Leave Thursday evening for 1st time trip to Madrid arrivig Friday morning. Return home Tuesday AM. Right now Weather.com predicts rain / snow for Sat / Sun / Mon. Suggestions for activites ?? Not afraid of getting wet. Just dont want to dampen 1st time visit too much.

The first thing that comes to my mind is museums (Prado, Thyssen, Reina Sofia) and long lunches with good wine.

I would not change my itinerary or activities, just pack appropriate clothes and do whatever you had planned on.

There was a downpour just as we wanted to leave the Palacio Royale. We tried to wait it out, but finally gave up and ran (or what passes for running with a couple of old girls such as we) to the nearest little cafe. We had delightful tapas, wine for my sister and coffee for me.

I agree that these days would be good times to visit the art museums.

Also, I doubt that it will be raining all the time. Anyway, just bring appropriate clothing and an umbrella and have fun.

In addition to the usual big 3 museums (Prado, Thyssen, Reina Sofía), if you're an art lover, you might want to hit one of the 3 free special exhibits, which we took in recently-

At the BBVA on Paseo Recoletos 10:
"Caravaggio to Picasso" (runs until Dec. 7. Open Tues.-Sat. from 11-8 and on Sun. from 11-2.)

At Caixa Forum on Paseo del Prado 36:
"Entruscan Princes. Between East and West." (runs until Jam. 18, open daily from 10-8.

At Fundación Mapfre at Recoletos 23:
"Degas, the Process of Creation" and
"Between 2 Centuries, Spain 1900"
(first runs until Jan. 6, second until Jan. 25. Open Monday from 2-9, Tues-Sat. from 10-9 and Sun., from noon-8.

Here is my 2 cents:

As long as my feet stay warm and dry, I can tolerate the rain and snow. Once my feet get wet/cold, I become crabby. So, my tip is to have comfortable, waterproof shoes.

we are both arriving by plane same day! hmmmm. might cross paths!

hi nygvic,

there seems to be a theme developing here - we were caught in torrential rain i Madrid too. just as we came out of the prado the heavens opened and the streets were flooded in no time at all.

eventually we too got fed up sheltering under some trees and ran across the road into a bar where we dried out. it really didn't dampen our enthusiasm for the city and gave us an excuse to bar hop.

regards, ann

nygvic,
We kept the rain at bay in Madrid on our recent stay by proactively buying a handy 10 euro umbrella in the Museo del Prado's gift shop! Didn't need to use it in Madrid, but it did come in handy later in the rainy north.

Thanks to all. I am off tonight and looking forward to my first experience in Spain. The weather wont dampen my spirits.

This thread's apt title reminded me of Marc Almond's wonderful song Toreador in the Rain.

If you get the chance to load that onto your mp3 player you'll still be singing it when you get back from beautiful Spain.

joe