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New Year in Madrid

A December 2003 trip to Madrid by Babi

Palacio RealMore Photos

It's almost been three or four years. I prefer to travel to a European city waiting for the New Year to come, at the main square, with local people. In 2003, this happened in Madrid.

  • 5 reviews
  • 1 story/tip
  • 4 photos

New Year in MadridBest of IgoUgo

Overview

Palacio Real
Madrid is the right city for anyone who wants to merge a cultural visit with a "nightlife" visit:
El Prado Museum; Queen Sofia Art Centre; Museo Thyssen Boremisza; Parque del Retiro

Quick Tips:

Madrid is the right town to have fun during the night and during the day; people are friendly and there are many pubs and snack bars. You can decide to go to the restaurants or simply nibble some "pescados & sangria" or the typical Spanish ham at the bar...

Best Way To Get Around:

Metro, bus to reach downtown; sightseeing tour for visitors; walking in the centre.

Nh BalboaBest of IgoUgo

Hotel

The hotel was really nice, clean, and near to the Metro Station and city centre. You can have a buffet breakfast, but it's more expensive than breakfast at the bar in front of the hotel. I guess it depends what you have for breakfast! If a coffee and croissant is enough, than go to the bar across the street.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by Babi on December 11, 2003

Nh Balboa
NUNEZ DE BALBOA 112 Madrid, Spain 28006
34 91 563 0324

Rincon De JeresBest of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "El Rincon De Jeres"

My friend and I do not really love to seat for hours at nice restaurants, where usually you pay a lot and don't eat very well. We look for non-touristy places, and a friend living in Madrid suggested places for us to go. One of this was El Rincon De Jeres, where you can nibble on things like fish. But this is not the strange and nice thing. This place is not typical because every night at 11pm the owner rings a bell and every guest at the restaurant has to sing a song together, which is a prayer to Madonna Virgen del Rocio.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by Babi on December 11, 2003

Rincon De Jeres
Rufino Blanco, 5 Madrid, Spain
+34 91 355 4745

Museo del PradoBest of IgoUgo

Attraction

It takes the visitor through paintings, sculptures, architecture, and nature in one of Madrid's most emblematic areas. It houses the most important painting schools from the twelfth to the nineteenth century. Spanish paintings from nineteenth century can be seen at Cason del Buen Retiro too.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by Babi on December 11, 2003

Museo del Prado
Calle Ruiz de Alarcón 23 Madrid, Spain 28014
+34 91 3302800

El Retiro ParkBest of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Parque del Retiro"

Parque del Ritiro
In this park children can have fun because during the weekend plenty of clowns and artists work in the garden. Not only for children, there are also street artists like "live statues", singers, and so on.
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by Babi on December 11, 2003

El Retiro Park
Madrid Madrid, Spain

New Year in MadridBest of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

As already mentioned in the brief description, Madrid offers planty of things to do either from a cultural point of view or for nightlife.

What I did not add and could be helpful is how can you celebrate the new year in Madrid. You can have a nice dinner with typical music, dance, and drink, but this is what you can also do at home. Or, and this is what my friend and I did, simply wait for the new year in the main square, Plaza del Sol, together with thousands of other people from Madrid or other countries, eating together the grapes (one for each month, one every seconds that the the the clock strikes).

About the Writer

Babi
Babi
Verona, Italy

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