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 The best museums in Madrid
The best tourist area in Madrid
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The
Royal Palace ( )
- (There's a good 360º video on their site.) This area
is the most visited landmark in all of Spain. It can easily
take 15 minutes to walk around to the other side and though
you shouldn't miss this view, the other side is much closer
to downtown and to everything else there is to visit. More:
Royal
Palace photos, Campo
del Moro photos.
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 The English Group & Smith Associates,
a small friendly academy on the east side of Madrid, seeks English
teachers. Experience not necessary as guidance is given to new
teachers. A TEFL certificate is essential. Please send a C.V.
to arrange an interview to myrasmith@english-group.com to Myra
Smith. Site: http://www.english-group.com.
Telephone: 0034 91 510 1030. Google
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English Group.
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Runner up for best tourist area in Madrid:
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Puerta de Sol ()
is about 10 minutes from the Royal Palace and you might consider
it all part of the same tourism related area anyway. It's
about a 3 minute walk from the Plaza Mayor, which is also
a must-see. Actually, there are all sorts of things to do
and see in the area. More: Puerta del Sol
Photos.
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The best tourist area in the Community of Madrid
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El
Escorial () - I used to go up there two or three
times a year and it's well worth the trip (1 to 1.5 hours).
It's a world heritage site and it deserves to be. I recommend
the walk up to "Felipe's Chair" (Silla de Felipe)
for a magnificent view of everything. More: El
Escorial Photos.
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The second best tourist area in the community (Community
of Madrid Photos)
The
"Valley of the Fallen" ()
is a close runner up and it's just 10 minutes down the road.
More: Valley of the Fallen. |
The best of nature in Madrid
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The beautiful Sycamore (or Plátano de Sombra) can be found
everywhere in Madrid, i.e.: in the Plaza de Oriente, Campo
del Moro and Plaza de España.
This tree and a few more common ones can be found at: Trees
of Madrid |
The best shopping area in Madrid
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The
Rastro ()
- You can find anything and everything at the Rastro from
left-over pieces of junk to beautiful works of art. And
if you're worried about safety, it's usually crawling with
police officers.
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The best thing for kids to do while you visit
The best party area
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My favourite area in Madrid for both day and night time fun
is called Huertas () and runs along Calle Huertas from
the Plaza de Santa Ana to the Prado museum. There are plenty
of bars and restaurants throughout the area and you can just
take your pick. More: Huertas.
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The best English book store in Madrid
The best second-hand English book store in Madrid
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J
and J Books and Coffee second-hand English book store
- You can buy, trade, or sell English books
here. They have over 20 thousand books in stock, and all
in outstanding condition and in a variety of catagories.
Prices start at 1 euro and go up to 12.50 for large Art
Books. The average for novels is about 4 euros.
()
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The best in-English Newspaper in Madrid
| In
Madrid - There's no doubt at all that
"In Madrid" is the best "in-English" press around. If you
want to know what's in-fashion and happening right now in
Madrid, give this frëe paper a gander.
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The best in-English cinema in Madrid
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Cine
Ideal ()
- This "original version" cinema (English mostly
and other languages) is a few hundred meters south of "Puerta
del Sol" on Calle Doctor Cortezo, 6 just off Plaza
de Jacinto Benavente. Warning: all cinemas in Madrid cost
6.50€ or more. |
The best music-related electronics shopping area
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People
say that the area to go to is about 500 metres north of
Calle Alcalá on Calle Barquillo just up the street
from Banco de España metro. The truth is that there
are a lot of shops here with stock that looks quite professional
so maybe you can find things that aren't generally available,
but prices seem the same to me for average cd players,
etc. ()
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The best PC shops
| PCBox
- If you know what your doing, PCBox is probably the best
and cheapest shop for computer hardware in Madrid. Mediamarkt,
(their shops are on the outskirts), though it seems to me
to have a horribly abusive returns policy, usually has some
really good sales, but doesn't seem to me to be really focused
on PCs, and PCCity
(near Metro Arguelles) is also a good solid choice. The
only reason to buy at El
Corte Inglés ()
is because of their excellent financing and the guarantee
their brand offers (there's usually no problem at all returning
goods for whatever reason here). One of my students is the
head of the IT department in a French multinational which
buys many of their computer supplies online here: Bechtle.
