Madrid for Thanksgiving
 

My husband & I just moved to Europe and we'd like to get away for Thanksgiving since we won't be sharing the holiday with our families in the US. :( We were thinking of traveling to Madrid over the holiday but I'm a bit concerned about the weather and whether this will prevent us from enjoying Madrid. Is the end of Nov. a particularly rainy or cold time of the year? Should we leave Madrid for another time of the year? We will also be traveling with our 4 year old son. This is our first European trip with him so I'm unsure as to whether to bring his car seat. Do you think it would be best to rent a car, take a taxi or take public transportation from the airport. I'm thinking if we spend most of our time in Madrid we'll be fine walking or with public transportation. We were planning to spend 4 days in Madrid; do you think this is too much time? Should we plan a day trip to an outside city? If so, which would you recommend?

Also, can anyone recommend a good hotel ($100-$150, in a rather quiet part of the city, and close to public transportation).

Any restaurant recommendations (that welcome families) would be helpful as well. Thank you!

I love Madrid. Nobody can guarantee you it won't rain, but it's unlikely to be downpours or all the time.

You should definitely NOT take a car into the city. The Madrid train from the airport is part of the metropolitan subway system, and it's great.

I'd like to recommend to you the Gran Hotel Conde Duque.

http://www.hotelcondeduque.es/cas/index.asp

It is near the San Bernardo metro stop (easy from the airport) and it directly faces a sweet little park where your child can play. It's very quiet, the rooms are large, and if you try booking through a discount website, like bookings.es, I hope it won't be outside your budget. Even though it is not in the tourist "triangle", it is very close by train and in a much more elegant, non-touristy area. And you might find that little park a real asset with your child.

With a small child, I would not suggest Toledo as a day trip, even though it is beautiful. It is very hilly.

Almost all restaurants except the most expensive and chic welcome children. You'll be surprised at how many 4-year-olds you see eating out at 10pm.

Have a good time!

Thank you nessundorma for all the information! The hotel you recommended sounds great but it's a bit more than what we were hoping to spend. Do you have any other hotel recommendations?

What is your budget?

Hello again,

Since I extended the trip one additional day I'd like to keep the cost to 100Euros a night if possible. I'm so torn.... I want a boutique type hotel but at a hostel prices! haha I'm finding it tough to find everything I want (comfortable, clean, quiet, close to metro and walking distance to popular sites) within the 100Euros a night budget.

I thought I'd find lower prices for the Nov. timeframe. Didn't think Nov. would be such a popular time of the year.

I've never stayed in a Madrid B&B, but on a tight budget, I would begin my search there.

Here's a link:

http://www.madridbandb.com/

And here's another link:

http://www.travellerspoint.com/guest...en-ci-729.html

Our daughter spent last year in Madrid and we've been back and forth.

It certainly won't be hot atThanksgiving and it might be rainy but it's a wonderful, easy city to be in. Absolutely no car, walking and public transportation are very easy. Also , people in spain go out multigenerationally and everywhere welcomes families, but as I'm sure you know dinner is very late, many restaurants don't start serving until 9, but you can make a meal out of tapas any time.

Look into the hotel intur palacio san martin. This website puts it out of your price range but we've paid considerably less. There's a large variability in room size, which might affect price. It's located between Plaza Mayor and Sol (very central) but is itself located on a beautiful plaza next to a monastery with virtually no traffic so we thought it was perfect.
Have a great time

Madrid is packed with "hostals" which often are small mini-hotels (although there are some larger versions; safe, clean, comfortable and might fit your purposes exactly. I've stayed at the Hostal Victoria I and II (there is a III but haven't stayed at it) and saw many similar establishments.
http://www.hostal-victoria.com/index_e.asp
Madridman's web site has links to dozens of hotels and hostals.
http://www.madridman.com/

Have you considered an apartment? you'll be able to relax more with your son, and you should be able to find one big enough within your budget. Try googling "apartments in Madrid".

good luck!

About the car: car seat for children is mandatory. That if you are crazy enough to get a car into Madrid!

Yes, we definitely would bring my son's car seat if it was best to rent a car from the airport to our hotel. But from the advice other travelers have given me it sounds like the metro is our best bet.

Thank you to everyone who wrote in; I REALLY appreciate all your suggestions. I checked out the apt selection and I found some fabulous places very close to the popular sites but my husband feels more comfortable with a hotel staff. Perhaps on our next visit to Spain he'll be more up for it.

I went ahead and made reservations for Hotel Victoria 4. Read lots of reviews on Trip Advisor & Madridman's website and it looks pretty good. They gave me a rate of 115 Euros including breakfast which I thought was pretty good. I'll keep my eye out for Gran Hotel Conde Duque in case I can get a last minute deal. I love the fact that there was small park across the street for my son.

Thanks again for everyone's suggestions!! I'm sure you'll see more of me since we just moved to Europe and have the next 3 years to explore.

A taxi from the airport to the city is around 20 Euros. If you are traveling with a 4 year old and lugagge I would strongly advice taking a cab versus the metro. Sorry, I'm spoiled and always take a cab.

I agree with cruiseluv. The taxis are not expensive and it would be a better start to your trip with a small child (who would probably prefer the moving walkways and train, but he's not carrying everything!)