Madrid

[sunkenshoes]

I'll be going to Madrid tomorrow. I've never been there and really don't know much about the city itself, neither do my friends. I couldn't find any info on the city here. Does someone have some tips for places to check out?

[fornicatard]

Went there last year and if you know the right spots, it's awesome. Go to the Plaza Mayor and Palacio Real de Madrid to take some pics, Salamanca + Chueca for shopping and please avoid the Gràn Via, just do not go there, unless youre interested in seeing 13 Mcdonalds. Puerta del sol wasn't my favourite place to be either (has a huge Zara though), nor were calle mayor/Sol, too many tourists. Use public transportation, cheap as fuck and very convenient. Keep in mind that a lot of stores are closed from 13.30 till 16.00. If you're looking for cheap+tasty diner, go to fast good. Eat lots of tapas.

[azn8oi]

take you and your insiders to eat, drink, and have fun. clothes shopping is pretty pointless, with the euro ready to rape your ass. madrid has zara and h&m blah blah blah, but yeah.

The best times i had in Madrid was eating tapas and jamon serrano. Not cheap- but you have to find it and eat it. You will never look at cured hams the same way again....drink lots of sangria and go hit up the clubs too- they don't start until after 1AM. I personally thought Madrid girls weren't that hot, Barcelona was better, but you have to discover that part for yourself.

You should also spend 3-4 hours in the Prado Museum (biggest museum in Spain). I'm not really a museum/art person, but after going there, I thought it was worth it. Looking at La Guernica in real life (so huge) was very very very impressionable. It's worth going to, if even just for a quick scroll around.

also, if you can, try to get out of madrid. I _loved_ barcelona and sevilla. valencia was ok. it's skippable.

p.s. the guy above me is generally correct.

[sunkenshoes]

Thanks for replying guys! Actually, I live in Europe myself, but since I'm quite tall, shopping won't be so much fun for me.

I will definately check out Prado.

[djonno]

My gf just went and she loved it...She seconds the Prado for sure, and basically agrees with what fornicatard said. She didnt get much time for shopping, but stopped into zara and h&m since they were close to where she was at the time, and several local boutiques.

[dolly]

the prado is one of the most beautiful museums i've been to...

I had a few bad experiences in spain with regards to the way tourists are treated...I spoke to a Canadian couple who had "go home you fucking yankees" shouted at them in the street, and generally just found a lot of people to be aloof. At the same time, there were also tons of welcoming locals.

Also, food in Spain is saltyyy, drink water!

[patrill]

I'm living in Madrid this summer. Chueca, Malasana, and Lavapies are good areas to find interesting and cool stuff. Other areas are generally more touristy, more residential, or more boring.

As far as eating goes, wander around and find a good Menu del Dia in a traditional old man bar or try something a tiny bit more modern but still pretty cheap like Bazaar or La Finca de Susana.

Shopping is pretty bleh with the exception of traditional alpargatas (espadrilles) at Alpargateria Herranz. They're awesome for summer shoes instead of converse or boat shoes or plimsoles, way cheap, and have a more earthy feel. Plus all the rich stuck up madrileno kids wear them.

The Prado is wonderful and so is the Reina Sofia and Thyssen. Guernica is in the Reina Sofia, and in my opinion all three museums are must sees, but I'm into art. I'm not a huge fan of Sangria, but it seems like everybody else is and if you're want to experience the typical touristy things it's fine. Madrilenos seem to be more into Tinto de Verano and Kalimotxos.

Club from 1 to 6, when the metro re-opens, if that's your thing. Even if it's not, go out at 1 anyway and walk around and just take in the city.

The weather has been wonderful the last several days, but taking a long lunch on a Terraza is a good way to escape the midday heat.

[vivalaalec]

Madrid is a beautiful city. I stayed in the Tryp Gran Via hotel and there were 3-5 hookers outside the hotel at any given time at night. If you are into ham, this seems to be the place to go. Our tour guide (it was a school trip) took us to lots of dining places, all of which gave us dried out, awful tasting ham. Fairly disapointing... The tapas bars are great though. If you don't mind a drive take a trip to Toledo. Its about an hour away and is absolutely amazing. Its such an old city with so much history behind it, but to mention it looks really cool with the rivers and mountains surrounding it. As everyone else has said, the Prado and the Reina Sofia are both great places to visit, very entertaining (if you're lucky like I was, you might have some weird Russian guy asking you to model for him while visiting the Prado...). The shopping wasn't anything special, but there were a few cool soccer stores, which is pretty uncommon in the states.

[djonno]

the prado is one of the most beautiful museums i've been to...

I had a few bad experiences in spain with regards to the way tourists are treated...I spoke to a Canadian couple who had "go home you fucking yankees" shouted at them in the street, and generally just found a lot of people to be aloof. At the same time, there were also tons of welcoming locals.

Also, food in Spain is saltyyy, drink water!

i was actually surprised when my gf told me that the people in spain, especially barcelona and madrid, were very welcoming and she got no bad comments about being american or what have you (apart from some rare cat-calling or whatever you call it). it does exist, though, but i think there are things you can do to minimize the extent to which you appear to be a tourist.

gf did say italy was much much worse for this, where a lot of people were very unfriendly.

[eplsoccer7]

Does anybody have any info on finding hospitality jobs in Madrid? I live in California but am an EU citizen and have thought about living there for a few months with a friend and just picking up odd jobs. My Spanish is very rusty and was wondering if I would be in over my head.

[eplsoccer7]

Anybody???