Madrid introduction

Cafés

The primary pastime of Madrilenos is to express themselves at cafés and bars, loudly and quickly. These marathon speechehe demise of the Falangist regime at the death of Franco in 1975.

The busy café and bar hours are 12-14 ands blossomed after the demise of the Falangist regime at the death of Franco in 1975.

History

The highest capital of Europe, 646 m above sea level, with 3 million inhabitants. The name comes from the Moors who called it Magerit. It was conquered by the Christians in 1083 and accidentally became the capital of Spain in 1561 when the Habsburg emperor Philip II decided to build the royal palace of El Escorial in the vicinity.

Madrid continued to be a dirty rural town for a while. It began to acquire cosmopolitan atmosphere after the access of the French Bourbons to the Spanish throne. They built the royal palace in the city center, laid out avenues and parks.

With the opening of new art galleries in addition to the famous Louvre, such as Colección Thyssen and Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid has become one of the artistic and cultural centers of Europe.

Life

Since the fall of Franco the capital of Spain has changed from a peaceful, oversized village into the most lively capital of Europe. The Madrilenos are adapting to democracy and freedom so enthusiastically that they seen to be making up for half a century of Falangist yoke.

Bars and cafés seem to be full of people most of the day and night. The center is on full blast from morning to morning, with quiet periods in 5-7 and 14-16 for morning and afternoon siestas.

Movida is the Madrileno name for this. Work and leisure come first and sleep comes later. Research shows Madrilenos to sleep less than inhabitants of other capitals in Europe. The abandon is such that people come to restaurants and clubs after midnight with toddlers in cradles.

Spaniards

Spain is not a single country. It is inhabited by several peoples. The central part is the landlocked Castilla, the Land of Castles, which has provided the aristocracy and the Spanish language, called Castilian by other peoples in Spain. To the south of Castilla is the poor and happy Andalucía, heavily influenced by the Moors and relatively deferent to the center.

More centrifugal are the peoples of the East and the North. The inhabitants of the active Catalunya and Valencia in the East have their own languages, related to French. The inhabitants of Galicia and Euskadi in the North also have their own languages. Galician is related to Portuguese; and Euskera, the language of the Basks, stands alone in the world, unrelated to any language.

To set Spaniard apart from other Europeans we can describe them as egocentric anarchists. They are trained to express themselves rather than to give and receive information. They will not be herded. Usually several talk at the same time at café conversations. They are arrogant and friendly, cantankerous and generous, especially fond of children. And they produce lots of artists.

Spanish history

The Iberian peninsula is both isolated and a crossroads. In prehistoric times it was populated by ancient European people like Iberians and Celts. Greeks and later Carthaginians were temporarily influential, but Romans later got a good foothold. They made Iberia one of the cornerstones of their vast empire and even imported famous emperors, poets and philosophers from Spain.

Then the Moors from Africa took over and reigned for eight centuries. They made Spain a cultural center of Islam, leaving important footprints. That period was followed by a strict Catholic period of five centuries. In the 16th C. of Discovery Spain became the most powerful country on earth, exporting the Spanish language to the major part of Latin America.

At the end of the Falangist reign of Franco Spain had again become poor and backward, with an internationally despised regime. After the re-introduction of democracy it has made up for lost time and is now a stable pillar in the Western World.

Embassies

Australia

Avenida del Generalísimo 61. Phone: 458 7200.

Canada

Núñez de Balboa 35. Phone: 225 9119.

Eire

Padilla 20. Phone: 225 1685.

South Africa

Claudio Coello 91. Phone: 225 3830.

United Kingdom

Fernando el Santo 16. Phone: 419 0200.

United States

Serrano 75. Phone: 276 3600.

Accident

Phone: 092.

Ambulance

Phone: 091.

Complaints

If you are dissatisfied with the services of a hotel or a restaurant you can demand a complaint form, “hoja de reclamaciones” in triplicate that the establishment is required to have. A demand for this form can often solve problems as the complaints of travelers are taken seriously in Spain.

Dentist

Fire

Phone: 091.

Hospital

Phone: 061.

Urgencia Médica, Barco 26, tel. 531 8847, is an emergency hospital in Madrid.

Medical Care

Pharmacy

Pharmacies are open Monday-Saturday 9-14 and Monday-Friday 16-20. Look for the sign: “Farmacia”. They usually put out signs with information on the nearest pharmacy on night duty. They are allowed to sell some medicine without prescription.

Police

Phone: 091.

