Mad About Madrid

Feliz Navidad and Merry Christmas From Mad About Madrid

Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Nadolig LLawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda
Joyeux Noël et bonne année!

SIMO Technology Exhibition 2007 About to Open

On 6th November, 2007 the SIMO Feria Internacional de Informática Multimedia y Comunicaciones will open its doors. For an event whose objective is to promote the latest digital technologies they have come up with a crap poor website which breaks all rules on usability, accessibility and common sense-ibility!

From what I struggled to work out there should be some interesting discussions and exhibitions on the following:

• IT. computers, peripheral devices and electronics
• Professional Applications. Operating systems CAD/CAM/CAE
• Telecoms. Mobile Phones, Local Area Networks, Servers, etc
• E-Business - Internet.

There is a new area that has been created this year for Web 2.0 - an area that I am working in myself. Digital Content is also represented.

Google Aims to Help Madrid Tourist Sector

As someone who spends most days working with clients to find the best ways to

In my day job I spend most of the time helping clients gain better rankings on Google and creating Google AdWord campaigns to drive traffic to their website. I sometimes do exhibitions (I'll be at the Lead On 2007 event next month) and often present. Therefore, it's no surprise that the Madrid TravelThink event, which has Google heavy participation, caught my eye.

Madrid TravelThink is an opportunity for those in the travel industry to learn from Google experts, and others in the industry, what the latest tips and trends to gain new clients are. The event takes place at the Palacio Municipal de Congresos de Madrid on the 15th October, 2007.

I hope that one of the organisers, Es Madrid, sends all of its marekting people as they could learn a lot about optimsiation and how to create Google AdWords from the people from Google!

Madrid: The 10th Most Liveable City in the World

According to the International Herald Tribune Madrid is the World's 10th Most Liveable City. Munich is the most liveable - with a total of 7 other European cities being in the top 10. Each city has a dedicated page outlining the attributes of each and Madrid's - Madrid emerges from Barcelona's shadow (I can already hear the Madrileños spitting at that!) - talks about the work undertaken by the mayor, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, and the usual:

But Madrid has huge pluses: all the major employers are here; eating out is cheap (€30 per head at a good restaurant) and there is a plethora of cheap public transport and a 24-hour nightlife.

There are some good stats and commentary here. The main article is called Quality of Life 2007 and makes for interesting reading.

Beware Spaniards Wielding Umbrellas

Today, 9th April 2007, it is raining quite heavily in Madrid. For some reason, and coming from the UK, I didn´t anticipate that it would rain this afternoon. But boy, has it rained! And when it rains, the umbrellas come out.

A word of warning! Generally, the rain in Spain stays mainly on the plane. But when it does rain, the Spanish start to use umbrellas and ´cos they´re out of practice, they don´t use them very well.

If you´re not careful, you easily lose an eye in Madrid when it rains!

**UPDATE**
Es Madrid No Madriz added a comment to this blog to say he´s one of the few non-dangerous, Spaniards who know how to use an umbrella! On his site he also comes up with some top tips.

When in Madrid, Make an Effort to Speak Spanish

I overheard a conversation today between an English guy and a waiter in one of the bars. The English guy had just finished his coffee and said to the waiter: "the bill - two coffees". When he handed over a 5-Euro note and received his change he said: "thank you".

BLOODY HELL! This sort of thing makes me mad. You go to the heart of Spain - Madrid, not the Costa del Sol - and can´t be arsed to try and speak in their language.

And the crazy thing is that most young people (he must have been in his early 30´s) in the Western world can say; "dos cafés" and everybody, I mean everybody knows how to say: "gracias". Any phrasebook - and let´s admit all tourists have one - will have phrases like "me dice cuanto es" or "la cuenta, por favor" to ask for the bill.

And I saw the same thing happen a couple of hours later with a young, American girl who again couldn´t be arsed and hot quite annoyed when people couldn´t understand her.

