Home > Rick on TV > Guide to Shows

Madrid: Travel Details

This is a quick and handy source for details on the sights, hotels, tour guides and restaurants featured in "The Majesty of Madrid" show. For much more (and updates), see this year's edition of Rick Steves' Spain guidebook.

 
 
Carlos Galvin

Carlos Galvin, a Spaniard who speaks flawless English (and has led tours for me since 1998), offers private tours when he's in Madrid. If he's out, his American wife, Jennifer, also works as a guide. Carlos mixes a city drive (for the big Madrid picture) with a historic walk (to get intimate with the old center and its ways). This gives a fine three-hour orientation and introduction to Madrid (€79 for individuals and groups up to 3...4 if you'll squeeze). Carlos and Jennifer can also arrange longer tours of both the city and the region (tel. 914-293-790, mobile 661-752-458, www.letango.com, info@letango.com).

Royal Palace

Europe's third-greatest palace (after Versailles and Vienna's Schönbrunn), with arguably the most sumptuous original interior, is packed with tourists and royal antiques. After a fortress burned down on this site, King Phillip V commissioned this huge 18th-century palace as a replacement. Though he ruled Spain for 40 years, Phillip V was very French. (The grandson of Louis XIV, he was born in Versailles and spoke French most of the time.) He ordered this palace built to be his own Versailles (although his wife's Italian origin had a tremendous impact in the style). It's big — over 2,000 rooms with tons of luxurious tapestries, a king's ransom of chandeliers, priceless porcelain and bronze decor covered in gold leaf. While these days the royal family lives in a mansion a few miles away, this place still functions as a royal palace and is used for formal state receptions and tourists' daydreams.

The palace costs €8 without a tour, €9 with a tour (April–Sept Mon–Sat 9:00–19:00, Sun 9:00–16:00; Oct–March Mon–Sat 9:30–18:00, Sun 9:00–15:00, last tickets sold one hour before closing, palace can close without warning if needed for a royal function — you can call a day ahead to check, tel. 915-475-350). The palace is most crowded on Wednesdays, when it's free for locals. Metro: Opera. (Notice the beer-stein urinals — the rage in Madrid — in the WC just past the ticket booth.)

Tapas: The Madrid Pub-Crawl Dinner

For maximum fun, people and atmosphere, go mobile and do the "tapa tango," a local tradition of going from one bar to the next, munching, drinking and socializing. Tapas are the toothpick appetizers, salads and deep-fried foods served in most bars. Madrid is Spain's tapas capital — tapas just don't get any better. Grab a toothpick and stab something strange, but establish the prices first, especially if you're on a tight budget or at a possible tourist trap. Some items are very pricey and most bars push larger raciones rather than smaller tapas. The real action begins late (around 20:00). But for beginners, an earlier start, with less commotion, can be easier. The litter on the floor is normal; that's where people traditionally toss their trash and shells. Don't worry about paying until you're ready to go. Then ask for la cuenta (the bill).
If done properly, a pub crawl can be a highlight of your trip.

Prowl the area between Puerta del Sol and Plaza Santa Ana. There's no ideal route, but the little streets between Puerta del Sol, San Jerónimo and Plaza Santa Ana hold tasty surprises. Nearby, the street Jesús de Medinaceli is also lined with popular tapas bars. Below is a five-stop tapa crawl. These places are good, but don't be blind to making discoveries on your own.

1. From Puerta del Sol, walk east a block down Carrera de San Jerónimo to the corner of Calle Victoria. Across from the Museo del Jamón, you'll find La Taurina Cervecería, a bullfighters' Planet Hollywood (daily 8:00–24:00). Wander among trophies and historic photographs. Each stuffed bull's head is named, along with its farm, awards and who killed him. Among the many gory photos study the first post: It's Che Guevara, Orson Welles and Salvador Dalí, all enjoying a good fight. Around the corner, the Babe Ruth of bullfighters, El Cordobes, lies wounded in bed. The photo below shows him in action. Kick off your pub crawl with a drink here. Inspired, I went for the rabo de toro (bull-tail stew, €10.50) — and regretted it. If a fight's on, the place will be packed with aficionados gathered around the TV. Across the street at San Jerónimo 5 is the...

2. Museo del Jamón (Museum of Ham), tastefully decorated — unless you're a pig (or a vegetarian). This frenetic, cheap, stand-up bar is an assembly line of fast and simple bocadillos and raciones. Photos show various dishes and their prices. For a small sandwich, ask for a chiquito (€0.60, unadvertised). The best ham is the pricey jamón ibérico — from pigs who led stress-free lives in acorn-strewn valleys. Just point and eat, but be specific; a jamón blanco portion costs only €5, while jamón ibérico costs €12 (daily 9:00–24:00, sit-down restaurant upstairs). Next, forage halfway up Calle Victoria to the tiny...

