Madrid City Centre Hotel

overworked_underpaid

Can anyone suggest a good 4* hotel in Madrid City Centre close to attractions. Any suggestions on what and where to visit on a weekend to Madrid will also be appreciated.

dmg24

Hi o_u,

I stayed at the Tryp Cibeles, got it for approx £50 a night. Right in the middle of everything, and very nice too! x

zenmaster

I got the Husa Paseo del Artes for 3 midweek nights next week,booking back in May via Hotelopia, for an unbelievable £28 night + 10% Quidco. It was considerably more at the weekend, so we are moving on on Friday.

It might be worth a look though if you are booking a while ahead.

The Prado museum has free entry on Sundays and Retiro Park is supposed to be pretty good on Sunday also.

I have prepared a pretty hectic schedule to ensure that we can get round most of the sights in a couple of days. I'll bappy to post it up if you are interested.

I shall know more next week :j

budgetflyer

A MUST imo is Flamenco at http://www.corraldelamoreria.com//ingles/reservas.html

taster here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLjbna7qGd4

Show is around 40 euro pp inc 1st drink. Dinner is extra but in my opinion overpriced and not great so eat first and just do the show.

We did that and the Bernabau tour (8 euro) which I thought was much better than Barca's Camp Nou, the rest of the time just wandered around and used the metro.

You can easily spend a day just hanging around Retiro Park, Palacio Real, Plaza Sol, Calle Mayor, Plaza Mayor. At night Plaza Santa Ana and surrounding streets are buzzing

zenmaster

I would love to catch some Flamenco but 40 euros a pop is just too much (there are 10 of us).

Candela looks the place to go for an authentic, cheap experience but I don't think I've got the stamina to hang around until 3am for it to start.

budgetflyer

Flamenco in Spain Especially in Casteleon and Andelucian regions, happens everywhere. 20 odd years ago on a local train from Los Alamos (on the outskirts of Torremolinos) to Fuengirola we were thrilled by a busker doing some of the best flamenco Ive ever heard.

Thereafter started my love for Gipsy Kings
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWL19lgRUmM

herman2811

I'd recommend doing a search on venere.com - really helpful website with lots of good maps/reviews, and reasonable prices too (which you also don't have to pay in advance)
PM me if you want a 4% discount code.

I think it's a good idea to check out this website even if you find hotels cheaper elsewhere, as the descriptions and maps are generally better than other sites in my opinion.

Hope that helps

PS - I'm not connected to this website in any way, and I don't gain anything from this post. I also found the discount code on another forum.

Angua2

If it's still going, Cafe de Chinitas was a great place for flamenco.

Museums:
The Prado
Queen Sofia Arts Centre / Museo Nacional Centro de Arte....
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum / Museo Thyssen Bornemisz
The Sorolla Museum (Museo Sorolla)
Lazaro Galdiano Museum (Museo Lazaro Galdiano


Parks:
Retiro Park / Parque del Buen Retiro


People watching:
Plaza Mayor

Shopping:
Puerta del Sol
Gran Via
Calle Serrano (Salamanca district of Madrid)
Chueca area (street names: Fuencarral, Hortaleza, Almirante, and Piamonte)



Dining:
Tapas hop in the area around the theatres/Plaza Mayor
A classic is Casa Botin - oldest restaurant in Spain http://www.casabotin.com/INGindex.html

budgetflyer

Theres also a place in Opera, where the waiting staff are all aparently Opera students and sing to you during your meal(may be pricy)
BTW Id actually forgot Ive done a madrid guide
http://www.budgetflyer.rr4.co.uk/Madrid.html

Gettin_me_own_back

Hi
looking to take kids (14 & 15) to eiether Barcelona or Madrid leaving on Sun 23rd March 2008 and returning on 26th/27th or 28th March.
Flights are cheap enough, using Easyjet, however having never been their before have no ideas with regards to hotels.
Also I really want to take boys to a footie match whilst their. Anyone able to point me in the right direction.
regards

Sorry did not mean to put on this thread got a bit confused

Angua2

Gettin_me_own_back wrote: »

Hi
looking to take kids (14 & 15) to eiether Barcelona or Madrid leaving on Sun 23rd March 2008 and returning on 26th/27th or 28th March.
Flights are cheap enough, using Easyjet, however having never been their before have no ideas with regards to hotels.
Also I really want to take boys to a footie match whilst their. Anyone able to point me in the right direction.
regards

Sorry did not mean to put on this thread got a bit confused

Hiya. First of all, does it have to be in March? Not great weather in either Madrid or Barcelona... I'd go a lot further south, if possible, like Andalucia. I love Cordoba and Granada. Seville is beautiful, but such a tourist city that it lacks the reality and warmth I encountered elsewhere. Having said that, I think there are 2 league teams based in Seville (Betis & Sevilla - ?).

Anyhow, have a look at http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk. Like many who post there, I prefer Madrid to Barcelona (spent nearly 2 years living in Madrid).

Try http://www.spainticketbureau.com/ to find out about footie matches, but you might get tickets cheaper elsewhere.

Have a great time!