It´s one of the most wonderful things about Madrid - that many people speak English badly or not all - and that´s what makes it such a great place.

New Banner Header for Mad About Madrid

If you're not a first-time visitor, you will see that I have a brand, spanking-new header. Over the past couple of weeks I have been making modifications to this site and felt that I had to start developing a new brand with nice images of Madrid. My images of Madrid are very amateurish, so I thought I would ask someone whose digital photographs of the city I have a great appreciation of. That's why last week I asked Ramón Durán, whose stunning photographs you can find on Flickr,if he wouldn't mind using his photos to create a new collage. As you can gather he said yes.

If you haven't seen his wonderful pictures of Madrid, and places he's travelled to, make sure you head over to Flickr to view his work. I am sure that like me you will be blown away with some of his photography. And by the way this is his hobby -he is a Urologist by trade!

Thank you very much Ramón.

A Note on Mad About Madrid logo
The inspiration for this new logo came from a few sources. The colours are actually those of the flag and coat of arms of the community of Madrid. The exclamation marks are ever so slightly influenced by Tom Peters, the business guru. The reason that the exclamation marks are upside down on one side is because that's how they are written in Spanish.

Special Mention from Guardian Unlimited

I was told this morning that Mad About Madrid had received a special mention in the Guardian Unlimited's  "Best of the net- The alternative Travvies awards". Though it didn't win Sean Dobson's award as Best Destination Blog, he did say:

The destination category is strong and it would be remiss of us not to mention in dispatches madaboutmadrid.com

There's always next year!

 

Mad About Madrid Store

Today, I am putting live the Mad About Madrid Amazon Store (or aStore). I have collected some of my favourite Spanish-related books, CDs and DVDs and created an Amazon aStore where visitors can view and purchase these products. There are well over a 100 products on there and I intend to increase the selection over the next few months. The current store is hosted on Amazon.com but within the next day or so I will put an Amazon.co.uk site live. Please let me know if I have missed out on any important products.

Madrid Set For Cold Snap

It looks like Madrid is set for some cold weather in the coming days. Temperatures in the capital are expected to drop below -4°C tonight and - 7°C in the mountains surrounding Madrid. The picture below is taken from the Royal residence of La Zarzuela, where snow has already fallen - let's hope it sticks around for Christmas!

SIMO - Europe's 2nd Largest IT Show Begins in Madrid

Today, 7th November (and running until 12th November), 2006, sees the start of SIMO - Feria Internacional de Informática, Multimedia y Comunicaciones (no translation required!). Billed as the 2nd largest technology show in Europe it is being held in  Parque Ferial Juan Carlos I and will have over 600 exhibitors there. Needless to say that it will have everything that a business, home user or even a geek could ever want (for this year!). I have been once or twice and really enjoyed - if you're into IT and new technologies, you'll enjoy it.

For full details, take a look at the SIMO press release or visit the SIMO web pages on IFEMA.

Advertise on Mad About Madrid

Mad About Madrid has been running now for almost 3 years. In fact the 3rd Anniversary of its launch came about in August, 2006. Over that time the site has grown, both in the number of visitors it receives and the amount of content that is added to it.

Learn more about how your business could benefit by partnering with Mad About Madrid.

Tales From Madrid (BBC Programme)

If you live in the UK, you may be interested to know that BBC 2 is showing a documentary called Tales from Madrid on Wednesday, 9th August 2006. Originally broadcast on BBC Four, this programme is presented by Kirsty Wark and Adil Ray. If they're anything like other similar Kirsty Wark programmes, they will be well worth watching. Here's a breakdown of what you can expect to see:

Kirsty Wark and Adil Ray go in search of the cultural heart of Spain's capital city. Kirsty meets Anna Obregon, the actress and femme fatale who got on the wrong side of Victoria Beckham, and Michael Robinson, the British footballer who has become one of Spain's most popular TV presenters. Adil tries to keep pace with the locals in a city that is notorious for all-night partying and finds out how the country is finally coming to terms with the legacy of Franco through a top-rated TV drama.