3. La Casa del Abuelo, for seafood-lovers who savor sizzling plates of tasty little gambas (shrimp) and langostinos (prawns). Try gambas a la plancha (grilled shrimp, €4.15) or gambas al ajillo (ahh-HHEEE-yoh, shrimp version of escargot, cooked in oil and garlic and ideal for bread dipping, €5.80) a €1.20 glass of red wine (daily 11:30–15:30 & 18:30–23:30, Calle Victoria 12). Across the street is...

4. Oreja de Oro ("Golden Ear"), named for what it sells — sautéed pigs' ears (oreja, €2.50). While pigs' ears are a Madrid specialty, this place is Galician, so people also come here for pulpo (octopus, €8.50), pimientos de padrón (green peppers...some sweet and a few hot surprises, €3) and the distinctive ribeiro (ree-BAY-roh) wine, served Galician-style, in characteristic little ceramic bowls (to disguise its lack of clarity). Jaime is a frantic one-man show who somehow gets everything just right. Have fun at this place. For a perfect finale, continue uphill and around the corner to...

5. Casa Toni, for refreshing bowls of gazpacho — the cold tomato-and-garlic soup (€1.50, available all year but only popular when temperatures soar). Their specialties are berenjena (deep-fried slices of eggplant, €3.60) and champiñones (sautéed mushrooms, €3.70; open daily 11:30–16:00 & 18:00–23:30, closed July, Calle Cruz 14).

More Options: If you're hungry for more and want a trendy, up-to-date tapas scene, head for Plaza Santa Ana. The south side of the square is lined with lively bars offering good tapas, drinks and a classic setting right on the square. Consider Cervecería de Santa Ana (tasty tapas with two zones: rowdy beer-hall and classier sit-down) and La Moderna (wine, pâté and cheese plates).

If you're picking up speed and looking for a place filled with old tiles and young people, power into Bar Viva Madrid (daily 13:00-3:00, Calle Manuel Fernández y González, tel. 914-293-640). The same street has other late-night bars filled with music.

El Escorial

The Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial is a symbol of power rather than elegance. This 16th-century palace, 30 miles northwest of Madrid, gives us a better feel for the Counter-Reformation and the Inquisition than any other building. Built at a time when Catholic Spain felt threatened by Protestant "heretics," its construction dominated the Spanish economy for a generation (1563–1584). Because of this bully in the national budget, Spain has almost nothing else to show from this most powerful period of her history.

Admission to the palace is €8 for the works (completa), or €7 for a principal ticket, which skips the Chapter Rooms and Royal Pantheon (April–Sept Tue–Sun 10:00–19:00, closed Mon, Oct–March closes at 18:00, last entry 60 min before closing, tel. 918-905-904). It's worth the extra euro to see it all. But be warned that if you arrive less than 90 minutes before closing, you can get only the cheaper ticket. There's also an €8.50 combo-ticket that includes Valley of the Fallen (buy ticket before 15:00 April-Sept or 14:00 Oct-March), but this makes sense only for drivers, since people taking the bus to the Valley of the Fallen have the site admission included in the cost of transportation.

You'll find scanty captions in English within the palace. For more information, get the Guide: Monastery of San Lorenzo El Real de El Escorial, which follows the general route you'll take (€7.50, available at any of several shops in the palace). While you can pay €9 for admission with a guided tour (ask at ticket office for next English tour), I'd rent the €2.30 audioguide instead (for €3, you also get a voucher for the audioguide at Valley of the Fallen).

Flamenco

While Sevilla is the capital of flamenco, Madrid has two easy and affordable options:

Taberna Casa Patas attracts big-name flamenco artists. You'll quickly understand why this intimate (30-table) and smoky venue is named, literally, "the house of legs." Since this is for locals as well as tour groups, the flamenco is contemporary and may be jazzier than your notion — it depends on who's performing (€25 for Mon–Thu at 22:30, €30 for Fri–Sat at 21:00 and 24:00, closed Sun, 75–90 min, price includes cover and first drink, reservations smart, no flash cameras, Cañizares 10, tel. 914-298-471 or 913-690-496, www.casapatas.com).

