We've always wanted to go to Spain. I studied 4 years of Spanish in high school, and years ago, my husband took a crack at learning Spanish through the Duolingo app. And I've had countless teleconferences with exceptionally bright investigators in Madrid and Barcelona. Yet this is our first trip ever to Spain. In fact, it's been 15 years since we were last in Europe. Time really does have a way of escaping us when life gets busy...
We spent 3 weeks in Spain and Lisbon, and came back inspired by the people, history, and culture-- and of course a suitcase full of paprika, safron and spices to experiment with in the kitchen.
This is the first of three postings for our 3 week Spain/Portugal excursion. As usual, there's a "Top 8" for each city, and then our full itinerary at the bottom of the post. For the itinerary, we researched on Trip advisor, yelp and googled "things to do in Madrid", but in the end, we mostly followed the guidance in Rick Steve's Spain book. We love his books because his writing style makes it feel like I have a little friend with me while travelling.
Top 8
1. Visit the Royal Palace (Palacio Real)
After the 1734 fire, King Phillip V commissioned the Royal Palace to be rebuilt in a French style reminiscent of the grandeurs of the Palace of Versailles. It took 17 years to build and spanned 2 kings (Carlos III and IV) and was used as the royals' residence until 1931. Now, the royal family lives a few miles away, but still occasionally use the palace for formal state receptions.
There's very little English descriptions posted in each room of the palace. English speaking guided tours are available as well as audioguides for an extra fee, but we decided to just wander the 24-room, one way circuit of the palace on our own using the Rick Steve's book descriptions of each room. We thoroughly enjoyed the decadence of the palace and its plethora of tapestries, chandeliers, and ceiling frescos. I envied the magnificent gala dining room that can seat up to 144 guest lit with 15 gorgeous chandeliers. It's a far cry from my paltry dining room that seats 4 (max 6) with 1 chandelier. *Sigh*
2. Have a Bocadillo de Calamares (Fried Squid Roll) at Plaza Mayor
Before chomping down on this bad boy, we had actually eaten at Mercado de San Miguel already. While the San Miguel market was interesting with rows of jamon legs--hooves still in tact-- the tapas we tried were expensive and not that tasty. Maybe we got the wrong tapas from the wrong vendors, but we were disappointed to say the least. When we got to Plaza Mayor, everywhere we looked, we saw circles of people camped out on the floor eating their bocadillos de calamares from the nearby Casa Rua. I read about these on yelp with mixed reviews, but with that many people seemingly enjoying these at the Plaza, we decided to stand in line and buy one too. It's cheap, under 3 euros, so there's nothing to lose.
Verdict? Two thumbs up! Freshly made with ample crispy squid rings, this bocadillo was filling and tasty. Full disclosure though. We ate this with some ketchup after taking a bite without. Some reviews indicated the bocadillo alone was a tad dry, so first thing I did at the airport was grab a bunch of ketchup packets in anticipation of getting a chance to try this bocadillo. Priorities, priorities.
3. Stand on the Zero Kilometer marker at Puerta del Sol
Everyone knows I'm geographically challenged. I get lost everywhere--even in my own home town--and that's with the help of GPS. But nonetheless, I still love these markers. This 0 Km marker signifies that you are standing at the dead center of Spain. The marker is on the curb directly in front of the governor's office. Likely, there will be a small gathering waiting to take a similar photo.
4. View Cibeles Fountain at Night
After dinner is a great time to view the Cibeles fountain. Unfortunately, there's no way to get up close to the fountain as it's surrounded by a round-about, but you can admire this famous Madrid landmark from across the street. Erected in 1782, the fountain depicts Cybele on top of a chariot pulled by 2 lions and was designed by the renowned Spanish architect Rodriguez. It's much prettier at night than during the day; and devoid of crowds.
5. Take a Stroll in Retiro Park
We really enjoyed our time in Madrid. And I think it is because the city has so much public green space. Retiro Park is 300 acres of peaceful gardens and lakes, and right next to our hotel. We spent a couple of hours getting our exercise walking the length of Retiro taking pictures of the Alfonso XII monument, the ruins of San Isidoro, the Crystal Palace, and the Rose Garden. We are not fans of large crowds, and navigating the metro and Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor is taxing. Retiro Park was a perfect relaxing way to get away from the hustle and bustle of the previous days and re-energize.