Precautions

Dont use a handbag. Keep money in inside pockets. Use cards as much as possible. Dont keep passports in the same place as money. Dont leave valuables in a locked car. There is some petty crime, but very little violent crime in Madrid or Spain generally.

Banks

Most banks are open Monday-Friday 9-14 and Saturday 9-13. Some open for currency change 17-19.

Credit cards

Credit cards are accepted in hotels, restaurants and shops. Visa and Eurocard (Eurocard, Access) have the largest circulation.

Electricity

Spanish voltage is 220V, same as in Europe. Plugs are continental.

Some old hotels have an older 120V system.

Hotels

Spanish hotels are generally clean and well maintained, including plumbing, if they are recommended by editors of guides like this one. Small hotels can also be very good, even if they do not have TV sets in guest rooms. A bathroom is taken for granted nowadays.

We only include such hotels, and in most cases we also demand a direct telephone line, working air-condition, and peace and silence during the night. Only hotels in the city center are included as we want to avoid long journeys between sightseeing and our Mediterranean afternoon naps. The price ranges from 4,700 pts to 32,000 pts, excluding breakfast.

We try to avoid breakfast at hotels as in Spanish hotels it is as insubstantial as in French hotels. More tasty and economical is a café with bread on the corner café patronised by the locals. Breakfast is in most cases included in the stated price, as that is the normal price quoted.

We checked all the hotels in this database during the winter of 1995-1996 as everything is fickle in this world. We have also tested some other hotels that are not included as they were not on par with the best in each price category. Some many-starred hotels in Madrid are in fact worse than our selection of two-star hotels.

Money

There are notes for 5,000, 1,000, 500 and 100 pesetas, pts, and coins for 100, 50, 25, 5 and 1 pts.

Most hotels and restaurants accept both Visa and Eurocard (MasterCard, Access)

Prices

Prices tend to rise a little more in Spain than generally in the European Union. Spain is not a cheap country any more.

Shopping

Shops are generally open Monday-Saturday 9-13/14 and Monday-Friday 16:30/17-19:30/20 and even longer on Monday-Friday. Department stores are open during the siesta, also on Saturday.

Tipping

Service is included in hotel and restaurant bills and on taximeters. Some restaurant customers even amounts up. Porters get 50 pts per suitcase.

Toilets

There are toilets in cafés, restaurants, museums and department stores. In some places there are attendants who expect tips.

Tourist office

The Oficina de Turismo is at Plaza Mayor 3, tel. 221 1268 and 266 4874; and at Princesa 1 (plaza de España), tel. 241 2325.

Water

Tap water is drinkable, but many use bottled water to be on the safe side.

Accommodation

Accommodation offices at Barajas airport and Atocha and Chamartin railway stations find hotel rooms for travelers.

Ask for a room with “twin bed” as such beds and rooms are often larger that those with “double bed”. Rooms on the outside are often more bright and airy but also more noisy that those on the inside. Rooms with a view are generally not more expensive than ones without.

Airport

Barajas airport is 13 km from the center, tel. 205 4090 and 205 8384. A taxi drive takes half an hour and costs 1,000 pts. A train is quicker than an air-conditioned bus that leaves every 20 minutes from Plaza de Cólon and gets to the airport in 45 minutes.

News

International Herald Tribune is widely sold. El País is a Spanish daily with lots of international news.

Phone

The Spanish country code is 34. The local code for Madrid is 1, 3 for Barcelona and 5 for Sevilla. You add 9 in front of calls between Spanish areas. The foreign code from Spain is 07.

Coin phones are common in bars and cafés.

Post

Post office are usually open Monday-Saturday 9-13 and Monday-Friday 17-19. The main post office in Madrid is open until midnight.

Railways

The Spanish railway system is reliable.

Taxi

Cabs are on special stands in the center. They can also be hailed in the street. If they are free they have a green light on top and a sign in the front window with the word “libre”. They use fare meters. There is a supplement for travels from and to the airport and for suitcases.

Traffic

Rush hours on the streets and in the metro are 8-10, 13-14, 16-17 and 1).30-20:30. The metro is clean and fast, but can become warm in summer.

Cigars

Spain once ruled over most of Latin America, from where many of the best cigars come. Therefore Spaniards are traditional cigar smokers and prefer good cigars, such as real Havanas. Premium cigars are widely available and less expensive than generally in Europe.

Coffee

Most establishments have espresso machines. Most Spaniards drink their coffee black (café solo). In the morning some prefer it with milk (café con leche).