Las Carboneras is more downscale — an easygoing, folksy little place a few steps from Plaza Mayor with a nightly 60-minute flamenco show (€22 includes a entry and a drink, €45 gets you a table up-front with dinner and unlimited cheap drinks if you reserve ahead, Mon–Thu at 22:30, Fri–Sat at 21:00 and 23:00, closed Sun, earlier shows possible if a group books, reservations recommended, Plaza del Conde de Miranda 1, tel. 915-428-677, Ronan speaks English).

El Rastro

Europe's biggest flea market is held on Sundays and holidays (9:00–15:00, best before 11:00). Start at the Plaza Mayor, with its gentle coin-collectors market and head south or take the subway to Tirso de Molina. Hang on to your wallet. Spin the wheel to try for two cookies for the price of one. Munch on a pepito (meat-filled pastry). Europe's biggest stamp market thrives simultaneously on Plaza Mayor.

Valley of the Fallen

Six miles from El Escorial, high in the Guadarrama Mountains, a 500-foot-tall granite cross marks an immense and powerful underground monument to the victims of Spain's 20th-century nightmare — its civil war (1936–1939).

Approaching by car or bus, you enter the sprawling park through a granite gate (€5, or €7.80 to include round-trip bus from El Escorial,€8.50 for combo-ticket with El Escorial — best for drivers, April–Sept Tue–Sun 10:00–19:00, closed Mon, last entry 60 min before closing, basilica closes 30 min before site closes, Oct–March closes at 18:00, tel. 918-907-756). The best views of the cross are from the bridge (but note that it's illegal to stop anywhere along this road). Above you, the tiny chapels along the ridge mark the Stations of the Cross, where pilgrims stop on their hike to this memorial.

Consider taking a funicular trip — with a short commentary in English — to the base of the cross (€1.50 one-way, €2.50 round-trip, April-Sept Tue-Sun 11:00-19:00, closed Mon, 3/hr; Oct-March Tue-Sun 11:00-16:30, closed Monday, 2/hr, has restaurant and public WC). You can hike back down in 25 minutes. If you have a car, you can drive up past the monastery and hike from the start of the trail marked Sendero a la Cruz.

Near the parking lot and bus stop at Valley of the Fallen is a small snack bar and picnic tables. Basic overnight lodging is available at the monastery behind the cross (100 rooms, Sb-€37, Db-€40, includes meals, tax and a pass to enter and leave the park after hours, tel. 918-905-494, fax 918-961-542, NSE). A meditative night here is good mostly for monks.

Centro Reina Sofía

The museum is most famous for Pablo Picasso's Guernica (second floor, room 6), an epic painting showing the horror of modern war. The museum also houses an easy-to-enjoy collection by other modern artists, including more of Picasso (3 rooms divide his art into pre–Civil War, Guernica and post–Civil War) and a mind-bending room of Dalís (room 10). Enjoy a break in the shady courtyard before leaving (€3, free Sat afternoon after 14:30 and all day Sun, always free to those under 18 and over 65; covered by €7.66 Paseo del Arte combo-ticket; Mon and Wed–Sat 10:00–21:00, Sun 10:00–14:30, closed Tue, good brochure, hardworking audioguide-€2.50, no photos, no tours in English, free baggage check, Santa Isabel 52, Metro: Atocha, across from Atocha train station, look for exterior glass elevators, tel. 914-675-062, http://museoreinasofia.mcu.es).

The Prado Museum

With more than 3,000 canvases, including entire rooms of masterpieces by Velázquez, Goya, El Greco and Bosch, the Prado can be overwhelming. Pick up the English floor plan as you enter. Take a tour or buy a guidebook (or bring along the Prado chapter from Rick Steves' Best European City Walks and Museums — available without maps and photos for free here). Focus on the Flemish and northern (Bosch, Albrecht Dürer, Peter Paul Rubens), the Italian (Fra Angelico, Raphael, Titian) and the Spanish art (El Greco, Velázquez, Goya).

The Prado costs €3 (free all day Sun and to anyone under 18 and over 65; covered by €7.66 Paseo del Arte combo-ticket; Tue–Sun 9:00–19:00, closed Mon, last entry 30 min before closing, €3 audioguide; free and mandatory baggage check after your things are scanned, just like at the airport; no water bottles inside, photos allowed but no flash, cafeteria in basement at Murillo end; Paseo del Prado, Metro: Banco de España or Atocha — each a 5-min walk from the museum, tel. 913-302-800, http://museoprado.mcu.es). Cabs picking you up at the Prado are likely to overcharge. Insist on the fare meter.

Back to "The Majestry of Madrid" script

Excerpted from Rick Steves' Spain 2005