Madrid on a Sunday Morning?
 

My brother (never been to Spain) and I (been 5x) will be in Madrid from about 9:30am to 2pm on Sunday, July 9 '06.

I'm figuring to take hime to see Plaza Mayor and Puerto del Sol for a bite to eat, maybe get a taxi to swing us around to El Palacio Real (or should we just walk?).

Anything else in that silly little time frame?

Thanks!

Well if he's into art you can go to El Prado. I like to go into the museums if it's very hot and in July it might be.

The Palacio Real has some things to see, like a museum, but this isn't much time to view anything. I'd prefer the Prado to the palace, but if you go to the palace, I sure wouldn't take a taxi from Plaza Mayor, it's only a few blocks. You don't say how you are getting there but you could go to P del Sol first, then head over to Plaza Mayor and then the palace.

Yes, I thought I remembered the Palacio Real, Plaza Mayor and Puerto del Sol all being in walking distance.

We're two regular guys (37 and 41 y.o.) and we'll be coming from Pamplona and running with the bulls.
A trip to El Prado is not going to fit in with the "spirit" of this trip, if you know what I mean.
I've been to El Prado several times with my wife, and it's wonderful.

We'll be looking for some quick sites of typical Madrid, some great food that's available early on a Sunday and a place to toast away what I know will have been a spectacular trip.

Thanks again, I'm all ears.

I should also mention that we'll have two small pieces of rolling luggage in tow...unless someone knows where we can ditch them for a few hours.
Perhaps at the airport? We will have flown in from Pamplona earlier that morning.

There'll be very little movement aside from church services that early on a Sunday in the downtown area. My recollection is that the Atoche train station was pretty close, but we still dragged luggage up and down flights of stairs on the metro. I think the other station was a bit of a haul from the Plaza Del Sol area. If the budget allows, take a taxi to the Rastro - a huge "flea market". It'll be hard to pass as a Madrilleno with luggage in tow, but I finally got the tooled leather Moroccan ottoman I'd been looking for at a good price. One of the truly local Sunday experiences is going to El Retiro with the family. The cafe's are better than you'd expect, and the tableau was more memorable for me than some of the fine monuments and plaza's.