Stopover: Madrid

Basics

Name of airport: Madrid Barajas International Airport (MAD)

Key routes: Madrid is a major stopover en route to Latin America and many African destinations. While stopovers are usually free, the number of days allowed may vary. There is no departure tax.

Distance from city: 13km

Transport to the city: A taxi to the city centre can take anything from 20-40 minutes depending on traffic.

Transport in the city: Taxis are abundant. A ten-journey Metrobus ticket is valid for bus and tube travel throughout the city.

Vital Statistics

Population: 4 million

Language: Spanish

Time: GMT+1 (GMT+2 late March-late October )

International dialling code: +34 91

Visas: Not required by UK nationals.

Climate: Madrid’s temperature ranges from 45ºC to -10ºC (in the surrounding mountains). Spring and autumn are best, but even in winter blue skies and sunny afternoons are the norm.

Orientation: Smack-bang in the centre of Spain, Madrid is a relatively compact city. Most visitors will centre their visit around Puerta del Sol, which is close to great shopping streets, the main museums, hundreds of hotels and thousands of bars.

Safety: Few Madrileños would accept that their city is dangerous. Care should be taken at night, however, since bag-snatchings have become increasingly common.

Money: Euro (€).

Guides & tours: Madrid Vision (+779 1888, www.madridvision.es) offers open-air double-decker-bus tours, with multilingual commentary, along three different routes through ‘Historical’, ‘Monumental’ or ‘Modern’ Madrid. Tours lasts 75 minutes, and run every approximately every 10 to 25 minutes.

Maps: There is an information kiosk at the airport and the info desks at Corte Inglés superstores hand out free maps.

Timeslots

Going nowhere

Apart from the usual boutiques, bars and business centres, Madrid’s airport (www.madrid-mad.com) is sadly lacking in original entertainment. If you have several hours to kill, check with the info desk to see what is on at the Campo de las Naciones exhibition centre (www.campodelasnaciones.com), five minutes by Metro.

Four hours in Madrid

(seven hours between flights)

All Spanish roads lead to the ‘Kilometre Zero’ plaque on the edge of Puerta del Sol and, as such, this is the logical place to start a tour of the city. Madrid’s most popular shopping streets (Preciados and Carmen) head northwards, while a block to the west are Plaza Mayor and some of Spain’s most irresistible terraces.

If budget is an issue, head down one of the side streets off Sol (try Esparteros or Postas) and look out for signs advertising menú del día which will get you a generous three-course meal for not much.

Eight hours in Madrid

(11 hours between flights)

Rows of small, family-run shops lead south-east from Sol to Plaza de Santa Ana, and some of the city’s most celebrated tapas. Try chorizo in cider at Cervecería Alemana (Hemingway’s old hangout); garlic prawns at La Costa de Vejer; or the ‘savage potatoes’ at Las Bravas. Casa Lucio (Cava Baja 35; +365 3252) is a favourite with King Juan Carlos, who considers the eggs-and-chips and cocido madrileñoi stew to be without compare.

A 15-minute stroll down the tree-lined Calle de Alcalá takes you to the gardens, lakes and semi-wild woods of Parque del Buen Retiro. Once the exclusive retreat of Spanish kings, this is now Madrid’s favourite open-air playground and a great place to wander among buskers, jugglers and Gypsy palm-readers.

Leading off the park’s north-west corner is Calle de Serrano, Madrid’s chicest shopping street. Halfway up Serrano is Plaza de Colón with its grandiose monument to Columbus. Airport buses depart from the car park under the plaza every hour.

12 hours in Madrid

(15 hours between flights)

From Sol, a pleasant stroll leads down Calle Mayor to the Palacio Real and the grand Plaza de Oriente. Wonderful views of the sierras draw you on to Parque del Oeste (Western Park) and a genuine Egyptian temple.

If the sight of the Spanish wilderness entices you, take the teleférico (cable-car) across the valley to Casa de Campo’s paths, ponds and picnic grounds, which provide a wilderness escape for city dwellers.

Back on the east bank (on Paseo de la Florida) is Casa Mingo (+547 7918), an open-air restaurant that’s become a real Madrid institution. The speciality roast chicken and cider will fuel the hike back up to Plaza de España (with its olive trees and Don Quijote monument) and along the theatrical thoroughfare of Gran Vía, back towards Sol.

24 hours in Madrid

(27 hours between flights)

Whatever time you arrive, you’ll find the town buzzing, with the greatest variety of nightlife around Calle Echegaray (near Plaza de Santa Ana). Bars that demand a visit include: Los Gabrieles (Echegaray 17), still decorated with the tiles that were in vogue when this was the hangout of bullfighters and revolutionaries, and on Tuesday nights it is the venue for raucous flamenco; Viva Madrid, a lively place to sip a minty mojito; La Venencia, the Mecca of Madrid’s sherry aficionados; and Café Populart and Café Central, great places to take in blues and jazz respectively.

For post-bar chocolate con churros, head to Chocolatería san Ginés (behind Joy Eslava nightclub, between Calles Arenál and Mayor), then follow the morning crowd to El Rastro flea market (best on Sundays). The main street offers the usual market goods and souvenirs but a few blocks west (Carlos Arniches and Mira el Río Baja) you’ll find the most fascinating bric-a-brac and antiques stalls.

Even if you are reluctant to spend precious hours in a museum you should make an exception for the Museo del Prado – if only to visit the hallowed halls dedicated to El Greco, Velázquez and Goya. On the hillside opposite the museum is the maze of timeless, cobbled lanes of the Writers’ Quarter, centred on Calle de las Huertas, which is engraved with quotes from local literary hoodlums such as Cervantes and Lope de Vega.

If you do decide to sleep, try Hotel París (Calle de Alcalá 2; +521 6491). Back in the 1890s, this was one of the city’s plushest establishments. It is still popular because of its good service, friendly rates and excellent position. Hostal Delvi (Plaza de Santa Ana 15, 3rd floor; +522 5998) is a good budget option, smack-bang in the centre of Madrid’s most exciting pub-crawling territory. For a splurge, try Hotel AC Santo Mauro (Zurbano 36; +3196900, www.achotelsantomauro.com), a gorgeous 19th-century palace that is reputed to be worth its high price tag. 

Mark Eveleigh lived in Madrid for seven years. His idea of a perfect evening includes munching garlic prawns at La Costa de Vejer and swirling Gypsy girls at Los Gabrieles.