Madrid in August

I think that I will be posting light during the month of August - there isn't much going on! As many of you may be aware the city tends to close its shutters for the month (though things are changing) and some of the best-loved bars and restaurants will close for the staff to take a well-earned break. However, it's not all quiet and I'll try and keep you up-to-date with what's going on in the city over the next few weeks.

Metropoli has a review of 5 plays by contemporary authors that will play over the month at the Casa Encendida, which by the way has one of the summer's best terrazas (open air bars). The authors are contemporary playwrights: Rafa Ponce, Sara Molina, Carlos Rod and Pilar Campos, Carlos Sarrió and Álex Naranjo. Entrance costs just 3 Euros.

There looks like an interesting exhibition over at the Círculo  de Bellas Artes, entitled "De la España que emigra a la España que acoge" (from the Spain which emigrated to the Spain which took in). It has eight starnds to it, which include: The exile of 1939, From the country to the city, America and other countries, The return and Spain country of welcome.

Passing Themselves Off As Mad About Madrid

I was pretty peeved yesterday when I saw that someone was using Google AdWords to try, in my mind, to pass themselves off as Mad About Madrid. Have a look for yourselves on Google - all you've got to do is type in the words: "mad about madrid" into Google. And please let me know when they stop this practice!

Advert from Turismo Comunidad de Madrid

I quite like this advert from Turismo Comunidad de Madrid. With the strapline El cielo, la tierra, Madrid, tu mundo - The sky, the earth, Madrid, your world - and with music from the Kings of Convenience playing in the background it gives the tourist a 4 minute journey around Madrid and its surroundings.

Just sit back and enjoy!

Hat tip to: TV Spot

Madrid Features in New Coke Ad

I was watching an advert on British TV last night  when, suddenly, images of Madrid flashed across the screen. It would appear that the latest advert (only in the UK?) for Coke Zero features some of the prominent buildings of Madrid's business district. I saw Madrid's Torre Picasso and one of the bridges which spans the Castellana. Let me know of any other buildings you recognise.

NOTE: This is not an endorsement of Coke Zero, which contains Aspartame amongst other things. Here are some interesting links:

MP calls for ban on 'unsafe' sweetener
Aspartame: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
EU to Reexamine Safety of Aspartame Artificial Sweetener

I think I'll get off my soapbox now!

US Expat Questionnaire

To all the US expats living in Madrid.

Mark Nykanen and Eric Burnette are two writers who are currently writing a book, called Fear, Fury, and Exile: Why Young, Liberal, Educated Americans are Permanently Leaving the US, which is due for publication in 2007. They are currently researching the book and are looking for people who are willing to help us locate individuals, couples or families who have left the US for political or social reasons. Here is a brief synopsis of their research:

There is increasing evidence that significant numbers of young, educated Americans are permanently leaving the US.  Above and beyond those who leave the US for work, study, or simply for pleasure, many Americans now seem to be leaving for political and social reasons.  Who are they?  Why are they leaving?  Where are they going?  What is the impact on the US of this emigration?

For the interviewee, this would involve an initial exchange of emails, a ~60 minute phone interview, and possibly a follow-up phone interview.  We will be happy to work with interviewees on anonymous basis, a pseudonym basis, or a full attribution basis.

If you would like to help them out, get in touch with Eric by email: backoutwest@gorge.net   

Would You Like to Collaborate on Mad About Madrid?

Over the last month or so I have been speaking to people in Madrid about the possibility of working with me to further develop this site. To date I have met some great people and we are starting to collaborate on projects and articles - you will see the fruits of these discussions soon.

Mad About Madrid generates around 700 visitors a day, who come from all over the world, and view around 3,000 pages. The information that they search for in order to come to the site is varied, from bars, restaurants and tapas to parks, sports and entertainment. My target number of visitors by the summer is 1,000 per day.

