Seeking advice on places to stay, tours and sights in Madrid.
I am heading to Barcelona for a week with 3 others. My DD convinced me that, though the others are time constrained, I should stay a bit longer and see another city.
It is my first solo trip, truly on my own. I have rudimentary Spanish language skills -
I plan to take the train from the center of Barcelona to the center of Madrid and would love to find a place walkable from the train station. I’d prefer a hotel with a restaurant and concierge over an air-b-n-b type place.
Travellers 60 and older can get an annual senior card for something like 5 eu from Renfe, and then get discounts on train tickets. How big the discount depends on the kind of train, time of trip, etc. MIL and I each saved 40% on our high-speed train from Barcelona to Madrid, and maybe 10% on a short trip from Madrid to Toledo and back. Also, if your age and/or employment status merit it, check for senior or retired person “jubilado” discounts at the museums you visit. I didn’t always qualify, but MIL did. Happykid also often was offered a discount for being under 30.
In Madrid, we visited the Prado and Reina Sofia museums, the Parque el Retiro, and took in a flamenco performance at Cardamomo. We went to Toledo for a day by rail. We got around everywhere by bus, metro, taxi, or on foot. We didn’t take any formal tours in Madrid. No suggestions on a hotel. There were three of us so we had AirBnB just up the street from the Conde de Casal metro stop. Lots of convenient cafes there, taxis ran past frequently, and there were few tourists.
I hate to recommend a hotel since the last time I was there was 2012. But, here goes, I stayed at the ME Madrid Reina Victoria. Full service hotel, I also like restaurant and room service options when traveling solo. You should check current reviews, things can change! I was warned that hotels close to the Puerta del Sol can get quite loud with night life. One of my kids stayed at the Hotel Victoria 4 and found it was noisy on the weekends, but other than that liked the property. Again, that was a couple years ago - check recent reviews! I don’t know about your dates, but I remember Madrid hotel rates being much lower than many other European locations. That is always welcome!
I found the hotel location very convenient for walking to all the major sites and convenient to the train station. I remember I both walked the distance between hotel and station and took a cab, depending on my mood, I guess. There is a taxi stand at the station and cabs were easy to grab on the street as well. I think I took only one Metro ride and walked most everywhere else. I did take day trips to Toledo and Segovia, both very worthwhile. Madrid is very easy to do solo, quite walkable and lots to enjoy.
I’m looking forward to this thread. I’ve been wanting to get back to Madrid and to add a nice long stay in Barcelona! Keep all the good ideas coming! The TripAdvisor forum was helpful back when I was last planning a visit - I hope the same friendly folks are still there.
In 2015, we stayed at the Hotel Regina in Madrid in a deluxe room. (I understand that some of the rooms are not as nice as the deluxe.) It was just a block from the Puerta del Sol and a short walk to Plaza Santa Ana. Also not far to the Prado. We found the major sites in Madrid to be walkable. We never rode the Metro. There were good restaurants near Plaza Santa Ana. The hotel had a full breakfast buffet. I can’t comment on the dinner menu. We didn’t eat there.
In addition to everything mentioned I would strongly recommend a day trip to El Escorial. In the city I also went to The Royal Palace and Thyssen-Bornemisza museum that is close to Prado and can be visited on the same day.
Especially when traveling on your own take some walking tours and food tours. There are so many on viator that we used. I always like to take a food tour in the beginning to get an idea of the local cuisine, it’s also very social. A guided walking tour will give you a good sense of the layout of the city.