There are plenty of other shops in Madrid to be wary of. |
The best music and films shop
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If anyone actually buys music or films anymore, which I have
to admit that I do, FNAC
() next to metro Callao is the best for music because of their
listen-before-you-buy system, and Mediamarkt
has excellent prices on their videos (often 50% or less of
what others are asking). |
The Best Art Supplies store
Chopos art supply store is one of the best art
supply stores in Madrid and the materials are usually fresh. (I've
bought acrylic paints in other stores which had just about solidified.)
It's just east of Plaza de San Jacinto Benavente towards the Plaza
de Santa Ana.
The Best Chocolate bar in Madrid.
Mallorquinas -In the southwest corner (on the Plaza Mayor
side) right next to one of Sol's Metro exits, Mallorquina's is
one of the best quality chocolate shops in Madrid. If you're a
chocolate lover and you can stand waiting in line for 10 minutes
to get served, go for it! You'll love it. And, by the way, there's
a little restaurant area upstairs, but you can bet it'll be full
as well.
The Best Camping Equipment shopping area in Madrid
 The
best area in Madrid to shop for camping equipment (i.e. backpacks,
hiking boots, etc.) is in the rastro. Decathlon
is a sports-related department store located in various towns
on the outskirts of Madrid, which has one of the best price/quality
ratios I've ever seen. You can literally dress nicely and casually
for under 20-30 euros there, which makes it one of the cheapest
clothing stores in Madrid.
The best Toy Store in Madrid
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Dideco
()
- This is an educational store in the shopping center right
next to the Puerta de Toledo Metro and near the Rastro. There
are loads of educational games for children of any language.
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The Best Board-Game store
Generación
X (
) - Game store in Madrid which usually has a lot of board games
and comics in stock in the shop at Calle Puebla 15. The area just
south and east of this shop on Calle de la Luna (nearer to Callao)
has another game shop that has more miniatures for military games,
etc. Just west of this on this street there are plenty of comics
shops.
The Best Photography shop
The best photography shop in Madrid, "Fotocasión," is at the
bottom of the Rastro. It seems pretty well-stocked to me. Also,
here are a couple of good online shops in Spain: Fotocasión,
Digital
Toy Shop, Pixmania.
The Best in-Spanish bookshop
Casa del Libro -You can find the Casa del Libro just behind the
main Corte Ingles on Preciados street about 50 metres up from
Arenal street. It has a lot of materials for English teachers
(text books mostly) and a few other books in English such as novels,
tourist-guides, etc. (Prices are only slightly higher than Amazon.co.uk.)
There's another Casa del Libro on Gran Via a bit nearer to the
Corner of Montera street.
This is the Casa del Libro on Gran Via at right. They both more
or less offer the same books and materials for English teachers
so your choice would just seem to depend on convencience more
than anything.
Best bicycle shop (on Calle Atocha - a kilometre
Southeast of Sol)
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Calmera
()
- Bicycle shop on Calle Atocha (A kilometre Southeast of
Sol). I don't know the first thing about bikes, but my biking
friend swears by them. This shop is on Atocha street just
300-500 metres up the way from Atocha train station. Admittedly,
I have never seen anything else like it at any of the big
department stores and shopping centres. I've also heard
the Decathlon has quite a bit too.
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The Transportation Network in Madrid.
 The
mass transit system in Madrid is excellent in general. Specifically,
the metro and train system couldn't be better, but the highways
couldn't be busier either. It's usually faster during weekdays
to take the metro system anywhere within the city, especially
from about 06.30 - 09.30 and from about 15.00 to 19.30. Take this
into account when trying to get into the city from the airport
because you're likely to take much longer to get wherever you're
going if you take a taxi (they do sometimes like to take the "scenic
route" around here by the way.) Map of the metro system.
Other information about Madrid.
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Site: Senderismo
en Madrid - A Madrid-based hiking club made up of
an extremely welcoming bunch of folks.
Site: The
International Newcomer's Club offers opportunities
for English-speaking newcomers (and longtime residents!) to
get together through its variety of activities, and to provide
members with information on other community activities, services
and organizations.
Site: Madrid
Connect - Acommodations, restaurants, travel, services
and more. |
Information on living in Madrid and Spain
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Spaniards
vs. Americans - My personal opinion on the most important
differences between Spaniards and Americans.
