Unlike other trips, Madrid, was a trip which i did not plan much. Actually, i did not plan it at all. Together with some friends, we decided to travel for a weekend to Madrid in March '22. We just booked the tickets and because we all had a busy time at work before the trip, no one really spend time on making plans. Our only plan, was to meet up, have a nice chat, enjoy the spanish cuisine, taste a good Sangria and have some long walks, as we all live in different cities across Europe and we did not see each other in a while.
And so, without some useful travel tips, our experience in Madrid was already endangered before it even started ... Why? Because visiting Madrid without some previous planning was not such a good idea. The tips at the end of this post will give you an insight why. But let start with describing our trip.
We started our trip on Friday. For our accommodation we booked a Eric's Airbnb which we really liked and I would definitely recommend. The place perfectly fits for 4 persons, it has 2 big bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a pretty big open space livingroom including the kitchen. Moreover, the building has a reception, as all the building is full of airbnb's for rent. Because we arrived early in the morning and our check in was only at 3pm, we were able to leave our luggage until the check in time, at the reception. Eric's Airbnb was very clean and equiped with everything one needs for a short city break. The location was also very good, being only 20 min away walking distance from the city centre and having a metro station just 5 minutes away.
Day 1
I arrived pretty early in Madrid and worked some hours from the airport, as i still had some work to do for the day. Around noon, I decided to head to Eric's Airbnb. I took the Metro Line 8 to the city centre station "Nuevo Ministerios" and from there i changed twice more until i arrive to the station "Atocha Renfe" of Metro Line 1. From this station I walked 5 minutes until the airbnb. In totally i needed approximately 40 minutes from the airport to the place. In regard to the tickets, the price of a ticket for one trip costs €1,5 , but there is also an option to buy 10 trips for €10, which is much better in case you decide to travel more with the metro during your trip.
We meet up at the airbnb and after leaving the luggages at the reception, we headed to a place to have lunch. There are a lot of restaurants serving lunch menus in Madrid and we chosed a random one. The lunch menu costed €12 for a soup, main dish and a dessert. I found the coffee in most of the places very cheap, but i remember in this one place, I paid €1,3 for a delicious coffee with milk !!! Very cheap! After lunch, we headed back to the airbnb to check in and then directly to the Plaza España. We walked a bit and admired the surroundings and afterwards we decided to have a drink to the magnificent Rooftop Bar at Riu Plaza Espana. Due to the rain, the drinks part did not come as expected, but nevertheless the view here is unique, so I would definitely recommend it. The panoramic view over the city is simply breathtaking. A detail to mention here is that, there is an entrance fee of €10 / pers to the rooftop no matter if you want to serve something there or not. We spend approximatelly 1,5 hours at the rooftop and because another friend of ours was about to arrive soon, we decided to start searching a restaurant for dinner. Finding a restaurant in Madrid, on a Friday evening at 19 o'clock seemed like an impossible mission for us. After several calls at several restaurants, trying to make a reservation for the evening, we gave up, and decided to wait in a queue at a random tapas restaurant called Txapela. We waited approximately 30 min to receive a table and this seemed like a reasonable time. The tapas were actually very delicious and the sangria glass pretty huge.
Day 2
We started our second day with having breakfast at a place I really want to recommend. The small caffeteria is called Plenti and it offers breakfast and brunch menu's and dishes to delight your senses. The place has an hipster style atmosphere so I would not recommend it, if you are travelling with kids, as it is pretty small and crowded, but do go there if you just want to have a nice breakfast or brunch with friends.
After breakfast we decided to start our walking tour through Madrid. We started with Parque de el Retiro and visited the Palacio de Cristal. We enjoyed the walk through the park and afterwards we headed to the city center. After walking for some good 2 hours, we decided to stop for a Sangria at a nice rooftop called Azotea Circulo de Bellas Artes. As well as the other rooftop, this one too offers majestic panoramic views over Madrid, but i could not really decide which one between the two i liked more. The entrance fee here was a bit cheaper and costed €7 / pers. If you want to have a drink here or just go up and enjoy the view, consider a waiting in the queue for approximatelly 30 min. This applies also to the Rooftop Bar at Riu Plaza Espana. The price of the drinks in both rooftops is more or less the same: a sangria glass costs €6, cocktails cost approx. €12, an appertizer starts from €10 and a main dish from €20.
