Today, I fell in love with the sights and sounds of Madrid, Spain.
We had a free walking tour of the city from Sandemans. We have toured with Sandemans in several cities around the world (Dublin, London, and Barcelona). Unfortunately, our Madrid guide was not quite up to their high standards. At least not the one we had. Our guide was a bit of a self-proclaimed comedian, and in the interest of telling a funny story, he twisted quite a few historical facts.
Despite the less than perfect guide, the sites around Madrid were interesting, and the price was right. Although in this case, “free” actually means tipping in an amount you believe the tour is worth. We learned from our guide in Munich guide that each Sandemans guide has to pay for each participant in their group. So, even though we left our tour early, and didn’t love our guide, we still offered a tip to cover our expense to him.
We toured a bit on our own for the remainder of the day. We had already been to the Prado Art Museum and seen the street performers at Plaza Del Sol. However, there is no shortage of great sites in Madrid. Starting at the centre, here are some of my favourite Madrid photos:
Sarah is pointing to the spot on the road which represents the centre of Madrid and the centre of Spain. All street numbers start from this point:
A fire dancer in the Plaza Santa Ana, where we had dinner our first night.
The girls and I in front of the Royal Palace.
This bear eating from a fruit tree is considered a classic symbol of Madrid, and is located in Plaza del Sol:
What would a Spanish city be without a Cathedral? This one is absolutely lovely. In the foreground stands a bit of the remaining old stone city wall.
Kids and bubbles. I don’t know if you can see the giant bubbles here in Plaza Mayor:
Madrid Travel Tips:
- Travel light if you are going to stay centrally located as we did. We were at Victoria 4 Hotel in Madrid, a great choice for location. The downside if you are driving, is that the public car park is several blocks away and you cannot pull up in front of the hotel. So, travelling light makes it easy to carry your bags the few blocks. Once parked, we didn’t use the car until we left Madrid. We could walk anywhere we wanted to go.
- If you use a public carpark, remember to ask if the hotel has a discount. We paid for the parking at the hotel.
- We carried Lonely Planet Spain as we travelled through the country.
- Two side trips worth taking are Segovia and Toledo.
All photos on this page © Rhonda Albom 2012
Tony Payne
I have heard that Mardid is a fascinating city, sounds like you proved it.
Rhonda
Keep Madrid on your bucket list, you will love it.
Rhonda
Thanks Ellen
Aletta
Wow! Beautiful pictures! I have been there as well, and I have to say that the Royal Palace in Madrid is pretty much more beautiful than the Buckingham Palace in London… It tells me that the spanish empire used to be as big or bigger than then united kingdom.
Rhonda
Thanks Aletta. I agree. I loved the UK, but I am glad we went there before Spain, as I am finding not only the Palace, but also many of the cathedrals and other buildings to be more elaborate and more stunning in my view than what I saw in the UK.
Hubby
I agree.
Anna
I hope I can visit Madrid some day.
Rhonda
I do too Anna. It is a wonderful city.
Joyce
Madrid looks wonderful!
Comedy Plus
I’d love to visit Madrid. Perhaps I will one day.
I love your travel tips. They help others that may be planning the same trip.
Have a terrific day. 🙂
Rhonda
You should definitely put Madrid on your bucket list. Thanks for noticing the travel tips. I am thinking of adding to all future posts, so it was good to get your feedback.