CaixaForum
Less a museum than a free cultural centre. Opposite side to the Prado and on the way to Atocha.
There are excellent exhibition facilities and an auditorium. If the exhibition I saw on Richard Rogers and his architectural colleagues is anything to go by, its standards are of the highest.
Outside is an impressive vertical garden. more
Museo Sorolla
You may not have heard of Sorolla. I had not. However a recent exhibition of his work at the Prado had their highest attendance in ten years, well outstripping some better known names!
This was his house. You simply turn off a street into a lovely little garden. Sorolla was an avid collector as well as a painter and every room has some objects of beauty.
Then, of course, there are his paintings. He was an Impressionist and one of his distinguishing featues is his huge use of white.
A gem! more
Valverde apartment for 4 people
Really central location, we were at the shops on Gran Via or Fuencarral in a couple of minutes, slightly further to malasaña but an easy walk home after a night out and go to rotterdam supermarket on calle bernardino for decent breakfast!
small, comfy, 30 euro each a night. more
Hostal Tijcal
Great location just off Plaza Mayor with comfortable rooms and helpful staff. Price vs location etc it can't be beat. more
Plaza de Toros de las Ventas
I never actually went in to the bull ring, but I was fascinated by what is considered 'spanish'; love it or hate its part of their culture more
El Almendro 13
The placed is allways overcrowded. If you do not want to miss the visit you'd better arrive before openning at 8PM. Try HUEVOS ROTOS and some withe wine. more
La Taberna de los Cien Vinos
In the area of La Latina, near Sol, is this cosy crowded Tavern a good place to snack some pinchos and try out one of their 100 wines...
[picture taken from elmundovino.elmundo.es] more
Joy Eslava
Best club in town. Party around the clock at Joy Madrid in Teatro Eslava. Try to get a VIP-spot. Don't forget the traditional snack at dawn: hot chocolate milk with a spanish bagel, just around the corner...
[Picture taken by the Swedish magazine Aftonbladet] more
Mercado de la Reina
Great food, very moderate prices, Gran Via.
What more do you need?
On the right as you look up near the bottom. more
El Tigre
c. de las Infantas is parallel to Gran Via and two away facing uphill
They still do traditional tapas - quite a large quantity of mixed goodies free with the beer.
Most of Madrid seems to know this and to be in the bar but it's all extremely good-humoured. more
Toma Jamón
At lunch time the menu del dia consists of four courses, each chosen from an option of two.
Unfortunately one choice is Jamón Iberica or Manchego cheese. I love manchego but in a place with a name like this - - - - more
Madrid Vision
This is the open top bus that has two routes, Historical Madrid and Modern Madrid. Tickets are sold on the basis of hop-on-hop-off both routes for one or two days.
It is a splendid way of deciding what would be worth a longer time later, if you are new to Madrid. more
Hostal Splendid
This is just down from the Metro station of Gran Via on the right. If you reach a joyeria (jeweller's) you have gone one building too far. It's in a vast building and 5 floors up in a lift.
For: Location, friendly, spotless, hot water, en suite.
Against: Terrible towels. Very basic. more
My place
I share my place with travellers staying in Madrid. Being a city where many people stop before flying to America or going further to Europe, you should never miss the chance to visit it and it's surroundings.
I offer free accomodation and my guidance to the city, and also the chance to prepair your tryp through my travel books and maps.
Contact me in advanced and I'll be happy to share a beer! more
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
The collection made by the Thyssen-Bornemisza family was acquired by Spain in 1993. The collection is set out chronologically and contains works by Sisley, Gauguin and Degas. It also houses special exhibitions.
Entry is 6 euros and a combination for the permanent and 2 additional exhibitions cost me 12 euros.
The museum is closed on Monday. Opening hours are Tues-Sun 10.00-19.00 more
Museo Nacional Del Prado
The museum contains a wide range of art by the famous including Raphael, El Greco, Caravaggio, Velazquez and Goya.
Opening hours are Tues-Sun 09.00-20.00, closed Monday.
The fee is a reasonable 6euros but if you go on Tues-Sat 18.00-20.00 or Sun 17.00-20.00 entry is free. more
Teatro Lope de Vega
Madrid is the cultural Spanish capital. The high quality of its theatres and music halls, compared to London or New York, is not to be found in any other city of Spain.
This Lope de Vega theatre, named after our genius of literature and prolific writer Lope de Vega, offers every year a different wonderful show: Evita Peron, The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Abba’ Mamma mia, etc.
Along the street Gran Via you have many other interesting theatres and cinemas. more
Museo Real Bellas Artes de San Fernando
This is a rarely visited good museum in Madrid and, nevertheless, one of the best in our Spanish capital. It is at 50 metres from the centrically located Puerta del Sol, in the Palacio de Goyeneche.