After refreshing us with drinks, we continued our walk to Madrid's heart - Puerta del Sol - the km 0 of Madrid, as well as the crowdiest place in the city. I must confirm, this is in my humble opinion probably the crowdest plaza i saw in an european city, on a random weekend without any special event, off-season... The amount of people there was absolutely astonishing! It seemed like the whole city decided to go to Puerta del Sol, at the exact time we did. Nevertheless, the plaza has its importance, as it hosts a number of well known sights both domestically and internationally associated with Spain, like the old Post Office which now serves as the office of the President of Madrid, the head of the regional government of the Autonomous Community of Madrid, the mounted statue of Charles III of Spain and the famous clock whose bells mark the traditional eating of the Twelve Grapes and the beginning of a new year.
Very near to Puerta del Sol, is the most known Churros place in Madrid - Chocolateria San Gines. We decided to try it, as the place is recommended in almost all tourist guides, blogs and articles. Well, I definitely do NOT recommend it as this is in my opinion the typical tourist trap one can get. Firstly, in order to be able to get churros from there, you have 2 possibilities: you either can choose churros to go or you can eat them there in the restaurant. No matter which option you choose, you have to wait in a queue, but the queue for the to-go option is a bit smaller. We waited more than 1 hours until we were sitted and remember we were there off-season. Secondly, because of the big waiting queue, I would describe the atmosphere there like "eat fast and go, cause someone else is waiting". This is what the waiters made us feel, which was though true, but still... Thirdly, ok, the place is knows just a lot of local spanish stars who visited the place, but believe me this has nothing to do with the taste. The churros were just a bit more expensive than in other places, and not at all more delicious. 6 churros with chocolate sauce cost approximatelly €5, but the taste is not more special than in other places. So, if you want to spare the time waiting in an never-ending line to get in and maybe also some money, do not get fooled by the marketing. Almost everywhere the churros tasted the same.
We continued our walking tour to Plaza Mayor, which is just minutes away from Puerta del Sol. Plaza Mayor - is Madrid’s grand central square and is found in the heart of the Hapsburg Madrid, the oldest part of the city. From here we went on with our stroll through the streets of this charming district and ocassionally checked the souvenier shops. Around 8pm, we went to have dinner at Casa Ciriaco, the spanish restaurant we had reserved from the previous day. We loved the atmosphere in this traditional spanish restaurant and everything my friends ordered was perfectly cooked, except for my steak, which i had to send back twice in-a-row because, although i asked it medium-rare, i received it Blue-rare. Beside from this small unconvinient, i really loved the place.
Day 3
The 3rd and the last day was the sunniest! We woke up at 9 am and because we were leaving in the late afternoon we went in a hurry to visit the Royal Palace of Madrid / Palacio Real de Madrid, which although it is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid,is now used only for state ceremonies. The palace enchants it visitors through its Baroque architecture embellished by frescoes, tapestries, and decorative motifs. Important artworks of Old Masters such as Goya, Velazquez, Caravaggio and Battista can be admired here. So, if you decided to visit the palace, the entrance fee is €12 and do plan a waiting time in a queue of maybe more than 1 hour. It is to mention here that, there are also days when the palace can be visited for free, but this is to check on their official website.
After the palace, we made our way to Mercado de San Miguel, which is near Madrid's city center. The place is a monument dedicated to the spanish cuisine and operates since more than 100 years. A lot of dishes can be tasted here, like cheese specialities, fish, Oysters, Serrano Ham, traditional sweets or different freshly pressed juices for a variety of fruits.
As it was already lunch time and we did not have breakfast for the day, after the market we made our way to Restaurante Botin. Founded in 1725, Restaurante Botin was named the oldest restaurant in the world by the Guinness World Records. The place specialties are suckling pig and roasted Lambs. The place has its magic, having spanish architecture, a very nice old design as well as delicious food, so if you do want to taste its dishes, consider making a reservation with at least 2 days in advance, as the place is very touristic and remember that this restaurant is a bit more pricey, but you can check its menu online.
