Madrid is like what other city?
 

Ok I'm thinking about going to Madrid and know that I've heard very positive things but....I have no absolutely idea what the "vibe" of that city is (for lack of a better word)

So if possible could anyone name another US or European city (Paris, Rome, London, Florence, Amsterdam) that you think comes close to Madrid in "feel"

Also, by any chance is Madrid a hub for cheap air travel to any other European or MidEast or other destination? If it is I may choose to use Madrid as a jumping off point to that place.

Madrid has it's own feel, really. It's big and busy, like London or Paris, but with a more laid-back vibe. It's energetic and festive, and very nocturnal. Lunch at 2, dinner at 10, clubbing until 7 a.m.

Oddly enough it feels a lot like Cologne in Germany. Both are modern cities, not very much to see in the cities themselves, but surrounded by a lot of cool towns/sites.

I forgot to add, the nightlife there is like nowhere else :)

I agree that nocturnal is a great descriptive word for Madrid. Great night life and evening festivals in the different villages.
It is like no other. Some of it is ultra modern.
It is dry and scrubby, not very green ( I thought there was an inordinate amount of graffiti there as well.)
I do not know about the hub for cheap air fare.

I found Madrid to be unique, like no other city I've been to. I didn't find it particularly charming or architecturally interesting, though there were little squares and quarters that had some charm. What struck me most about it was the schedule of the Madrileños - utterly impossible for me to get in synch with. They eat dinner at 11 pm and stay up all night and party. That's fine if you're 20 - as a tourist who wanted to get some sleep and see the sights, it was unnerving, and on a three-week trip to Spain I never, ever felt like I had adjusted to the schedule.
I also witnessed an amazing amount of petty crime in my three short days there, which did not endear me to the place.
All in all, I found it to be an eclectic combination of old and new, with lots of rather unpleasing-to-the-eye new architecture, not enough green space, rather bold and brassy, with a young atmosphere, and definitely nocturnal. In comparison to the other great European cities I have visited - Paris, London, Munich, Berlin, Prague, Copenhagen, Rome, Amsterdam, Florence, Vienna, Salzburg - it rather left me cold. I guess I never really "got the vibe."

Maybe it's an age thing. I definitely got the impression that Madrid was a great city for young people.

To me Madrid seemed somewhat like Chicago (although I really disliked Madird and have no particluar animus towards Chicago) - lots of very tall buildings, very modern, loud, hot, dirty - but also very bland, not a lot of character - without the edge, attitude, bustle and vibrance that make New York so wonderful. We also saw a lot of street crime. and ina lot of ways it is overtly a "youth" city - at least the streets seem to be filled with youth versus a mix of people - sort of a giant mall turned somehow into a city.

Going to Madrid and trying to stay on your regular time schedule seems counterproductive. First off, if you travel to experience different cultures, why not try and keep they hours they do? Go out at night and enjoy the Madrid that the madrilenos love. Wake up at 7 am everywher else, but in Madrid do as the madrilenos do :)

Madrid is the least attractive city I have visited in Europe.

IMHO, it lacks charm, has too much petty crime, is dirty and has bland architecture.

Party animals might like it.

Wow...can't believe I'm hearing all these bad impressions about Madrid. I had a blast there!! Yes, maybe it is a more younger, energetic city. I remember dancing until 5am at one of the local clubs, then going next door to eat churros (their version of a freshly made, hot doughnut but not loaded with sugar) accompanied by the thickest, most wonderful hot chocolate I ever had!!

I thought the people living there were very good-looking! Nicely dressed with a fun, open energy.
Also, another thing that struck me was how people in Madrid didn't like to honk their car horns alot like they do in New York City (where I am from). I appreciated the lack of rudeness there. Would definitely return to Madrid to walk around and dance the night away...

We had a great time in Madrid, didn't get much sleep and left exhausted, but with tremendous memories of days walking the Art galleries(i spent 20 minutes sitting in front of Guernica !) and the lovely central park and nights filled with tapas bar crawling and lots of laughter. just out of interest I was 42 when we were there... and a favourite saying " if the music is too loud...you are too old !

Madrilenhos say: 'de Madrid al Cielo.' Madrid is like no other city in Europe: Its expansion as a series of concentric circles: Madrid de los Austrias ('Old Madrid') when Carlos I of Spain (Carlos V of the Austrian Empire) ruled. Then there is Madrid de los Bourbones, more modern and taking in the Royal Palace, Museo del Prado, the Puerta de Alcala and many other attractions and finally a modernistic city of high rise apartment buildings and bustling suburbs.

