Weekend in Madrid
 

Hi
We will be stopping over in Madrid, first week of May, for a 3 day weekend.
We are in our 60s (boo hoo), and have never been to Madrid.
Any suggestions for Madrid virgins would be really welcome.

What are you interested in? The age is not much of a factor !

Suggested strolling through central Madrid
http://g.co/maps/ytx95

We just did a 4 nighter; first time in Madrid. We walked a lot!! We stayed up late every night (50 and 60 somethings). We did some top museums. Rode public transportation. Saw some horseracing. Drank wine, had chocolate and churros at San Gines, ate good food, walked through Retiro Park, went out to hear music at Cafe Populart, rented an apartment, shopped at Cortes de Ingles, did the El Rastro Flea Market, and just generally enjoyed the Madrid scene the best we could. We stayed near Plaza Mayor, which is very central, although fairly crowded. We really enjoyed our first visit to Madrid and hope to get back some day.

It is a wonderful city, and you will easily find more than enough for your three days in May.

A common resource often cited here on the boards are Maribel's downloadable info-packed PDF guides with pix, times of things, and general tips. They are great if you have a smartphone because they are always with you, with links etc to get maps. Buen viaje! El Rouss


http://maribelsguides.com/mg_madrid.pdf

ttt

A great city for a weekend! I really enjoyed the late show at the flamenco venue Casa Patas, and the dinner in their restaurant was good too, although it is not required to have dinner to see the show. http://www.casapatas.com/

I also enjoyed the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, which has a well displayed collection of minor works by major artists and major works by less-known artists. http://www.museothyssen.org/en/thyssen/home

Thanks for the replies. We are interested in food, Spanish music and culture, historical sites,walking around and experiencing the ambiance. Not too interested in cathedrals other than for architectural reasons.
Opaldog, sounds like you packed in a lot in a short time.

Madrid does not have a cathedral comparable to one in Toledo or Seville.
It has great art museums, but it may not be your interest.
Best to stay near Mayor and wonder around the area.
Visit Mercado de San Miguel for food, Cava Baja fro tapas, area around the Palace for a beautiful view,
Santa Ana for ambiance, Retiro for walk in a lovely park,elegant Salamanca for widow shopping,
see a flamenco performance,
The city has a very good metro and bus system

I would definitely go on the hop on/off bus to get a feel for the city!Sit upstairs and enjoy the beautiful buildings,especially at night!The weather should be just about perfect to sit outside at a cafe!

The greatest flamenco artists perform in Madrid theaters on a regular basis. Here you'll meet a predominantly Spanish and knowledgeable crowd. The program is constantly updated here: http://www.deflamenco.com/agenda/events.jsp?barrio=1

The more intimate tablaos (flamenco restaurants) are very popular with tourists also, but the best Madrid tablaos stage only top artists. I can recommend Casa Patas (world class guest artists every month this year, http://www.casapatas.com/), Cardamomo and Corral de la Morería. The two first are just off bustling Plaza Santa Ana, close to Plaza Mayor. Corral de la Morería is close to the Royal Palace and next door to the Almudena cathedral.

Villa Rosa on Plaza Santa Ana itself used to be a major flamenco restaurant/night-club since it opened some 100 years ago. Has recently been revitalized as a serious flamenco venue.
http://www.villa-rosa.es/English/inicio.php

Kimhe, I'm interested in your opinion. Not been to the 'new' Villa Rosa yet. Is really NOW a venue to watch a good flamenco show?

Revulgo,

Villa Rosa, which used to be called the cathedral of flamenco in the first half of the 20th century, is back on track as a serious flamenco venue. Performances every night with different artists. One of the major flamenco magazines writes about "a new era" beginning last summer. http://www.deflamenco.com/noticias/v...igo=FLA%7C1209

During the last month, great upcoming artists such as Guadalupe Torres, David Coria (both have recently been working with Rocío Molina, Premio Nacional de Danza 2010) and Marco Flores have performed here. The purity and tradition have been taken care of by living legends such as Juana la del Pipa and Diego Carrasco.

After all Villa Rosa was where Sabicas introduced a young Carmen Amaya to the flamenco world in one of the most legendary nights of flamenco history: http://www.flamenco-world.com/artists/amaya/amaya1.htm

Guadalupe Torres: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsNu1_40h5M
David Coria (with Guadalupe Torres): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxdqNz4aPCQ
Marco Flores with Guadalupe Torres and last years Premio Nacional de Danza Javier Latorre: http://www.deflamenco.com/videos/ver...igo=FLA%7C3437

I was 'in the know' about Villa Rosa in glory times, but then, the decadence… till bottom out in the 80s when became a coarse night-club serving cheap booze…

He-he, seems as if we have to give it another try now.

I vote for a Flamenco show, too. My family enjoyed the show at Cardamomo very much. I highly recommend it.

Madrid is very famous for its museums. I think you should visit the top ones. They are full of masterpieces. Reina Sofia is not large at all. Easy to do. Thyssen-Bornemisza, I would think of as average size, and very nice, too. If you find Prado overwhelming, you can focus on the masterpieces in each hall and skip the rest. They have a nice info booklet/floor plan with all the top paintings in each hall specified. My kids had a great time finding them in each hall.

Have dinner at Casa Botin. Some may say it is tourity but that's where I had my best suckling pig. It's an iconic place, too.