I am looking for people who can write articles on a wide range of subjects, such as:

• Food and wine
• Bars, cafes and taverns
• Entertainment - music, theatre, dance
• Shops - clothes, food, etc
• Historic buildings - churches, museums,
• Interesting walks/tours
• Cultural events or exhibitions
• Your own personal experiences in the city

Contributors will get their own bio page on the site, which could offer them the opportunity to promote their own services/products. I would also be interested in people who would like to submit photos or even to create podcasts. Opportunities also exist for people who feel that they would like to sell advertising space on this site.

If you feel that you help develop this site into the premier site in Madrid, please drop me a line: alunjohn@gmail.com

Sign Up For Email Alerts From Mad About Madrid

I would like to introduce visitors to the Mad About Madrid website to a new service that I have added to this site. It is called Feedblitz and allows visitors to the Mad About Madrid site to sign up for email alerts of when this site is updated. You simply add your email address to the sidebar (right) or add your details below:

Enter your Email


Powered by FeedBlitz

Carolina Herrera on Madrid

Whilst searching for a quote for an article that I'm currently writing, I came across an interesting article on the world-famous fashion designer Carolina Herrera. The article, called Spanish Steps and written by Mitchell Owens, offers a fascinating insight into Carolina Herrera's love affair with Madrid. It talks about her favourite tapas, bars, museums and places of interest. I love a quote from the article where she says that the clientele for a famous restaurant - Casa Lucio - ranges from:

"the King and Queen to the local hooker"

She also comments on how life is so civlised in Madrid:

"The life here is so civilized. The lunches are late and the dinners are even later, which allows you to do so many things during the day. And have you noticed that nobody eats or drinks while they are walking? In New York, everybody eats in the street. But in Madrid, people go to a café and they sit down. Even in Starbucks, you buy your coffee and sit and drink"

And here's an interesting shopping tip:

"Calzados Lobo, a store that has stood near Plaza Mayor for more than a century, is where the Herrera women stock up on the traditional handmade espadrilles (they start at around $8 a pair) that found favor with the Paris Opéra, which ordered dozens of Lobo shoes for a production of Carmen. The shop is about half the size of a one-car garage; its open shelves are crammed with boxes, and dozens of customers stand elbow-to-elbow clutching wait-your-turn numbers."

FITUR 2006 Opens in Madrid

FITUR will be the second major exhibition that I have commented about this week - it looks like we are in the middle of the exhibition season in Madrid. From the 25th - 29th January 2006 Madrid will host the 26h edition of the International Tourism Trade Fair (Feria Internacional de Turismo). On the 25th-27th January, the show will be open to professionals, whilst the public can go on the remaining 2 days (28th and 29th January). All sectors will be covered, from travel agencies and hotels to travel media, education and residential tourism. Like last year the 4 main focus areas will be:

Fitur Activo: Active Tourism Section
Fitur Know-How: Tourism Knowledge Fair
Fitur Congresos: Meetings and Incentives Travel Workshop
Fitur Residencial: Residential Tourism Trade Fair

Entry
18€ - Trade Visitors
7€ - General Public (1 day pass)

Book Hotels Near FITUR
Mad About Madrid Hotel Recommendations

Getting There
Metro: Line 8 Campo de Naciones
Buses: 112, 122 &  828

Indepedent's Guide to Madrid

The week before last the Independent Newspaper (UK) had a very interesting supplement on Madrid, which you can now view online. Here is a summary of the various sections:

• 24 Hours In: Madrid - The travel writer Simon Calder kicks off the day in Puerta del Sol, heads off to the Plaza Mayor and then gets over to the Bernabeu Stadium. In the evening he samples Jazz at the Café Central.
• Madrid: A world-class exhibitionist - Cathy Packe takes a look at the works of art on display in the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, the Prado and Thyssen-Bornemisza Museums.            
• Madrid: Art and craft - Cathy Packe takes a trip to Madrid's Real Fábrica de Tapices - the Royal Tapestry Factory.                   
  
