Madrid

If you stay in the city, Madrid is a great place for walking tours. Our Frommers book laid out three walking tours of which we did two and parts of the other. Madrid has many large squares (basically intersections) with huge monuments in the middle. The Museo del Prado is one of the world's top art museums for the period up to the 1800's. Being in Spain El Greco is prominent along with Goya, Titian Reuben, Velasquez and many others. There is a large public park and garden (Parque de Retiro) next to the Prado that you can tour for a couple of dollars. The Palacio Real (Royal Palace) is worth a visit. Take a guided tour if you go as you get much more information that way. A meal at Sobrino de Botin is a must. See review attached.

Quick Tips:

We generally take a bus tour our first day in a large city, but the tourist portion of Madrid is not that large. Would recommend walking unless you are going out of the core area. If you are flying out of Madrid, there is a motel north of town by the airport. In order to avoid driving around Madrid on your own you may wish to stay out there your last night to make sure you don't miss your plane. If you want to eat with the Spaniards, most restaurants do not open until 9:00 PM. To quell your hunger go to a couple of tapas bars for a drink and appetizers. Make sure you read and bring a travel guide like Frommers, Fodor etc. and read it before you come. You will double your pleasure if you know what you are doing. See my review of Segovia. (1 hr. from Madrid

Best Way To Get Around:

Walk whenever feasible. If you want a real thrill, take a cab during rush hour. Madrid is ridiculously overcrowded for vehicle traffic. We took a cab to a restaurant less than two miles away at 7:00PM and it took about 20 minutes, and, no, the cabbie wasn't playing games with us as I knew the way.

**** star hotel used by Globus travel tour. Very nice room and good food. Service was fine as well. Had internet hookup to TV, but we had trouble figuring it out. The hotel is open for a continental breakfast in the morning and has its own restaurant as well for fine dining.

***star hotel, friendly staff, front desk staff all spoke some English which helps. Hotel is about a block from the Plaza de Espana on a narrow side street. It is a Best Western. Room was clean, maid service good and nice to us, price seemed reasonable compared to other major European cities. The hotel had a lounge next to the check in area where you could sit and have a drink in the evenings. The desk is manned 24 hours a day and they ask that you leave the key with them and pick it up on your return to avoid the possibility of losing it or having it stolen.

VIP's appears to be the Spanish version of Denny's. Food and service is decent, fairly quick and a good selection. They have an English menu which includes several north american dishes. Definitely not fine dining, but they are open all day and seem to be busy. Prices are reasonable and this would be a good place for family dining for a family on a budget.

This restaurant is apparently the oldest in the world, operating continuously since 1725. This area of Spain traditionally serves roast suckling pig which is what 2 of our group had. If you have a large enough group you may get the whole pig delivered to your table. The pigs were visible coming out of the kitchen still sizzling. All food was good, service excellent and the restaurant provides you with a brochure to take home as a souveneir.

One of the most important art museums in the world. It generally includes works from the renaissance up to but not including the impressionists. There are a lot of works by El Greco, , Diego Velazquez. His Las Meninas is most famous painting there. Other featured artists include Raphael. Botticelli, Titian, Rubens, Murillo, Bosch, Goya, and Peter Brueghel, the Elder Cost is less than $10.