Driving
in Madrid - A general commentary in an activity
for English students, and specifically about the new points
system.
Living
and Working in Spain - A review of a book of the
same title by Charles Davey.
Health Care
- My personal experiences with the Spanish health care system.
Safety
- Worried about crime and what neighbourhood to live in? Worried
about how to deal with new students as a freelancer?
Teacher
Scammed - English teacher Trent Brock writes about
getting ripped off of everything he had his first week in Madrid,
Spain.
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Wikipedia
| The best encyclopedia
entry on Madrid on the internet: Wikipedia.
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These museums are "the best" depending on your interests
Museo
Geominero - This is the museum about mining. If you're a
mineral fan like me, have a good look at this.
The
Museum of Natural Sciences - Also, Cosmocaixa in Alcobendas.
Both of these museums are great places to take your kids.
Train
Museum - If you love trains, you'll love this museum.
The Best Grocery-store products
The best overall grocery store for price-quality is Mercadona
(especially with fresh vegetables, but it doesn't have some
of the products below). El Corte Inglés is better for
some things, but it's almost always more expensive. These are
the products I use (the price-quality ratio for all of these
is very high):
Tomato sauce - canned / Hero - Tomate Frito
Peas - canned / Hero - Guisantes
Corn - canned / Gigante Verde (Jolly Green Giant) - maiz
Red peppers (not hot) canned / Cidacos - Pimientos de Piquillo
Asparagus - canned / Cidacos - Esparragos
Sweet pickles - jarred / Hero - Pepinillos
White beans - canned / Litoral - Fabada
Cheese - by the kilo / San Bernardo - queso
Cheese - slices / Hochland - queso
Soft cheese - triangles / La vaca que rie - queso
Coffee - ground beans / El Corte Inglés gourmet shop
Coffee - instant in a jar / Marcilla créme expres - café
Tea - bags in a box / San Francisco - Té con miel
Honey - jar / San Francisco - Miel de Flores
Hot Chocolate - plastic container / Cola Cao
Milk - carton / Pascual - Leche
Juice - carton / Don Simon or Juver (any flavor)
Macaroni, spaghetti - dry / Gallo - macarrones, espagueti.
Oil - plastic bottle / Carbonel - aceite (not virgen)
Yoghurt - plastic container / Danone - Yogur Griego (no added
flavoring)
Laundry detergent - powder or liquid / Skip - detergente
Dishsoap - plastic bottle / Fairy - Lavavajillas
Shampoo - plastic bottle / Dylisdin - champu (pharmacies only)
Other places to shop:
I also shop for groceries at: http://www.alcampo.es,
but I don't feel the overall quality or customer service department
are as good, though the prices are similarly cheap. Also,
you can't find very many of these around and mostly on the
outskirts in car-dependant shopping mall areas.
Some people recommend "Día" as good place
to shop for food, but I disagree because I think it's low
quality. I used to shop in one, but I often had problems with
the frozen goods. It was as if they'd turned the freezers
off at night.
If you can't hold off on your cravings for real American
food, you can pay a lot more than you're used to (due to import
costs and customs I suppose) at Taste
of America. (There's one near Republica Argentina Metro
station.) I'd show you a photo, but they're camera-shy - maybe
because it's such a small shop.
Madrid is one of the best cities in Europe
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According to a report in Que
Diario Madrid on Feb. 9, 2006, Madrid is the
third best European city economically speaking, right behind
Paris and London. One of its "high points" in the
report was the low cost of labor and the integration of foreigners.
On the negative side was how few languages the locals speak.
I feel "honored" to be contributing to making Madrid
such a great city on all the points above. However, I really
don't understand the last negative point about the quality
of life in Madrid being low, though all you have to do is
have a look at Madrid from the outside to understand the second
to the last one about pollution (or walk around for a couple
of hours on the streets and wipe your nose clean afterwards).
Another front-page report in Que on April 11 places Madrid
as the 45th best city to live in world-wide. Things aren't
what they used to be ... Needless to say, the newspaper's
writer is offended. |
The best Spanish music on Youtube:
Camaron - Camaron de la Isla on Wikipedia.
Diana
Navarro - Diana Navarro on NPR.
Manu
Chao - Manu
Chao on Wikipedia (Ok, so maybe they're French or Algerian
as well)
Son
de La Frontera
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