#621 : Madrid - Spain Diaries

Having talked about the food and the people, it's time to focus on the places I got to explore in the very little time that I stayed in Madrid. Work was quite hectic and left us with just some time in the weekends to explore. Since I was put up in a hotel which was a 2 minute walk from the San Cristobal Industrial station, I found it quite easy to explore. In spite of having a car, I preferred to take the train as it was less of hassle and quite a cheaper option too. 

Pro tip here - Finding a parking space in most places in the Madrid city can be daunting. Parking in the wrong slot or not displaying the parking ticket can attract a heavy fine. One of my colleague ended up paying EUR 90 twice for parking in the wrong spot.  More over, if you are used to left hand driving, navigating around with a map can be tricky as Spain follows right hand driving - this means round about and exits which are easy to miss and hard to follow if your navigation skills are poor. Not being withing speed limits and drunk driving are pretty heavy offence too. Ditch the car, take a cab or the metro or the subway trains. 

Fact File : 

Madrid (My Spanish colleague insisted on pronouncing it as madhreedh) is roughly 604 km sq in size and has a population of 6.5 million. It is the capital of Spain and is a literal melting pot of people and culture. It's the ninth most densely populated city in Europe. It is home to beautiful churches and elegant boulevards, expansive, manicured parks such as the Buen Retiro. It’s renowned for its rich repositories of European art, including the Prado Museum’s works by Goya, Velázquez and other Spanish masters. The heart of old Hapsburg Madrid is the portico-lined Plaza Mayor, and nearby is the baroque Royal Palace and Armory, displaying historic weaponry.

Places to visit in Madrid : 

La Puerta del Sol - It's the central spot of Madrid. It's the place to be to experience Madrid and shop for anything - Clothes, Food, Fashion, Souvenirs - you name it, it's there. Well connected by trains, you can't possibly miss this place. Beware of your belongings during weekends and festival times as the crowd can be a bit overwhelming. The local cops do a through job of managing the crowd and helping the tourists. Lookout for local performers who do a great job, nothing like witnessing a lovely dance/music performance live. 

Sol Square, Before Christmas

San Miguel Mercado - Must visit place for a food. It's a short and pleasant walk from Sol square. Live music, tapas food (Spanish finger food) and great wine - This place is a dream for a foodie. It's a stunning 20th century building  glass walled building constructed in 1916.

San Miguel on a Sunday

Barrio de La Latina - La Latina has two sides to it - The nigh life side and the flea market side. A detailed post about this place coming up later some time. 

Plaza Mayor - Beautiful square with intense architecture by Juan de Villanueva. The square is home to a thriving antique flea market on weekend. Coins, stamps, old dairies, antiques - you get everything for dirt cheap prices. 

Círculo de Bellas Artes -  This is basically a museum with a rooftop restaurant with breath taking views. I'm not really inclined to art so I skipped the museum and hit the rooftop. You can literally see all of Madrid. There was a photography exhibit on the restaurant when we visited. Good food, breathtaking views - it's slightly crowded though on weekends.

Buen Retiro Park - This is the place to be if you want to escape the daily din. Spread over 350 acres of lush greenery the park is home to a beautiful lake and manicured gardens. 

Royal Palace of Madrid - A beautiful place to be if you are into history. I skipped this and visited the other palace in Aranjuez. The space outside the Palace is really picturesque and is a great place for pictures. This place is almost always crowded and has a lot of street performers doing various things. 

Palacio de Cristal - Remember the beautiful glass palace in the famous Rajinikant movie - Sivaji - that's this place - glory in glass and metal! 

Las Ventas - I didn't get to watch bull fighting as I returned before summer. Mind you, Spanish bull fighting is not for the faint heart. Unlike the Indian version - Jallikattu - the bulls here are killed. Las Vantas is the bull fighting ring in Madrid. 

Museo Nacional Del Prado- I'm not a museum person, but the Prado museum is quite famous and is a place must visit if you love art. 

Almost all the mentioned places are quite well connected via the Spanish Metro/train system. 

Lookout for more posts in the series about shopping and various other places to visit. Read the first post in the series here.

PS. It's my first season with the fantastic blogger campaign #MyFriendAlexa. This post is a part of it! #WriteAway