking in Toledo or Seville. Hit a museum and take a long break in the middle of the day to swim and nap. Tour and walk in the early evening. Go to a central plaza in the late evening. There are often artists and muscians playing. Eat very late. I took a small group of teens to Spain. They loved Barcelona and Segovia. They were impressed by the cathedral in Toledo and the Prado in Madrid.
Jan 11th, 2012, 06:20 PM
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A tour with teens is a really bad idea. They will be bored by long days on the bus and early morning starts (luggage packed and outside the door by 7 am).
Definitely do the planning - and have the kids be responsible for certain parts - and you will enjoy it much more. Also be aware that Spain in the summer is VERY hot - can easily be more than 100 degrees for days on end - and not every hotel, restaurant or shop has AC. So be sure you always stay hydrated, carry water with you = and rest in the afternoons if the weather is too bad.
Definitely do the planning - and have the kids be responsible for certain parts - and you will enjoy it much more. Also be aware that Spain in the summer is VERY hot - can easily be more than 100 degrees for days on end - and not every hotel, restaurant or shop has AC. So be sure you always stay hydrated, carry water with you = and rest in the afternoons if the weather is too bad.
Jan 11th, 2012, 06:38 PM
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Please note that El Escorial and the Valley of the Fallen have been discussed here recently and someone noted some closings. Also note that the Valley of the Fallen was built with slave labor and is always controversial and will not be interesting to teens who are not conversant in the Spanish Civil War.
Madrid also has a very lively night life that begins around midnight, I mention this if your teens are older.
Here is the website for Time Out Madrid which is one of the more hip websistes:
http://www.timeout.com/madrid/
Madrid also has a very lively night life that begins around midnight, I mention this if your teens are older.
Here is the website for Time Out Madrid which is one of the more hip websistes:
http://www.timeout.com/madrid/
Jan 11th, 2012, 07:14 PM
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Thanks for all the information! As it happens, the kids had AP Euro and my son's relatives worked for the spanish government during the Franco era, so they wanted to go to this place...Thanks for the Time out madrid website. We will also go on the red bus hopping on and off, would this be good?
Jan 11th, 2012, 08:08 PM
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My first response to posters who don't know what they want to do or to see is to get a guide book or two. A guide book is invaluable for getting ideas for hotels, sights, transportation, etc. Planning your own trip can be part of the fun. I think it's also generally cheaper than a tour if you plan well.
I decided not to go to el Escorial and the Valley of the Fallen, partly because of remarks on this board, partly because I came up with other ideas.
I decided not to go to el Escorial and the Valley of the Fallen, partly because of remarks on this board, partly because I came up with other ideas.