This museum, which one of its director was Francisco de Goya, shelters chef d’oeuvres from Goya, of course, Murillo, Velazquez, Rubens (in Madrid we have the best painting collection of Rubens in the world!), Giuseppe Arcimboldo (the precursor of Salvador Dali and the impressionists), van Dyck, Goya, and a long etcetera. more
Museo Naval
This is a unique museum in Spain illustrating the maritime history of our country since the Gran Armada to the Battle of Trafalgar.
There are also paintings and items related with the navigation world (weapons, maps, etc.).
It is located close to the Museo del Prado. more
Centro de Arte Reina Sofia
This museum, together with El Prado and Thyssen Bornemisza, is one of the best museums, not only in Spain, but in the whole world.
It contains the works of Spanish artists as from Francisco de Goya, that is, XIX and XX centuries. There you will find Woman in Blue and the famous Guernica of Picasso (among many others), The Great Masturbator of Salvador Dali (Dali so loved Spain that he gave his best works of art to the Spanish Government to be exposed in this museum where his paintings are much better than in Figueres. Before sleeping he had to listen the Spanish hymn in his bed), Juan Gris, Juan Miro, Ignacio Zuloaga, etc., apart from informal works of Antonio Tapies or Eduardo Chillida.
Indeed, this museum is one of the many musts in Madrid. more
Real Jardin Botanico
This is a wonderful Botanical Garden in front of the Museo del Prado.
It has thousands of exotic plants from the five continents, but mainly from America since the times when that continent was our colony.
It was founded in the middle of the XVIII century by our king Fernando VI.
In its construction participated artists such as Sabatini (the king architect) and Juan de Villanueva (the same that erected the Museo del Prado).
Inside you will find pavilions, statues, fountains and nice promenades. The distribution of the plants follows the classification established by the Swedish naturalist Linneo (one of the most important botanist in History). more
De Viaje
Excellent travel bookshop situated in the Salamanca district of Madrid, close to Plaza de la Hispanidad. It is the greatest library of its kind in Madrid.
They have hundreds of guides and travel literature books.
The staffs also speak English, German and French.
Every week there are conferences offered by Spanish travellers, and once a week there is a “tertulia”, or a kind of circle where the travel lovers of Madrid gather to asses and prepare new adventure journeys.
The library is at the same time a travel agency offering airline tickets and individual tours, and a shop selling items related with the travel, such as rucksacks, sleeping bags, water-bottles, compasses, boots for trekking, etc. more
Hotel Italia
Very well situated hotel in a corner with the central boulevard Gran Via.
The reception is in the first floor. In the upper floors there are more hotels.
They only serve breakfast. Diners are only organized for groups. If you go alone then it is better to go in front, in the Gran Via, where you will find dozens of good restaurants. more
Museo del Jamon
This restaurant is one of the chain “Museo del Jamon” around downtown Madrid. They serve tapas and business lunches at good prices. more
Sidreria Teitu
This is a restaurant with excellent Asturias food, tapas and local wines (try cider from Asturias), located in a prestigious street parallel to the Paseo Castellana. This area is very frequented by politics. more
Amore Mio
Pizza and pasta are offered in this nice Italian restaurant. It is open for lunch and dinner and they close late in the night, when the last customer leaves. more
Al Andalus
This is probable the cheapest flamenco show in Madrid, and not bad. It is located in a street running parallel to the boulevard La Castellana.
The price is very cheap, about 15 euros including a drink, while other flamenco shows in Madrid such as Café de Chinitas, Torres Bermejas, or El Corral de la Pacheca will charge you at least 25 or 30 euros for the show. more
Restaurante Pablo (Uruguayan meat)
This is a centrically located restaurant at five minutes walking from Puerta del Sol where they serve generous and economical dishes. They are specialized in imported meat from Uruguay and Argentina. You will be offered lots of excellent meat, the best of the world, as everybody knows.
They also have Galician cuisine with seafood specialities.
The owner, Pablo, was born in Uruguay but his parents are from Galicia, in Spain. By the way, all the Spaniards are called “Gallegos” in the whole of Hispanic America; for the South Americans it does not matter if you are from Andalusia, Aragon, Catalonia or Castile, anyway, if you were born in Spain you are a Gallego. more
Restaurante el Ñeru
This is a tabern in Madrid downtown. It's got tipicall products from another region of Spain, Asturias. Try a glass of "Sidra de Barril" (softer) or ask for a hole bottle of Sidra (they will trow it for you, in the traditional asturian way over the head).
Wait until they offer a "Tapa" for the drink, ask for "Queso Cabrales" or "Chorizo" and then if you like you can order a hole plate. If you order the plate before you will miss the Tapa, and remember, tapas are for free.
After receiving a tip they will bring a cow bell, doesn't matter the amount of the tip.
Really nice people, allways crowded, but you will find a place soon cause people tend to drink a glass and change to another tabern.
Even having visited Asturias its Cabrales... try, it wont disapoint you more
The Prado Museum
One of the world's greatest museums, don't miss Bosch, Durer, Rubens, Goya, El Greco, more... more
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