moo

Renting an apartment in Madrid for three nights in the fall. Looking at Cortes area. Is this a good place to stay for nightlife and proximity to tourist sites? How far to walk to Sol and Plaza Mayor? Any other suggestions? We want lively, but quiet at night for sleeping, and withing walking distance to restaurants, bars, etc.

cruiseluv

Yes, Las Cortes/ Barrio de las Letras is great! Less than 15 mins walking time to Sol/ Plaza Mayor.
Regarding noise... that would depend on position f apt/ bedrooms. In the weekend Madrid is a very boisterous city, its the city that never sleeps. So, even if you're in a pedestrian street there's a chance of people noise. If you share the address of apt you're considering I might be able to comment more.

ribeirasacra

The streets are cleaned at night and the bars and shops take to restocking in the very early hours of the morning.
Try and get a rental with double glazing to keep the noise out.

danon

There is nothing interesting about Sol...crowed, dirty, cheap eateries and stores

ekscrunchy

Agree with Danon.

kimhe

Agree that Puerta del Sol itself is not that interesting, apart from being where everyone gathers when major things are happening in Madrid or Spain, being the home of some very important buildings and monuments and the Km O and the very heart of both Madrid and Spain ;-)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerta_del_Sol
http://www.gomadrid.com/sights/puerta-del-sol.html
http://www.spain.info/en/que-quieres...a_del_sol.html

And you shouldn't walk long into the many small streets surrounding Sol before Madrid doesn't feel that busy. A wonderful city, the centre is like a dozen of small towns with very different vibe and identity. http://www.timeout.com/madrid/things...of-the-barrios

maitaitom

We loved this apartment we stayed at last year.

http://www.spain-select.com/en_US/re...ope-de-vega-ii

indyhiker

We are staying in this apartment next spring:
https://www.vrbo.com/691767

The owner has several apartments in the same building (f you Google Huertas VRBO, you should find them all), one of which was recommended by another Fodor's member. The reviews for each of the apartments are universally positive. My communications with the owner thus far have been very encouraging.

danon

The fact that " everyone gathers " near Sol does not make it any more attractive.

Madrid is full of lovely areas..: around the Palace, Retro (and north and east of the park),
north of Goya , behind Prado, north and west of Colon etc.
In spite of some historic buildings ,and its " demonstrations central" importance,
Sol (and especialy several streets leading to Gran Via ) do not define Madrid or Spain for me.

cmm6797

We also rented the same apartment that maimaitom mentioned above - Lope de Vega II by Spain Select - and highly recommend the apartment. Location was fantastic - walking distance to everything yet on a quiet, residential street with limited car traffic. Very close to Plaza Santa Ana (which gets loud at night so I personally wouldn't want to stay right on the plaza).

We walked to the Royal Palace, Plaza Mayor (touristy), Puerta del Sol (even more touristy), the Prado (very close). If we were tired by the end of the day we just hopped in a cab; rates were very reasonable.

I would suggest looking into that neighborhood and Spain Select's apartments. They were very professional and easy to deal with via email.

kimhe

Never suggested that Sol "define Madrid or Spain for me" either, but "nothing interesting about Sol...crowed, dirty, cheap eateries and stores" is just way too simple.