6. Take a Self-Guided Tour of Madrid's Bullfighting Ring
We were not expecting very much from this when we decided on a whim to come here on a free afternoon. It wasn't even on our original itinerary. But when we stepped off the metro at Las Ventas station and took the escalator up, the view of Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas was breath taking. The architecture was neo-Mudejar (Moorish revival architecture) and quite impressive. The paid entrance ticket gets you inside the arena and comes with an audioguide where you learn about the architecture of the arena, the history of bullfighting, how bullfights are conducted today, and even some short films on the bullfights themselves. After watching those, we were glad we didn't come on a day where there was a live bullfight because we wouldn't be able to last even 5 minutes watching. There's a lot of controversy over bullfighting, but this tour of the bull ring made our "Top 8" mainly because the architecture here is astounding, and we felt that learning a bit about this iconic tradition helps in immersing us in the Iberian culture.
7. Visit Prado Museum
Prado Museum is a must do in Madrid. It houses the famous works of Francisco de Goya and is also home to Diego Velazquez's world famous Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor). Seeing Las Meninas here, and then later seeing Picasso's various interpretations of Las Meninas at the Picasso museum in Barcelona was an "Ah, ha, I get it!" moment for me. And I don't get very many of those, especially with the arts...
But I'm not gonna lie. This was the 200th anniversary year for the Prado Museum and it was really crowded and at times difficult to fully enjoy when you're body to body with others. You just have to persevere and see all the masterpieces. --It helps when you have an English speaking guide navigating this behemoth of a museum--like we had.
8. Take a Day trip Guided Tour of Toledo
We opted to take a guided half day trip to Toledo, and as cliche as it is, the views of the city (pictured above) did leave us saying, "Holy Toledo!" as the guide had promised.
With the guide, we were able to go inside the 13th Century Gothic style Santa Iglesia cathedral in Toledo and the Synagogue de Santa Maria la Blanca. One of the unique things about the churches in southern Spain was that the design blends jewish, christian and moorish influences, a reflection of Spain's long history of invasions and religious wars.
Our Madrid Itinerary in March 2019
(Sunrise ~7:20AM, sunset ~7:20PM; Temperature: low of 45 F, high of 70 F)
| Date | Time | Activity |
| Day 1 | 7PM | Arrive at Madrid airport. Take Uber to Novetel Madrid City Center, check in |
| | 9PM | Dinner at Sazon Arte |
| Day 2 | 8AM | Buy 10-ride metro tickets, Zone A at metro station. Take metro to Royal Palace |
| | 9AM | Self Guided tour of the Royal Palace following the descriptions in the Rick Steve’s book |
| | noon | Stroll around Jardines de Sabatini, a formal 18th century style garden with symmetrically trimmed hedges. Garden named after final architect of the palace. |
| | 1PM | Walk to Mercado San Miguel (famous for ornate iron gate) & enjoy tapas. |
| | 2PM | Walk to Plaza Mayor (Spanish inquisition scene), & near by city hall there is a flint door considered the oldest door in town 1480. |
| | 3PM | Walk to Puerta del Sol. Stop off at Casa Rua for famous fried squid rings on a roll. Take pic of symbol of Madrid—a statue of a bear w/ madrono tree, & the 0 Km marker |
| | 5PM | Take a break and sit upstairs @ La Mallorquina to enjoy coffee & their famous napolitana pastry |
| | 6PM | Metro Back to hotel to rest |
| | 8PM | Dinner at Decadente |
| | 10PM | Night time photos of Puerta de Alcala & Cibeles Fountain |
| Day 3 | 8AM | Stroll Retiro Park |
| | 11AM | Take bus #27 from Prado museum for 30min “joy ride” along Paseo del Prado to see the modern “Manhattan side” of Madrid |
| | 1PM | Lunch at Restaurante Botin, oldest restaurant in the world |
| | 3PM | Metro to bullfighting ring at Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas |
| | 6PM | Dinner at Novetel Madrid |
| Day 4 | 8AM | Guided tour of Prado Museum |
| | 11AM | Guided Tour of Toledo |
| | 8PM | Dinner at Vinos de Bellota |
| Day 5 | AM | Check out of hotel |