• Madrid: Dining with the locals - Alex Leith samples Madrid's 'nueva cocina' - including Sergi Arola, Ferran Adrià and Sergi Santiago - and the older establishments like Botin.                  
• Madrid's park life - a shot article by Cathy Packe on Madrid's parks.
• Madrid: The traveller's guide to what's in store - A look at the shops in Madrid's fashionable Salamanca, shopping malls, department stores (well, El Corte Inglés) and even the Rastro Flea Market.
  
• Madrid: Adventures in clubland - Alex Leith gives a pretty good round-up of Madrid's trendiest clubs.                        
  
• Chic Madrid - Madrid's chic, boutique hotels.
  
• Madrid: Great days out - Simon Calder heads off to Aranjuez, Chinchón and Alcalá de Henares.

New Tourism Centre in Madrid

It looks like visitors to Madrid will now be able to get tourist information from a new Tourism Office. Situated in the famous Casa de la Panadería, in the Plaza Mayor, the office will be open from 9.30 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. According to the Esmadrid website:

"The centre has arranged six internet access points allowing visitants to look up – through the esmadrid.com website – the new Tourism Board database, developed by the city council-owned company Promoción Madrid. This new venue provides as well the visitants with WI-FI (wireless) access making available Internet access through portable computers."

 

First Mad About Madrid Contributor

About a month ago I posted an article on Mad About Madrid inviting people to contribute to this blog - I had some very good responses since then and have met up with some interesting and enthusiasitc people. Ryan Opaz is one of them and from now on he will be contributing articles to this blog.

I met Ryan a couple of weeks back on a sunny (aren't they all?) afternoon in the Plaza Santa Ana. Ryan is an American, married to Gabriela, and has been living in Madrid for a few months. The really interesting thing about Ryan is his passion for, and knowledge of, wine. He has worked in the industry for a number of years and has already starting establishing contacts in the wine industry in Spain - recently he has made trips to La Rioja and the Basque country.

For Mad About Madrid, Ryan will be contributing articles relating to food and drink in the capital and we will jointly be working on promoting food and drink tours around Madrid - headed up, obviously , by Ryan. We are really excited about the prospect of offering these tours and we hope to be able to launch them in the month of May.

A Hedonist´s Guide to Madrid

A Hedonist´s guide to ... is designed to appeal to a more urbane and stylish traveller. The kind of traveller who is interested in gormet food, elegant hotels and seriously chic bars - the traveller who feels the need to explore, shop and pamper themselves away from the madding crowd.

The first time I saw this book was in Madrid´s FNAC bookstore and its very distinctive black cover with a orange band running around it automatically attracted my attention. The quality pages and their images don´t disappoint when you open it, either. This book is designed to appeal to those looking for something special in Madrid - the best food, drink, place to stay or entertainment.

A Hedonist´s Guide to Madrid is quite neatly split into the following sections: sleep, eat, drink, snack, party, culture, shop and play, though the main sections are the first four. The book also has four small maps of the main ares of Madrid: Chueca/Malasaña, Centro, La Latina and Salamanca which all have numbers which relate to places that are reviewed. The "sleep" section, along with the "eat" section, have useful ratings of the establishments critiqued and both sections offer Beverley Fearis´s (the author) top 10 and top 5 ratings, along the lines of style, location, service, quality of food, etc.

Though the hotel section may be out of quite a few people´s reach, the eat, drink and snack sections offer something for everyone - even though for some it may be a holiday "treat". Many of the well-known tourist destinations can be found in the guide - Casa Labra, Café Comercial and Café Gijón - but some other interesting places also appear like El Estragon Vegetariano, Isla del Tesoro and the Ducados Café .

