City Information
Airport
Madrid-Barajas Airport is 16 km north-east of the city centre. There
are three terminals: T1, T2 and T3. Non-Spanish airlines fly out of
T1, T2 is for domestic flights and certain specified Iberia flights,
and T3 handles regional flights and the Puente Aereo or Barcelona
shuttle. Corridors with moving walkways link the terminals. The
Barajas Expansion Plan, however, will mean that normality is
occasionally disrupted while work on a new terminal building is
undertaken over the next few years, so check the information on your
tickets. Two 24-hour banks can be found near the customs hall in the
international terminal, and there's a 24-hour bureau de change in
the transit area. The domestic terminal also has two 24-hour banks
and bureau de change. The post office can be found in the
international terminal, as can conference facilities and 24-hour
luggage lockers. The domestic terminal also has conference
facilities.
The Information Desk is in T1, International Arrivals. Tourist
information offices are located in T1 in the arrivals hall and in
the metro station in T2. There are also roving information
attendants on hand to give advice - look out for their green
jackets. For train times, ask at the Spanish railways desk on the
second floor of T1. The nearest airport hotels are 2-3 km away:
Hotel Novotel, in the Campo de las Naciones business park; Hotel
Barajas; and Hotel Alameda.
Airport to City Centre
Sista
minuten resor !!
Queensway
Travel
There is a new metro link to Barajas from the city centre, right
at the heart of business Madrid. It takes 12 minutes, trains leave
every 5 minutes at peak hours, for €0.95. From Barajas they leave
at Terminal 2. The name of the metro station is 'Aeropuerto' in line
8. Taxis wait outside the international terminal, and courtesy
phones in the terminal are linked to taxi firms in the city. The
journey takes about 20-30 mins and costs around €15-20, plus a
€4 airport surcharge. Do check that the driver has actually
switched on the meter before you start, though. A yellow EMT bus,
marked Aeropuerto, connects the airport with Avenida de America and
Plaza de Colón in the city. It takes 30-45 mins and costs €2.40,
departing every 12 mins from 0445 to 0200.
Orientation
Puerta del Sol is the city's busy central point and the site to
which all distances to Madrid are measured. At the moment, however,
it looks like a minefield, as the current mayor is obsessed with
building new tunnels and pavements, and much of the city centre has
become really quite unpleasant. Danny de Vito said during a recent
visit to the city that he hoped they would soon find the treasure
they were evidently digging for. Buskers, black marketeers and blind
ONCE lottery-ticket sellers hustle for custom, while businessmen rub
shoulders with tramps and snap-happy tourists throng the famous
statue of the bear and madrońo (strawberry tree), the city's
symbol. The nearby Plaza Mayor is both less hectic and more
impressive, and dominates the Centro Viejo ('Old Town'). It is
bordered by the Palacio Real to the west, Atocha station to the
southwest, Retiro Park to the east and Plaza de Colón to the north.
Madrid's main road bisects the city on a north-south axis and
changes its name twice from the Paseo del Prado in the south to
Paseo de Recoletos in the middle, and Paseo de la Castellana to the
north, where many hotels and modern businesses are located.
What to see
Prado Museum: Spain's internationally renowned art gallery
houses some 4,000 paintings, including the world's finest collection
of Goya, Velázquez, El Greco and Titian. Regular repair works mean
that some galleries are closed and paintings may not be in their
usual spots.
The Reina Sofia Modern Art Museum: A vast and austere 18c
former hospital, devoted to Picasso, Dali, Miró and their
contemporaries. Exhibits include Picasso's civil war masterpiece,
Guernica - much improved after the removal of its thick protective
glass covering.
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum: Neatly filling the gaps left by
the Prado and Reina Sofia, this excellent, smaller collection has
some particularly good unknowns as well as work by more famous
artists from the 13c to the present. The 20c floor is especially
noteworthy.
Royal Palace: There has been a castle or fortress in this
area since the Moors invaded Spain. Work began in 1734 on this
particular palace, which took 26 years to complete. It has nearly
3,000 rooms and over 20 courtyards. The spacious, pleasant Plaza de
Oriente opposite has recently reopened, and with it the Royal
Theatre.
Casa de America: This 19c mansion hosts a steady variety of
Latin American arts exhibitions, films and concerts, but comes into
its own in the summer months when the charming garden restaurant
opens its doors.
Santiago Bernabeu Football Stadium: 75,000 fans can fit into
this enormous 40s stadium which, given the resurgence of the Real
Madrid team, means that match days often turn the city into a huge
carnival. On a victorious day you'll see the team, as well as the
fans, celebrating wildly around the city's statues and fountains.
Plaza Mayor: The historical centre of the city, this huge,
cobbled Plaza is surrounded by impressively frescoed buildings and
is the place to enjoy Sangria in the evening.
Where to walk
Restresa !! Reguljär flyg
Queensway
Travel
Madrid's main parks are excellently maintained and at their best in
spring, early summer and autumn, but viciously hot throughout the
summer. Best known and most central is the Retiro, in the heart of
the city near the Prado. A royal park in the 17c, it was first
opened to the public in 1868. Its wide avenues and formal beds are
flanked by trees and thick shrubbery, providing welcome summertime
shade. Of note are a clutch of exhibition spaces, the Velázquez
Palace, the stunning iron and glass Crystal Palace and the Casa de
Vacas, all renovated in the 1980s. The park is dotted with fine
statues, including the giant 1902 monument to Alfonso XII that
dominates the lakeside, and the unique Fallen Angel - reportedly the
world's only statue of the Devil. Stroll among Spanish families,
tarot readers, international buskers and old men playing chess.
Taking a rowing boat out on the water is an excellent way to relax,
watch the people on the shore and enjoy the cooler air on the lake.
La Casa de Campo, once a royal hunting estate, is a vast area west
of the Manzanares river, partly wooded but largely scrub. It has a
lake, rowing boats, tennis courts and swimming pools, plus an
amusement park and a zoo. In summer, concerts are held in the rockódrome.
Reached by a teleférico (cable car) from the Parque del Oeste, it
has terrific views of the city.
