madrid, españa

[hornimal]

I'm setting off for a 5-day trip to madrid this month. I'm going to be hanging out with a cousin, however she has work so I'm on my own during the day and weekdays.

my arrival at MAD is in the morning so my first order of business is to get from the airport to the hotel. how difficult would it be to navigate the metro with a rolling bag and a small carry-on, or would it be best to arrange for a taxi?

next, I plan to knock out the big paid tourist venues: museo del prado, palacio real, centro de arte reina sofia and if time allows the thyssen-bornemisza.

the free stuff will be checked off as well: plaza mayor, puerta del sol, gran via, etc.

so, I'm looking for some restaurant, taverns and tapas bars that I hit up during the day and early evening.

also, what are some of the things I should be aware of as far as crime and safety?

 

[Upgrayedd]

If you like beer, hit the Cerveceria Alemana in Plaza Santa Ana.

As for crime, there's a lot of people trying to sell you hash, and I saw a few brawls in the streets, but I was never threatened in a week or ten days there going out every night.

 

[orangebones]

it's a safe place. you have to watch out for gypsy pickpockets in the street markets, but that's par for the course. as a culture, they stay up late over there, so there will always be a pretty good crowd, which discourages crime. i found the folks over there to be very friendly. a couple of solid restaurant recommendations: la barraca (get the paella) and el rincon de esteban. you probably have to go to casa botin as well (oldest continuously operating restaurant in the world). if you like chocolate (or are with a woman that does), go to san gines chocolateria. they give you a mug full of molten goodness and a stack of churros to dip in it. there are a couple of other good places whose names are escaping me. i'll talk to the wife and post them later.

 

[hornimal]

yep, I have a reservation at casa botin.

keep 'em coming

 

[TXHookem]

San Gines... exactly what I was going to recommend. It's a must when in Madrid.

 

[Born_a_Longhorn]

When I was there in '03 the metro was clean and easy to use, and not busy from the airport to the center of the city. Use it.