Sightseeing ideas for Madrid wanted

sylwright

Going to Madrid this weekend and would welcome any tips about things to do, what to see, what to avoid etc

Also, anybody know how easy it is to get from Airport to city by public transport?

If anyone knows of any good restaurants please let me know.

Cheers

fatboyonadiet

Worth visiting the Bernabeu, worth squeezing a game in too if you want, we didn't use Public Transport from the airport but generally it was quite good, if I remember rightly a taxi didn't cost much. We didn't do much sighseeing really just a lot of shopping! I've got the rough guide if you want to borrow it? Not sure if you'll get it in time but it's yours if you pay the postage, PM if you want it. We did go the big park (name escapes me now) but that was really nice too. HTH.

trisontana

The best thing to do is go on the open-top buses for a tour of the city. For about €12 you have the choice of three routes, You can hop on and off all day , interchange between the routes,and they run until midnight (at least in the summer they do). There is also an English commentary via headphones. After doing this trip you can then decide what you want to see in greater detail. I wont recommend any particular sight because that depends on personal preferences. Some people like art galleries and old buildings, other just want to shop. If you can tell me what you prefer I can probably help you. We have been there twice.

You can catch the metro from the airport to the city.
Here is the metro map:-
http://www.urbanrail.net/eu/mad/madrid.htm

sylwright

Thanks for the offer of the book fatboyonadiet but I've already got it as well as another guide book.

Thanks trisontana for the link and advice. We will definitely do the open top bus tours, probably do all three routes then decide where we want to explore in more depth.

Wondered if there was somewhere that everyone says "must see" . When I went to Barcelona I was told to definitely go to La Ramblas which I absolutely loved.

Have heard there is a warner bros theme park near Madrid but nobody seems to have heard of it, wondered if it had closed now.

Any advice on restaurants or cafes you could recommend would be helpful.

Thanks again.

vizcacha

My info is a couple of years old but hopefully it still works..

I agree the bus is a really good way of getting a feel for the city

the underground usually runs from the airport to the centre and all over Madrid

The thing that sticks in my mind is right in the centre of Madrid on a square called Puerta Del Sol a statue of a bear with a strawberry tree which marks (apparently) the exact geographical centre of Spain, just a silly little thing but it intrigued me...
I have a feeling the tour buses leave from Puerta del Sol..

It's nice to walk round Madrid at this time of year as it is clear and sunny (usually) and of course it's free...

Outside tables at cafes/bars in the centre can be really expensive and are quite often tourist orientated so it's good to maybe have one drink there to take in the atmosphere if there is a particularly good one there, but explore a bit more off the beaten track if you want to stay for a few

El Corte Ingles, a big dept store (on Puerta Del Sol) has a food hall so you can stock up on fruit and snack food more cheaply to take on walks. (it's more expensive than a cheapo supermarket, but if you pick and choose you can get the odd bargain and it's a lot cheaper than eating at bars)

this site has some nice walks on it and reviews restaurants including prices..

have a brilliant time

http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?destination=madrid@95&cur_section=ove