A Few Days in Madrid

Another holiday delayed by Covid finally upon us – this time 3 nights to Madrid with my husband Dan. 18 months later than planned and originally booked as part of his 40th celebrations. We had picked Madrid with intentions of catching a Real Madrid game or at the very least a stadium tour. Sadly, neither were possible! The stadium tour, which we had thought would be a given, was not possible due to ongoing building work at the grounds. This aside, we were both very much looking forward to 3 nights as Dan and Clare, rather than mum and dad.

I normally always book us an airport transfer or jump in a taxi at the airport. This time round, having looked at the various options on travelling from the airport, we decided that we would give the metro a go. Whilst this was the cheapest option (roughly EUR18 for 2 adults) it took about 1.5 hours from getting through arrivals at the airport, to arriving at the closest station to our hotel. On the return we booked a taxi via the hotel reception and the journey took 20 minutes and cost EUR30.00. I think it is good to give the local transport a go but when it comes to an airport transfer, I have decided I much prefer the ease of jumping in a taxi / pre-booked car at the airport. If you do decide to use the metro system in Madrid, it was easy to use and as you can see, prices were reasonable.

We arrived late afternoon and as we had been on the go all day, we headed straight to the rooftop pool at our hotel. We stayed at the Hotel Catalonia Gran Via Madrid, which as the name suggests, is located on Gran Via. Gran Via is a long road in central Madrid with lots of shops and nightlife located on or just off it. One of the sights that Gran Via is famous for is the Carrion building with its large Schweppes sign. Our hotel was a modern 4* property and we were lucky enough to be upgraded to a Superior Room with views over Gran Via. We looked out onto the Museo Chicote cocktail bar which I would recommend stopping at for a pre-dinner drink or for a few late-night cocktails. We spent a few hours here at the bar watching the talented bar men making their creations which of course, ended up us trying more than we had intended too!

Madrid is a walkable city however as Dan has suffered a football injury in the week leading up to our trip, we thought it best not to aggravate his injury and jumped on an open top city sightseeing bus. The audio provided spent a lot of time talking about the architecture and pointing out significant buildings. This wasn’t something hugely of interest to us however we did learn a few interesting facts about Madrid along with finding locations of other sights we wanted to see. Had Dan been more mobile, we would have swapped the bus for a bike or Segway tour instead.

El Retiro Park is a must see when you visit Madrid. One of the largest parks of the city, this used to belong to the Spanish Monarchy before becoming a public park. Must see’s whilst you walk through the park are The Monument to Alfonso XII, located on the edge of the artificial lake where you can take a boat ride and the Palacio de Cristal; a glass building used for art exhibits. There are street performers around the park along with drinks carts and little cafes.

Teleferico de Madrid are the cable cars of Madrid and about a mile from where we were staying. We did the return journey – currently there isn’t much to do at the other end as the café is no longer open. You can take a picnic with you and wander through Casa de Campo. The journey takes 11-minutes each way and the cars offer amazing views over the city where you can easily spot the palace and see the vast amount of green space. The cable cars don’t start operating until 1200, something we hadn’t noticed when looking into them, however we were able to sit and pass the time with an ice-cold beer and a bowl of olives whilst basking in the sunshine!

My top highlight of the trip and an absolute must to include is a stop to the Mercado de San Miguel. A historical building home to a variety of Spanish food and drink delights. Stop here at any time of the day, for a quick pit stop or to spend a couple of hours trying a selection of the many eateries. We stopped by at lunch time and we lucky enough to have live music. The atmosphere was amazing! We came away buzzing.

Madrid is made up of many plazas and places to stop for a quick drink and some tapas. If nothing else, you can kill a few hours to a whole day just wandering the streets and stopping every so often for a refreshment break. We may have had to wait some time to make it to Madrid and without the football we had hoped for, but we loved our time here. Now to decide which European city is going to make it to the top of my list next!