Though the guide does include details of cultural places to visit - the Royal Palace and the Prado, for example - you would be advised to buy a more detailed tourist guide to search out Madrid´s many rincones (corners). However, I would definitely recommend taking this book on your trip to Madrid - Beverley Fearis has really done a fine job in researching Madrid´s 'other cultural' centres.

See Also
My Madrid: Beverley Fearis

Surfing the Internet near Puerta del Sol

Just came across a very useful Internet Café near the Puerta del Sol, which could prove handy to those staying or milling around the area. It is called 3w.com (no website!!) and is located in Tetuán street, number 3. The cost per hour is 1.4 Euros and you can buy hot or cold drinks while you surf - Yahoo! and MSN Messenger is available

Would You Like To Write Articles For Mad About Madrid?

Over the next few months I will be looking for people to collaborate with me in writing articles and generally developing the Mad About Madrid website. I plan to develop the site into the one of the most successful city travel sites on the web and would like your help. So, whether you're a Spanish or foreign national, live or have lived in Madrid, a journalist, student or accountant, I'd love to hear from you. All I ask is that you share my passion of the city and that you be prepared to write regular articles for Mad About Madrid. Aside from writers, I would also like to hear from people who would like to sell advertising on the site.

You can email me on: alun@madaboutmadrid.com

Madrid Suffers Heaviest Snowfall for 20 Years

Madrid has just suffered its heaviest snowfall in over 20 years. Many Madrileños, including my nephew and niece, woke up to find the city covered with snow this morning and most roads and rail networks were affected. In some parts of outlying Madrid some 20 centimetres of snow fell.

It does snow in Madrid in winter, and indeed you can go skiing in the mountains around the city, but it is not normal for this amount of snow to fall. Even though the snow caused accidents and inconvenience, it was an opportunity for some beautiful pictures to be taken of the city. Here is a selection of photos that I have come across:

Impresionante nevada en Madrid - El Mundo
La nieve que vieron los lectores (Readers' Photos) - El Mundo
Postales blancas de Madrid (White postcards), by Carlos Barajas El Mundo
Fotos de España nevada - Terra
Tercer gran temporal de invierno - El Pais

Gawker Media references Mad About Madrid

Just had to share this with readers! One of Gawker Media's publications, Gridksipper, today referenced this weblog in an article called Madrid’s Muse. This website is part of Nick Denton's blogging empire and has one or two interesting articles about Madrid (you'll find this site referenced at least once).

Visitors to this Site Come From

Just before Christmas I placed this script on the website (you'll find it in the right-hand column) which tracks where visitors to this site have come from. So, if you're interested to know from which country visitors to Mad About Madrid have come from, click HitMaps. It's quite a neat little tool.

FITUR Tourism Fair 2005

This month sees the arrival of FITUR, the International Tourism Fair, which is held in Madrid's Juan Carlos Exhibition Centre. The event takes place from the 26th to 30th January and is open to the general public on the 29th to the 30th January (10 a.m. to 8 p.m.). It offers a great opportunity to see regional and international tourism exhibitors and get involved in workshops and seminars. A number of sectors are covered and the exhibition has the following key sections: Fitur Activo, Fitur Know-How, Fitur Congresos and Fitur Residencial. Entry costs 7 Euros for the general public.

Book Hotels Near FITUR
Mad About Madrid HOtel Recommendations

Getting There
Metro: Line 8 Campo de Naciones
Buses: 112, 122 &  828

Madrid Card offers Reduced Rates for Christmas

I saw in the online newspaper ABC that Madrid Card has just released a special Madrid Card Navidad (Christmas) that only costs 20 Euros. The Madrid Card offers, amongst other things:

● Entry to over 40 museums (like the Prado, Thyssen and Reina Sofía)
● Unlimited travel (Bus, Metro & Suburban Trains)
● Guided Tour of Hapsburg Madrid and
● Discounts in bars, restaurants and shows

These cards can either be bought online or at hotels and tourist offices. Here are the prices as displayed on the Madrid Card site:

● The 1 day card: 28€.
● The 2 day card: 42€ - 4€ discount when you buy it on the website.
● The 3 day card: 55€. 5€ discount when you buy it on the website.

