MADRID Bairdstravel travelled to Madrid February 2010 with Easyjet.
We left Edinburgh airport and the flight took just over 2 hours. When we arrived in Madrid we took the Airport taxi which cost €45 on return it cost on only €25 please beware. Best Western Arosa. Located in the midst of Gran Vía, the commercial, tourist and monumental core of Madrid.
For more details http://www.bestwesternarosa.com/eng/index.htm
The area we stayed was very handy for the local night life and using the Metro but not suitable for families. At any time you could be approached
by the local sex trade or offered coke [not the fizzy drink].
Fellow traveller Eric Walton and myself walked the Paseo de Recoletos [wide boulevard ] leading on to Plaza de Cibeles then Plaza de Colón to reach the Real Madrid football ground. We had to pick up tickets for the following nights match. While we were there we done the stadium tour which was superb. €15 Please take time to look at our Bernabeu page.
Eric on the Bernabeu tour
While up at the the ground we went in to a tapas cafe/bar and had a few beers.
The two rolls were so large we could not finish them and beer was excellant.
After the tour we took the Metro to the Sol area of the city. We headed to the
Dubliner bar to finish a fine day.
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Tapas is the name of a wide variety of appetizers, or snacks, in Spanish cuisine. They may be cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or warm (such as chopitos, which are battered, fried baby squid).
The serving of tapas is designed to encourage conversation because people are not so focused upon eating an entire meal that is set before them Also, in some countries it is customary for diners to stand and move about while eating tapas.
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The city is located on the river Manzanares . As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political centre of Spain.
Madrid is considered one of the top European destinations concerning art museums. Best known is the Golden Triangle of Art, located along the Paseo del Prado and comprising three museums. The most famous one is the Prado Museum, the most popular Golden Triangle of Art member known for such highlights as Diego Velázquez's Las Meninas and Francisco de Goya's La maja vestida and La maja desnuda. The other two museums are the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum, established from a mixed private collection, and the Reina Sofia Museum. This is where Pablo Picasso's Guernica hangs, returning to Spain from New York after more than two decades.
Madrid is home to Real Madrid, who play in the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. It is the third-most populous municipality in the European Union after Greater London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third-most populous city by urban area in the European Union after Paris and London.
Calle de Alcalá is the longest street in Madrid. It starts at the Puerta del Sol and goes on for 10.5 km, to the northeastern outskirts of the city.
Metropolis Building
The Metropolis Building or Edificio Metrópolis (Spanish) is an office building in Madrid, Spain, at the corner of the Calle de Alcalá and Gran Vía.
On the Paseo de la Castellana (Promenade of the Castilian) side there is a monument to Columbus built in 1885. This is a statue of Columbus standing at the pinnacle of a tall column. He appears to be pointing west, indicating the route he would take towards the islands of the Caribbean.
Sol
This plaza is the "heart" of Madrid and one of the busiest places in the city. On the north side of the plaza there is a famous statue of an oso (bear) climbing the madroño tree, which is the symbol of Madrid. Also in Sol, just in front of the Capital building of the community of Madrid, is Kilometer Zero, a plaque showing the point where the measuring of national highways begins. Both the bear statue, and Km. Zero are common meeting spots for friends. The giant neon Tío Pepe sign above the plaza is also a famous fixture of this area. New Year’s celebrations are broadcast from Sol every year with the ringing of the clock bringing in the new year.
Metro
Serving a population of some four million, the Madrid Metro is one of the most extensive and fastest-growing metro networks in the world. With the addition of a loop serving suburbs to Madrid's south-west "Metrosur", it is now the second largest metro system in Western Europe, second only to London's Underground. In 2007 Madrid's metro system was expanded and it currently runs over 283 kilometers (176 miles) of line. The province of Madrid is also served by an extensive commuter rail network of 370 kilometers (230 miles) called Cercanías.
Paseo de Recoletos is a wide boulevard in central Madrid (Spain) leading from Plaza de Cibeles to Plaza de Colón.
Paseo de la Castellana
Gran Via is one of the busiest avenues in Madrid, what you could call the main street of Madrid, and the location of the cinema district. The Gran Via is very similar to Times Square in New York City. Gran Via has a constant buzz of traffic and life. 3-4am early morning traffic jams are not unusual.
Botero.La mano
Madrid's Town Hall (Palacio de Telecomunicaciones) in Cibeles square