We spend the rest of the afternoon at Jardines de Plaza de Cabo Noval, Plaza de Oriente and Jardines Lepanto and we fully enjoyed the sunny day and Madrid's so diverse architectural styles with mixed art deco motifs. When you are walking through Madrid, it seems like you are walking through more cities at the same time. So many architectural styles blend here together in a perfect symphony! Spanish, French, Habsburg, Egyptian are just few of these. After 3 full days, our city break trip came to an end. I took a Bolt from the city center to the airport for €21 and arrived there in 20 minutes. If I were to take the metro, I would have needed 45 min. so Bolt seemed to be more convenient for me.
All in all, I enjoyed Madrid a lot because I got to meet my friends, but if I had the useful tips bellow, I would have made even more of it!
USEFUL TIPS:
The weather in Madrid is not as warm as in other cities like for example Barcelona or Valencia. When we chosed were to meet up, we we're thinking to go somewhere warmer as the countries we live in. So one of the girls said "Let's go to Spain! Spain is always nice and sunny!" . This is not the case of Madrid. Madrid can be really cold in winter and spring, with temperatures going even to 0 °C / 32 °F. So, if you plan a trip to Madrid in winter or spring, make sure to pack your winter clothes with you.
Madrid is a very crowded city everyday of the week, but especially during weekends. If I were to compare the crowds with other cities i visited, i would say, it is more crowded than Rome, Vienna and even Barcelona. Expect to wait in queues almost everywhere. There is always a queue. No matter if you want to visit a museum, have breakfast in a bistro and you are waiting for a table, want to go up to a beautiful Rooftop Mirador, or simply visit some beautiful park with entrance. There will always be a queue. Make yourself ready, and insufflate yourself with pacience. You will definitely need it!
If you want to book any museum, book the tickets online, at least 1-2 weeks or even more before your trip. In peak season, you may not be able to find any when you're there, or at least not during your desired time of the day.
Don't forget about the Spanish Siesta. Although a city full of life, a large number of small businesses, restaurants, bars and shops pause their working hours tipically between 2 and 6 pm everyday for the siesta. During this time the big city falls into a stillness state, so do remember this when planning your trip. Luckily, museums DO NOT perform any siesta, so this can be an option meanwhile siesta.
Having dinner in a restaurant. This definitely gave us headackes. As we did not plan our trip at all, we also did not make any reservations for dinner. Therefore, it took us more than an hour, everyday to find a restaurant where to have dinner, as everywhere we called during the day, was already booked out. Spanish people eat dinner later than in most other countries. As a matter of fact, in Madrid, most restaurants, are closed during the day because of the siesta and they open up again only after 7 or even 8 pm in the evening, before closing again at 11 pm. Therefore, there are very few hours open, when everyone wants to have dinner. In order not to waste your precious time in Madrid, calling from restaurant to restaurant till you find a reservation, it is definitely recommended to make your dinner reservation in advance with at least 2-3 days before.
If you think generally about prices in Spain, you could say, Spain is pretty cheap. Well, not Madrid. Activities, museums and services are mostly like in the than other european cities, but we found the restaurants pretty pricey. A daily menu costs between €12-15 for soup/main dish/dessert. In most Tapas Bars, the tapas cost between € 6-9 / piece. In averange priced restaurants, a dish normally starts up with €18-20. Another important aspect is that the portions are rather small. Not everywhere of course, but in many places.
Supermarkets have local products and are very, very cheap. To understand what cheap means... We bought a 2L water for our air bnb with 23 cents (wow!), 0,5kg strawberry for 1 euro and other fruits almost all at the price of €1. Fantastic!
If you are a group of at least 3-4 people then consider Uber or Bolt. This services are very cheap there. 4 Metro Tickets for 4 persons are often more expensive than Uber / Bolt and you would also need much more time to go with the public transport.
Try a "Miradoor". Miradoor are rooftop bars which offer a beautiful and extensive view over the city. There are many Miradoors in Madrid and we kindly recommend you to try at least one. A tip to remember is that the entrance to the Miradors is not free. It costs €5-10 depending on a which one you visit. We personally found a bit strange the fact that we had to pay entrance to go up to a rooftop bar no matter if you served something at the bar or not... but this seems to be perfectly normal in Madrid.
Many museums offer free entring hours for their guests. If you want to visit a museum for free, then check this link https://turismomadrid.es/en/
Safe travels, dear traveller!
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