Though I'm not sure how ABC do their maths, it might be worth doing yours beforehand to see if it is worth the expense.
*Update* - El Mundo newspaper points out that the 20 Euro rate is for a 2-day pass.

360° Virtual Tours of Madrid

I came across a pretty cool website today, which offers visitors 360° virtual tours of some of Madrid's most famous landmarks. Madrid Virtual have taken images of landmarks as famous as Plaza Mayor, Palacio Real, Teatro Real, Plaza de Callao, the Almudena Cathedral and Puerto de Sol many more. You simply select the location you want and pan around or zoom in/out of an image.

The website was set up by 2 architects/photograhers/technofiles who share a passion for Madrid and who, long term, intend to take 360° tours of 171 locations that they have idenitifed. Their website can be viewed in both Spanish and English and it is possible to buy stunning images of the city in both CD-Rom or poster form.

SIMO TCI - IT, Consumer Electronics and E-business Fair opens 9th November in Madrid

SIMO TCI is Madrid's annual 'data processing, multimedia and communications' fair and this year celebrates its 25th anniversary. The huge exhibition occupies 7 halls at the Juan Carlos I Exhibition Centre. Sectors include: Information Technology, Consumer Electronics, Professional Software, E-business & the Internet and Telecommunications and all the big names including Canon, Sony, Sagem, Microsoft and Apple will be there. The exhibition centre can be reached by both Metro and bus and ticket prices are 25 euros for a professional pass (for all days) or 10 euros for weekend entry.

Royal Wedding in Madrid

On the 22nd May the heir to the throne, Felipe of Borbón, will marry Letizia Ortiz, a journalist, in Madrid's Almudena Cathedral. The city will be the host of the biggest Spanish Royal Wedding of the last century - the present king Juan Carlos got married in Greece - and royalty and dignitaries from all over the world will attend. Needless to say that much of central Madrid will be blocked off that day and you'll have to arrive a day or two early to grab a pole position!! Here are websites that give you a complete overview of the wedding, their own personal details from venues, to food and even where they'll live.

El Mundo
The Royal House
Telecinco
Terra
ABC

Metro Madrid Website - Review

Any visitor to Madrid should get to know and use the Madrid Metro. It covers virtually the whole city and every tourist destination can be reached by it. I have previously written an article, entitled Madrid - Metro and Bus Travel, so this should act as an update to that and provide supplementary information. The Madrid Metro website offers the English speaker the chance to view most information in English (see drop-down in upper right of Metro Website), though clicking on some will take you to pages where you will need to know a little Spanish.

Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Madrid 2004

Like many parts of Spain, Madrid will see quite a few processions and church services to mark Easter. In Spain, both Holy Thursday and Good Friday of Holy Week are official holidays and it is typical to see processions from many churches, with religious statues being carried by local people. It is not unusual to see statues being carried by around 20 people (often situated underneath the platform on which the statue is placed). These statues will reside in the churches, often in side chapels for the rest of the year.

The statues will usually depict the various scenes leading up the crucifixion of Christ and drums and bands will accompany the statues. Madrid is no exception to this and you can see the processions all over the city from Thursday to Saturday - probably the best area to view procesions is in and around the Plaza Mayor. One of the strangest sights is to see people dressed up, in what many would term 'Klu-Klux-Klan, robes - these, I believe, are often people who are looking for penitence.

In addition, some of the more well-know churches, like the Real Iglesia de San Ginés and San Jerónimo el Real will be holding requiems over this period. For a detailed itinerary, download the 2004 Easter Week pdf from the Madrid City council website.

