Madrid at last

The story · 5 days

I had wanted to go to Madrid for a couple of years, above all because as a university student of Art History I was very curious to see the Prado; however, because of study commitments (in August, when I have no exams, I was told Madrid is very hot), friends who preferred to see other cities and various reasons, the chosen destinations had always been others. This year, instead, taking advantage of a 50€ Ryanair flight (no suitcase, only hand luggage) departing from Bergamo, a friend of mine and I managed to fly to the Spanish capital. For the choice of hotel I relied on the usual booking.com, a site that has never let me down, and there I found the hotel Sterling: 3 stars, 150€ each for 4 nights with breakfast included.

Hotel passed with full marks: recently refurbished, clean, located in a quiet area despite being close to the Gran Via; moreover it is 2 min from Plaza de España and has 2 convenient metro stops (the nearest is Santo Domingo, which is on the Gran Via, but the Noviciado stop is not far either). The city centre, where the tourist “attractions” are concentrated, is fairly small and in my opinion you can easily walk around, especially in a month like May when it is neither too cold nor too hot. We did use the metro anyway, because the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, the Kio towers and the Plaza de Toros are not exactly convenient to reach on foot; the metro is clean, efficient and the trains run until 2 in the morning.

I really liked the city: it is full of always crowded bars and restaurants; moreover it seems suitable both for the most hurried tourists, who in a few days can visit a large part of the city, and for those able to stay for a longer period (the museums abound, and from Madrid you can also quickly reach other nearby cities by train). The only thing that can annoy or worry someone (it was not our case anyway) is the high number of homeless people, who however cause no kind of disturbance to passers-by. The weather during the days we were in Madrid was fantastic: apart from one day when it rained for a couple of hours, for the rest of the trip there were about 24 degrees in the hottest hours, so you could happily walk around in short sleeves. To conclude, I can only recommend you pop over!

Day 16 May 2012

Instantly in love

Departure at 8:40 from Bergamo; Ryanair flight perfectly on time and so, at 10:50, we land at Barajas airport. After walking for almost 20 minutes through the vast airport, we arrive at the metro stop (Airport T1-T2-T3). The ticket to reach the center costs €4.50 (since the airport is in zone 2); before buying it we also consider whether to purchase the 10-trip carnet (€12) or the 5-day tourist pass that allows unlimited travel on public transport (€25). Just then two very kind Italians arrive who give us their 5-day pass (they were returning to Italy and the pass was still valid for 2 days); after thanking them we get on the metro (with this pass you don't need to buy the €4.50 ticket), heading to Nuevos Ministerios. The journey takes about 20 minutes and after making a transfer we arrive at Plaza de España, from where we reach the hotel.

After dropping off our luggage we start wandering around Madrid, passing through Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor and Plaza de Santa Ana. Plaza Mayor is truly splendid, in my opinion one of the most beautiful squares in Europe; it's 3 PM and it's crowded with tourists and street artists. We can't find anything cheap to have lunch at, though, so we set off walking again until we find a pizza-by-the-slice place and, since it's almost 4 PM, we have lunch with a slice of pizza and a drink (€4). We then set off again and reach the Museo del Prado. We decide not to go in, however: given the beautiful sunny day we prefer to stay outdoors, since we'll have time to visit the museum in the coming days.

We are struck by the nearby Parque del Retiro, it's truly big and green! After a photo at the monument to Alfonso XII we look for a metro: we want to take advantage of the pass we were given to see the more distant "attractions." So we head to the Puerta de Europa, where the Kio towers are, the 2 leaning towers of Madrid. Before returning to the center we also stop at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium (it's on the same metro line) but we only admire it from the outside; my friend is not in fact a football enthusiast and so I want to spare him this "suffering." The metro takes us back to Plaza de Cibeles; we then walk towards the Metropolis, which is just two steps away.

We also notice that in a little alley nearby there's a Starbucks and we decide to go in for a "coffee." After regaining our strength, we go to the Hard Rock Café for dinner: as always high prices but very generous portions! We leave at half past midnight and, since tiredness is making itself felt, we decide to take the metro back towards the hotel. Incredible: a single afternoon was enough to make me fall in love with this city!

Monument to Alfonso XII (in the Retiro Park)

Day 27 May 2012

Discovering the city

Today we head towards Plaza de España; we take a few photos of the fountain dedicated to Miguel de Cervantes and then go to the Parque del Oeste to see the Temple of Debod...truly a disappointment! Perhaps because it has very simple architecture or perhaps because the water basin surrounding it was drained, in any case I didn't like it at all. From here we reach the Royal Palace; we walk all the way around it, starting from the Sabatini Gardens (very beautiful), then arriving at Plaza de Oriente. After seeing the façade of the palace that overlooks the Plaza de la Armeria (and that eyesore facing it, the Almudena Cathedral) we try to access the Campo del Moro, the garden located to the west of the palace. We walk a good part of the perimeter and finally find the entrance. Or rather: the only entrance and the only exit, as the sign just inside the park says.

