Top 10 in Madrid !
 

Any advice on things my wife and I "must" do and see in Madrid in October ?

When in October are you going and how long do you plan on staying?

Hola

We've just returned from Madrid. I have quite a few notes on this fantastic city eg. restaurants, shopping, tourist sites and strategies for avoiding queues etc. If you need them I can email the document to you. Just email me on [email protected].

What hotel are you booked with? Just like to check location.

Adios

Prado & Sophia for artlovers.

The Royal Palace

1. El Prado museum
2. Thyssen Borhemiza museum
3. Strolling through Parque del Buen Retiro
4. The Reina Sofia museum if you like modern art
5. Have an outrageously expensive drink in the Plaza Mayor followed by going for tapas in every restaurant along the Cava Baja and finishing up with chocolate con churros after 11:00 PM in San Gines
6. Palacio Mayor (followed by drinks in the Plaza de Oriente)
7. Convento de las Descalzas Reales (I loved this place!!!!)
8. Dinner in Botin (even if it is touristy, their cochinillo is great and they open early - 8:00 PM)
9. Hang around Plaza de Santa Ana in the evening
10. take a daytrip to El Escorial, Avila or Segovia

Make sure you check out the Madrid file at maribelsguide.com. I used it in my last trip and her advise is excellent!!!

Stay home. Madrid is a complete drag. If you are art included, there are some museums. There's plenty to see in Spain. None of it is in Madrid.

Metellus is just pissed off today about other people being allowed to vote.....Madrid is hardly "a drag" except if you happen to run into people having either a bad hair or a no hair day.

Intrepid1: Welcome back!

I like marigross' list, and I have been to Madrid many times. What is nice about her list...and Madrid... is that you can easily walk to all the places mentioned except the last. Madrid didn't get selected for the Olympics but their selling point was that it would be an environmentally-friendly Olympics since many could walk to the venues. Might have been pedestrian gridlock, but Paris won so that problem is solved.

Marigross got the musts, but also consider El Corte Ingles (popular dept. store), Zara (if you have contact with any young woman), all in walking distance. A Metro ride will get you to 1. the huge soccer stadium Bernabeo (Metro stop: Lima) shop there* and
2. Ventas, Metro stop: Ventas)the bullfight area...museum there if you don't go to a bullfight.
Try roasted chestnuts on the street..I think they would be selling them in Oct. November, for sure.
*There is also a Real Madrid store near the El Corte Ingles on Calle Preciados

What's wrong with the person who says Madrid is a drag?

A word of caution about shopping at El Corte Ingles! They have adopted the DCC, the Dynamic Currency Conversion scheme in which they charge non-EC based VISA and MC credit cards in the holders home country currency. This can end up costing you an additional 4% to 5% on the exchange rate. They are supposed to notify you ahead of time, but are not making a practice of doing so at this time. If you decide to buy anything, then tell them ahead of time that you want the transaction in Euros. You can also use Amex or cash, and buy less.

I don't think that Madrid has as much to offer, especially if you don't like museums, as other large Europen cities. But Toledo is an easy day trip, also El Escorial, Segovia and Avila. A more ambitious day trip is Cordoba, easily done by AVE train. I think it takes less than two hours and you can visit the Mezquita and also an Alcazar. I think the Mezquita is one of the most unique sights in Europe. There certainly are some "must do" sights in Madrid, just not as many as say Paris or London. The Plaza Santa Ana is a nice area for tapas, hopefully the outdoor tables will still be out. If you're not a vegetarian be sure to try the roasted suckling pig at some point. Someone insisted I try it and it really is delicious.

The outdoor tables on the sunny side of Plaza Santa Ana are out in January in 40 degree weather.

Good comment on what Robert said about being sure items are charged in euros. It's a new wrinkle that needs to be straightened out.

Madrid in October? Here's how we did it:

http://onelittleworld.com/madrid_1.html

Hope this helps!

Thanks for all the great advice. Does anyone have any suggestions on winery visits near Madrid ?

The closest winery (bodega) tours are about an hour south of Madrid in La Mancha.