Friday, March 22, 2013

Madrid in a Nutshell


With Spring break happening all over the US, I've been lucky enough to have one of my best friends from home as a guest here in Madrid this past week. She'd wanted to come to Spain ever since high school; needless to say we could have stared at each other the entire week and she would have been happy. Of course we did much more than that; but with only six full days in country it was a matter of narrowing down the quintessential Madrid activities. Below is a list of what we did and, quite frankly, a list of things any traveler should aspire to do regardless of the duration of their stay.

In no particular order:

  • Visit Puerta del Sol
  • Explore El Buen Retiro Park, including the Crystal Palace, Rose Garden, and Rowboats
  • Visit the Royal Palace
  • Order a Chocolate Napolitana from La Mallorquina, a wildly popular pastry shop in Sol
  • Window and/or actual shopping on Gran Via
  • Visit Templo de Debod at sunset
  • Visit Plaza de EspaƱa
  • Visit Plaza Mayor
  • Explore the Rastro flea market (Sundays only)
  • Order the Menu del Dia for lunch at any given Spanish restaurant
  • Sample traditional Spanish tapas
  • Visit the San Miguel Market
  • Walk Calle Cavabajas
  • Visit the Prado Museum
  • Catch a bus to the small city of Toledo and spend the day there
  • Walk Calle Serrano
  • Walk along the Rio Manzanares
  • Experience Madrid at night (ie after midnight)
  • Visit the Circle of Fine Arts Museum and have a drink on the terrace
The list is by no means comprehensive; there are countless other things to see and do in Madrid, but the above activities do, in my humble opinion, capture the essence of Madrid.

No comments:

Post a Comment