Cuisine

The best cuisine in Spain is Basque and most of the famous chefs come from that region. They have the same exact attitude as French chefs. Elsewhere in Spain the cooking is relaxed, without any generally accepted rules. It is a charming, pastoral cuisine, which is at its best when simple. The ingredients are plentiful as Spain is a great agricultural and fishing country.

Desserts

Spaniards like rice for dessert, cooked with milk and spiced with cinnamon (arroz con leche). There are many varieties, some of them innovative.

Meat

Very good beef (buey) is usually available everywhere in Spain. Game is abundant, such as venison (corzo and venado), partridges (perdiz) and grouse (codorniz).

Beef is best when simply cooked, such as grilled (a la parilla) og braised (asado). Rare (poco hecho) is often better than medium (regular) or well-done (muy hecho).

Restaurants

Restaurants are generally open for orders 13:30-16 and 21-24. Many close in August and some on Sunday. Guides and concierges often try to push you into establishments that give them a percentage of your patronage.

Rioja

In Spanish restaurants many people ask for Rioja wine, which is generally the best one in Spain, Castillo Ygay and Vega Sicilia being the most famous ones.

Rioja is made by French methods and aspires to heights. The bouquet reminds you of vanilla and oak, but nowadays less definitely so. These wines age well and are kept for a long time before coming to the market. Ready now are 64, 70, 75, 78, 81, 82, and 85. 1989 and younger should be kept. Well-known Riojas are Marqués de Murrieta, Marqués de Cáceres and Marqués de Alella.

Seafood

Madrid is well-known for good seafood in spite of being an inland city. The catch arrives by air from the fishing harbors of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Oceans. The chefs get up early in the morning to go to the fish market.

Seafood cooking is on par with the rest of Europe. It is the variety that astounds, combining Mediterranean and Atlantic species. There are oysters (ostras), many types of shells (almejas), many types of shrimp (gambas, cigalas, langostas, langosinos), lobster (bogavante), and fish such as turbot (rodaballo), red sea bream (besugo) and hake (merluzo).

Ask for simple cooking such as grilling (a la parilla) og braising (al horno). Do not forget salted fish (bacalao), which is available in some of the best restaurants.

Sherry

Cocktails are not drunk in Spain. Their place is taken by scraping dry Sherries from Andalucía, such as Tio Pepe and La Ina, which do not dull the palate. Similar and saltier are Manzanillas from the Atlantic coast of Andalucía.

The driest and finest sherries are called Fino. A little less dry are called Palo Cortado, a category that is not very common. Sweeter sherries are called Oloroso. Amontillado is a term used for blended sherries which are not quite as sweet as Olorosos. Popular abroad are very sweet Cream Sherries, which are dessert wines and not appetizers.

Sherry is produced in the area around Jerez in Andalucía. The vineyards are classified and the producing bodegas are required to use the best areas for 85% of their blends.

Tapas

As Spaniards dine two times a day and at the most outrageous hours, they need snacks in between meals. They call it “tapas” and devour it at wine and snack bars at 13-14 and 20-23, when they are waiting for a suitable time to visit a restaurant.

Tapas bars are very lively and noisy. Many tapas are deep-fried and fattening. Some tapas often have an excellent taste, such as squid circles (calamares), red and small sausages, heavily spiced and doused with alcohol (chorizo), shrimp (gambas, cigalas), shells (almejas), anchovies (anchoas), snails (caracoles), cheese (manchego) and raw ham (jamón serrano)

Wine

Spanish wine is generally good, though sometimes tending to be rather neutral in taste. Chateau or denomination wines are definitely not as common as in France. Most people ask for the wine of the house or for Rioja wine, which is generally the best one in Spain, Castillo Ygay and Vega Sicilia being the most famous ones.

Rioja is made by French methods and aspires to heights. The bouquet reminds you of vanilla and oak, but nowadays less definitely so. These wines age well and are kept for a long time before coming to the market. Ready now are 64, 70, 75, 78, 81, 82, and 85. 1989 and younger should be kept. Well-known Riojas are Marqués de Murrieta, Marqués de Cáceres and Marqués de Alella.

Cocktails are not drunk in Spain. Their place is taken by scraping dry Sherries from Andalucía, such as Tio Pepe and La Ina, which do not dull the palate. Surprisingly many Spaniards drink still or sparkling mineral water with their meals, especially at lunch. Water is served in the wine glasses and the bottles are put in the wine coolers.

Surprisingly many Spaniards drink still or sparkling mineral water with their meals, especially at lunch. Water is served in the wine glasses and the bottles are put in the wine coolers.

1996

© Jónas Kristjánsson