Madrilenhos will take their own sweet time 'sizing you up' to decide if you might be an acceptable member of their social group.
You're not likely to feel Madrid's 'Vida' your first trip there unless:
1. You are fluent in Castellano; or
2. you are a student who can immediately be welcomed into a community of students.

EasyJet serves Madrid from London (Luton - been there, done that) and RyanAir has service from London (Stanstead) to Jerez de la frontera, Barcelona (Gerona) and Malaga. Madrid is not a hub for any low cost airline but Iberia, SpanAir and Air Europa always have promotional fares within Spain and to Portugal.

De Madrid al cielo! I'll be there tomorrow....

Vibe: nocturnal, bustling, but not pretentious; somewhat chaotic, fairly noisy, aloof at first, but warms up quick. People from Madrid are known as "gatos" (cats) because of their late night habits. Compares a bit to Miami/South Beach, but with less attitude, no beach, slightly fewer beautiful people, and a different accent. Kinda like Buenos Aires as well. A city for the young, the young at heart, and pretty much everyone else. Great taxi drivers; truly inspired cursing. Good metro, good food, good bars, good clubs, good places to recharge after the clubs. Too much graffiti. To live in Madrid is to love Madrid, but is also to fervently desire to escape from Madrid periodically--witness the massive traffic jams out of the city during all holidays.

Of course, I'm talking about the city center; there are miles of sprawling suburbs that could be anywhere or nowhere. There are also plenty of anonymous office buildings; sadly, as I get older, I spend more of my time in these and less in the clubs.

Iberia often has decent prices to the Middle East and Africa, specials to European destinations can be had, and Madrid is certainly an important transportation hub to Latin America, but it is no London with regards to cheap flights.

We were just in Madrid for the 1st time in April. I had heard mixed things about the city, but was also told by my kids' spanish teacher that to experience spain, Madrid is a must. None of us had been to any part of Spain. This was a short visit (from Madrid we flew to London).

We loved Madrid. We did find it charming. It has some of the hustle and bustle of the big European cities, but is much smaller. Most of the sites are walkable and both the metro and bus system are very easy and inexpensive to navigate. We were with family so didn't experience any night life. We did enjoy the museums, Retiro park and walking around the various neighborhoods. It's hard to compare to other cities because each one of them is unique. We spent 3.5 days there, and that was adequate. If we had been there longer we probably would have done more day trips (we did spend 1 day in Toledo).

We booked a bundled 3 leg journey (nyc-madrid-london-nyc) so I don't know what the individual madrid-london fare was, but our entire airfare was very inexpensive. We flew Iberia between Madrid and London. Maybe you can check some fares on their website.

Forget about Madrid if you want to experience good nightlife. Berlin, Germany is the place to go. The people may not be so instantly friendly as the madirilinas but they are less superficial. We were disappointed that many of the bars and clubs in Madrid close at 3.00am but in Berlin they went on all night. Berlin also offers better value for money and is clean and modern.

..I think that the thing that makes Madrid less atractive to americans is that the "old" part of madrid is quite small. I think N>A> look for european charm often in terms of buildings ectand that is not Madrids forte. Its people are and the Prado is a gem.

..ps something about madrid (NOT THE PEOPLE OR NIGHTLIFE) reminds me of Frankfurt.

Madrid is also great because it is the home to one of my favorite film directors...the crazy genius Pedro Almodovar!!!! What a talent!

The first time I was in Madrid it reminded me of downtown Yonkers, NY, where I'm orginally from, but then so did most of northern Spain. I guess my preconceived picture of the whole country was Andalucia - whitewashed buildings with potted geraniums out front and flamenco being played. That said, Madrid is a party town - in the bars, houses, streets, hairdressers, everywhere ! It is very difficult for me to think of anyone as an hombre de negocios. Everything can be dropped for the sake of a good time.

cooter writes: "People from Madrid are known as "gatos" (cats) because of their late night habits."

Not! If you look at a map of Spain you will see that the Province of Madrid (Province, not Autonomous Community) is shaped like a cat. That's why Madrilenhos are 'gatos,' not because of their late night habits.

Those late nights are all over Spain and I think Barcelona may even surpass Madrid in that 'sentido.'

I agree with other comments although "inspired cursing" should include driver comments like: "oye, que no se va poner mas verde" which I heard one driver say when the car in front hesitated after the light had changed to green.