one night in Madrid, what to do

griffinlee

Hi

I'm working in madrid next friday but will be there for thursday afternoon , evening. im travelling alone. Anybody recommend anything to do whilst im there? sights to see, bars, shopping.. havent booked a hotel yet so hopefully somewhere central in madrid..

thanks for any help!

jt_dublin

Hi,

You are going to a great city. I've been going for many years and now Mrs JT has been a few times & loves it too.

We always stay in the Intur Palacio San Martin hotel. Right in the centre next to Sol & the main shopping street but in a quiet square. You can take the metro from the airport to Sol, changing at Nuevos Ministerios & Tribunal.

The palace is just a few minutes walk from here too.

My recommendations for places to go:

Mercado San Miguel - Old market now full of tapas stands, wine, food, coffee, cakes, juices etc.. Great buzz there, day & night. It's just outside Plaza Mayor.

There are so many restaurants to choose from. What style of food do you like? Do you like Spanish tapas. On the same street (Cuchilleros) as Mercado San Miguel, there are cave bar / restaurants. The one we usually go to is Meson rincon de la cava. Or If you keep on to the end of this street and go straight across, there is a street called Cava Baja which has lots of bar restaurants on both sides. On a map, these might look like they are far from the the hotel, but they really are only 10 minutes.

What else do you like to do? Flamenco show, museum?

Do you like chocolate. Then maybe try the Chocolate con Churros... Hot chocolate with sort of long thin doughnuts to dip into it. San Gines is the most famous and again very close to the hotel.

If there is anything specific, just ask and I will see if I can help.

JT.

griffinlee

Thanks jt!

Great information , I think that's enough, I'm only there for one night!

schemingbohemia

This Sherry bar is amazing

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g187514-d717308-r110981873-La_Venencia-Madrid.html

Didn't think I liked Sherry but this place has 5 different types along with simple tapas, well worth popping in for 1 or 2 glasses if you're nearby.

IrishExpat

Having lived there for two years and still not seeing everything, it's hard to know where to begin.

It very much depends on the time of day/night, but you can't go wrong around the city center, even for a ramble - from Sol to the Palace never fails to disappoint.

It's hard to know unless you're more specific - do you want to see the sights or go dancing?

schemingbohemia

Eh they've been and gone already. Would have been nice for them to post back......

Penny Dreadful

OP I was last in Madrid in November just gone and I did the tapas tour of the city. It was a really great night and if you're just there for the one night its a good way to meet other people as part of a group, see lots of the city was you walk around and get to eat in a few different restaurants.
Couldn't recommend it enough.

playedalive

If you're only one night, definitely go to El Tigre. Great portions of Tapas with your drinks. The tapas are free AFAIK.:D

http://www.tripadvisor.ie/Restaurant_Review-g187514-d1829992-Reviews-El_Tigre-Madrid.html

IrishExpat

playedalive wrote: »

If you're only one night, definitely go to El Tigre. Great portions of Tapas with your drinks. The tapas are free AFAIK.:D

http://www.tripadvisor.ie/Restaurant_Review-g187514-d1829992-Reviews-El_Tigre-Madrid.html

Seconded. Only draw back is it can be overflowing with people and a wait to be served, and more recently a hub for the TEFL teachers on a low(ish) wage looking for a big feed, so takes away from the Spanish 'feel' to it.