Related Article
Easter Week in Madrid (2006)

Photographic Street Map

I just came across a neat site, from QDQ, which allows you to type in a Madrid address and building number and it will return an image of what that building looks like. So if you're booking a hotel or hostal, a restaurant or even to rent a new flat, simply type in the address and the website will return an image of that building. If you want to test it out, take a look at the shops listed on the Shopping Archives section of this site.

Booksellers - English Bookshop

Booksellers has been around for at least 10 years and offers a lifeline to those English-speaking people who live in Madrid and want to buy books written in English - I´m sure it is also a great place for those travellers who wish to stock up on books. For those learning English the shop has a huge range of English language materials, from books to CD´s and DVD´s.

Address: c/ José Abascal, 48
Metro: Gregorio Marañón, lines 7 & 10

Travel Guides to Madrid that you will find on Amazon

Have seen that some people have been searching for travel guide books on this site. Well, here are some that I have not included before - they're all at Amazon.

Lonely Planet Madrid

Top 10 Madrid: Your Guide to the 10 Best of Everything

Lonely Planet Madrid City Map

Maps of Madrid

By reviewing my stats, I have noticed that a number of people have requested a map of Madrid. Well, here are a couple of suggestions that should keep most people happy:

Multimap - simply select Spain from the drop-down list, wait for the page to refresh and then type in you street name if you know it and city name. If you want to start from a central location, type in "Puerta del Sol". You can easily move up, down and across to find other locations.

Maporama follows the same principle.

If you want a Metro Map, then take a look at the Madrid Metro site.

Internet Cafés in Madrid

Want to keep in touch whilst away? Feel the urge to add a new entry into your blog? Then, head off to one of the Internet cafés, which you'll find dotted around Madrid. The one that I use most frequently is called Bbigg and is situated on c/Alcalá, just off the Puerta del Sol. It is a huge place with many, many machines and is very reasonably priced. It costs around 1.2 Euros for 40 minutes. Another good Internet "café" can be found at Gran Vía 30, more or less opposite Madrid Rock, and run by Telefónica - costs are 2 Euros/hour or 10 hours for 12 Euros. Just down the road from Telefónica, towards Plaza de España, the well-known Cafetería Zahara has an Internet area. One other place near Puerta del Sol is Portatil in Calle Tetuán, 3.

Views of Madrid

Called the Faro de Moncloa, and based in Madrid's Moncloa district, this tower offers some of the finest views across Madrid. The tower is 92 metres and admission is only 1.2 Euros. You need to get the Metro to Moncloa reach the tower.

Restaurant and Street Guide of Madrid

Here's a guide (in Spanish), from the Madrid White pages people, that you may find useful for finding restaurants in Madrid (some with menus). They also have handy street maps that link into to them.
Restaurant Guide

For those who are looking for any addresses in Madrid, this could prove useful:
Madrid Street Map

Alternatively, you could buy the Lonely Planet Madrid City Map from Amazon

See also: Maps of Madrid

Currency Exchange and banks

I can’t understand why tourists allow themselves to get fleeced at currency exchange booths in Madrid. I suppose we’ve all gone on holiday and been to these places. There is an alternative, however, and it’s called a bank! There are no shortages of banks in Madrid (you'll see the popular ones all over the city) and practically all the main banks will be able to exchange currency for you – probably saving you a good 15-20% or more than if you went to a currency exchange booth. Here is a list of popular banks: Santander Central Hispano, BBVA, Caja Madrid and Banesto.

Mad About Madrid Donations

Mad About Madrid is a free guide to all things related to Madrid, from parks, walks and sports to music and travel information. If you feel that you have got some benefit out of this guide, you may want to make a donation (in the left-hand panel) through PayPal. In any case, please feel free to download and print articles and let friends know about this site. Cheers, Alun

Madrid weather forecasts

The weather in Madrid does have its peaks and