This is a great apartment right in the middle of so much activity. Lots of places to eat, have drinks and tapas. It is just a 2-minute walk to Plaza del Sol, one of Madrid's major attractions and from there you can walk just about anywhere. The noise wasn't bad at all - yes there are bars and people having fun - we were also there on a very busy Saturday night, so that is to be expected. But the noise was not bad and didn't bother us. Very clean and lots of windows you can open if you want to. Great place!