The entrance is located along the Paseo de la Virgen del Puerto, not far from the Puerta de San Vicente. After a short walk we have lunch at the Principe Pio shopping center: inside it, in fact, besides numerous shops there are quite a few restaurants/fast food places. We choose "100Montaditos," a chain we already tried in Valencia that offers 100 types of sandwiches with prices ranging from €1 to €2; we opt for 1 menu each with 6 sandwiches and a refreshing draft beer (all for only €7!). Once full, we decide to take the metro and so we first visit Plaza de Toros and then the Parque del Retiro.

Since we want to go to the Museo Reina Sofia, we decide to reach it by walking through the park, also an opportunity to admire the crystal palace and one of the few statues in the world dedicated to Lucifer! We reach the Museum shortly after 7 PM and until closing (at 9 PM) you can enter for free: we dash straight to the room housing Picasso's "Guernica" and use the remaining hour at our disposal to visit the rest of the museum. Once outside we sit in the square in front and watch the building slowly light up. By now it's time for dinner and so we opt for a place we saw on the internet: Casa Rua, where for €2.50 we eat a nice sandwich with fried calamari. Before heading back to the hotel we take a stroll to see some of the city's iconic monuments lit up.

Day 38 May 2012

San Lorenzo de El Escorial

We dedicated the day to visiting the monastery of El Escorial. The train ticket, bought at Atocha station, cost about €7 (round trip). After an hour of travel you arrive at the San Lorenzo de El Escorial station. From here a bus about every half hour takes you to the monastery, but we decided to walk (about 20 minutes, all gently uphill). Once we arrived at the monastery we bought the ticket (€5 instead of €10 since we are students) which allows a visit of the complex. Some rooms illustrate the construction methods of the building, many others are used as a picture gallery; you then see the church, some rooms inhabited by the sovereigns, the (austere) rooms that housed the monks and finally the opulence of the royal Pantheon, the place where many rulers of Spain rest. After finishing the visit we had lunch in the only bar we found open in the town, with some tapas.

We then went in search of the entrance to the monastery's gardens. In fact, during the morning we hadn't seen anyone strolling in the gardens, but it seemed strange to us that they weren't open to visitors. After a meticulous search we found the entrance, consisting of a low arch at the far right of the main façade. The walk, however, was spoiled by a few drops of rain, so after taking some photos we went back to the train station, to return to Madrid. Since the terminus was Atocha station, once we got off we went to see the tropical garden housed inside it; a kind of tropical forest in the middle of Madrid, with turtles too! Truly beautiful! After a quick dinner we find a nice place where we spend a couple of hours, before heading back to the hotel to rest.

Day 49 May 2012

Around the museums

We wake up in the morning intending to go visit the Royal Palace; in fact we had read that on Wednesdays admission is free for citizens of the European Union...but evidently we read it wrong! It's true that it's free, but only in the afternoon! So we decide to come back later and in the meantime to go to the Prado. Before reaching the museum, however, we are curious to go in and see the Cathedral, to see if it's as ugly on the inside as it is on the outside:) Once inside we are pleasantly surprised: it's not that bad after all! The "unusual" decoration of the vaults and the apse, in my opinion, suits a building of such recent construction well. After leaving the church we head to the Prado, where we manage to get in for free, being students, after showing our university ID (admission would cost €12).

I'll be honest, I didn't keep track of how much time we spent inside, but we spent at least three hours there. On many websites it is described as an immense museum and they often advise choosing the paintings you want to see before entering. In my opinion that's not true. There are museum muuuch more vast! And even if you have little time at your disposal, I can't not recommend visiting it. There are great masterpieces by both Italian painters (Mantegna, Titian, Tintoretto, Giulio Romano...) and Flemish ones, not to mention the section dedicated to Spanish artists. There are really many rooms housing paintings by Velazquez and Goya! After leaving the Prado we have a quick lunch with a sandwich bought earlier at the supermarket and then head to the Royal Palace. Because of the free admission there is a long queue, but since we have plenty of time we decide to face it.

And in the end we don't wait long; in fact, after less than 20 minutes we are inside. Of the palace you can see the Pharmacy, some grand halls (with frescoes by Tiepolo and Mengs) and the Royal Armory. I must say I didn't like it much...keep in mind, however, that I am not a lover of 18th- and 19th-century palaces. The part I liked best is without a doubt the royal armory: besides many ceremonial armors, swords and rifles, you can also see the horses' trappings and the ceremonial armor of the young princes! After leaving the palace we decide to relax with a beer and a couple of tapas. Moreover, since the sun was about to set and we were near the Temple of Debod, we decide to give it a second chance and go see it at sunset. And this was another nice surprise of the day. With water in the basins and lit by the warm light of sunset it was truly a spectacle.

Satisfied with the day spent, we decide to end it in style by going to dinner at "100Montaditos" (there's one on Gran Via, a short distance from Plaza de España) and we discover with surprise that on Wednesdays everything costs €1! So for €8 each we get 7 sandwiches and a draft beer. A real feast! After a stroll on foot around the city, to enjoy our last night in Madrid, we return to the hotel.

Day 510 May 2012

End of the trip

Last day. By now we've seen most of the city but we haven't bought anything for friends and family. So we wander among the most important squares of Madrid (Plaza de España, Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol...) going into all the little shops. After having lunch at Burger King we say goodbye to the city center and, reluctantly, head to the airport.