Posted on 08/26/2019
Hop on to Google and type ‘Madrid’ and what you’ll see are troves upon troves of impressive architecture, great museums and lovely dining scenes. Yeah, it’s a vast and beautiful city with no shortage of places to see and things to do.
We are Geauxing Places Travel, a full-service travel agency from Denham Springs in Louisiana, and we’ve rounded up a few great tips you shouldn’t ignore on your vacation in Madrid. Have a read down below.
It’s no secret that most cities don’t have the best public transport systems in service but Madrid is certainly not one of them. The Madrid Metro, known for being an efficient public service with the most modern trains, is excellent for moving around the city. You can go wherever you want to go in good time.
Just make sure you check the panels on the platforms (each of them) to ascertain if your stop is on the list of stops for the train. Oh, but keep your wallet or purse close to you. Pickpockets are the only things which mar an otherwise great thing.
What’s meant by ‘new siesta time?’ In Madrid, the majority of family-run business or ventures close shop between 2:00 and 5:00 pm. So, if you intend to grab a few souvenirs or snacks, you have about 3 hours or so to do that. But this doesn’t apply to all shops so you have other options to explore.
Supermarkets and the majority of chain shops stay open 24/7. Restaurants and bars also don’t close until after lunch service, which is around 4:30 pm; the kitchens open up for dinner around 8:00 pm.
There are two main museums we’ll mention here: The Prado and Reina Sofia, and they both offer free hours that pretty much run throughout the entire week. The Prado has free entry hours that begin from Monday all the way to Saturday (6:00 to 8:00 pm); on Sundays and during all holidays, the hours are from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.
The Reina Sofia’s free entry hours are a tad bit different: On Mondays, it’s between 7:00 to 9:00 pm; Wednesdays to Saturdays, it’s from 7:00 to 9:00 pm; for Sundays, it’s 1:30 to 7:00 pm. Don’t go there on Tuesdays because it won’t be open.
Is the word unfamiliar? Raciones are often a single type of food served with bread. But don’t let the simple description fool you into thinking raciones aren’t great things to eat. They are shared plates that can be found on almost every menu in Madrid. You’ll find shared plates of fried calamari, Spanish cured ham and a lot more. It’s not something you would want to miss.
Give Geauxing Places Travel a call and we’ll plan a stress-free trip for you to Madrid in Spain. Food, sights and sound await you there so make haste in meeting them.