The Strawberry Train

hey!

In my last trip to Madrid i shared with my friends something really cool.

Probably not many tourist know about this... so if you are looking for a different experience you should include it in your schedule!
We took the Strawberry Train to visit Aranjuez.
Every year in Spring and Summer this classic rail excursion sets out from Madrid. The Strawberry Train follows the old Madrid to Aranjuez rail route (the second railway to be built in Spain)

The train departs from the "Museo del Ferrocarril" (Train Museum) at 9.30 in the morning and arrives in Aranjuez at 11:30h more or less.

When you arrive to Aranjuez train station a bus drives you until the different places. First stop is the bullring.. is really far away from the Royal Boat Museum.. so you should pick one intinerary because you are not able to see both in a short period of time.

We choose visit the Royal Boat Museum..if you arrived before 12.00 you will be able to see the ignition on the source of the Swan, 5 or 10 min walking since the museum. Unfortunately we couldn't see it.

We had a pleasent picnic in the garden next to the river, then we back to the Royal palace area, visiting the garden of the island and the downtown of Aranjuez before our guide visit in the Palace.

The return journey departs from Aranjuez at 18.30h, but if you are tired you also have the right to get a CERCANIAS train, much more fast.

The ticket cost 29 euros and includes a guided visit around Aranjuez's Royal Palace, the bullring, the Prince's gardens and the museum of Royal Boat next to the Tajo's river.
Also you can get some discount in some of the most popular restaurants.
All passengers receive a pack of strawberries en route! was really pleasant.

For more info: RENFE

A secret restaurant in Plaza España

Hey!

Looking for things to do in Madrid with my friends i found a blog which recommend a hidden Chinese restaurant in Plaza España, called ''Jia Xiang Xiao Chi''

To find the place was a bit hard but If you’re walking from Gran Vía downhill towards Plaza de España you would walk as if you’re heading to the main fountain, only to march down one flight of stairs towards the parking garage.

May seem a bit sinister at first glance, but we enjoyed a great dinner.. just for 33 euros! We ordered sweet ribs, fried noodles, chicken with vegetable in chinese style, beef with vegetable, chinese bread plus 4 drink.

If you'd like to try real Chinese food this is perfect.. so affordable! most of the dishes fall under 5 Euros.

In other hand the restaurant is so tiny just for 25 people and is always crowded.
When we went there, in the sunday evening, many people patiently waited outside the restaurant to get a free table or just to pick up takeout, we realized they picked it up to ate the food in the gardens outside while they drank.
I think that can a be another cool option.

My tip is try it before Madrid lunchtime (14.00 or 15.00 pm) or in early evening in this way you get much more chance of a table.

affordable accommodation in Madrid

Hello everybody!

After long time i'm here again!
Two weeks ago I went to Madrid with my friends, so i have more information to share with you!
I would like to talk about my accomodation there, we stayed in a cosy one-roomed flat that i found on WIMDU. What a great discovering! ^^ It was the first time using this web site and i should say that i been really happy with the host Nuria and her cozy apartment.

If you are gonna spend a couple of days in Madrid with your partner or family, this is a great option. It only has a capacity of 3 persons.

Nuria's flat is, very affordable (around 70 euros per night, it really worth it, depending of the web site) and well located in the area of Callao, the nearest subway station is Callao, just 3 min walking, you can go walking everywhere. Nuria welcoming us with a full breakfast and with a couple of marshmallow flowers over the bedside table.. seriously was so overwhelming and unexpected. She's really amazing.
The guests can find lot of information and maps in the room moreover Nuria gave us lot of useful tips.

Is an apartment for short periods of accommodations, full equiped: air conditioning, heating, security door, video intercom, Tv Led, DvD, Ipod- Iphone Dock Station, router LiveBox2 Wi-fi n, washing machine, ceramic hob, micro- wave, freezer, deep freeze, oven, hoover, water heater, coffee machine, toaster, juice extractor, sandwich, blender, kitchen utensils, iron, sheets and towels, hair drier, toiletries. 

And of course as you can see in the pictures has a lovely decoration (you can visit the website to check all features and services of the apartment) I took some pic of the aparment ^^

Thank you for everything Nuria!

Gran Via

Hello hello! If you are gonna spend a few days in Madrid I'm pretty sure that you are gonna walking around Gran Vía street. One of the most well known areas by tourist and shoppers, Many shops set up by first-quality houses are found on Gran Vía, for example, ZARA, CUSTO, SFERA, NIKE, LEVIS, LACOSTE and so on. Also, the streets off Gran Via have always boasted of a very lively commercial activity, so shoppers can find clothes stores, shops selling souvenirs and accessories, all mixed with cinemas, bars, restaurant, cafeterias and hotels. The street is located in Madrid downtown and it leads from Calle de Alcalá until Plaza de España. Gran Via in a commercial and entertainment epicenter of Madrid and one of the most unique places, you can find all kind of weird people doing everything. We experienced different and funny situations walking around Gran Via.  From my point of view some of the most hot points in Gran via are the point start of other small street such as Fuencarral Street where is locateld one of the most extravagant markets, Montera Street knows by the huge amount of prostitutes and sex shops and Plaza de Callao where are located lot of malls and about six movie theaters. One of them, the Capitol, is located in a beautiful Art Deco building.

So, If you like the architecture, Gran Via is full of beautiful and stunning building, is realy noted for the grand architecture prevalent among many of its buildings. It is considered a showcase of early 20th century architecture, with patterns ranging from Vienna Secession style, Plateresque, Neo-Mudéjar, Art Deco and others. Sadly nowadays most of the theaters are closed and being replaced by shopping malls.

If you want to get a great and pretty representative memories from this street, you should take picture of the Grassy bulding at the beginning of Gran Via, the Metropolis Building next to it and designed by the french architects Jules and Raymond Fevrier. At the last part of the Gran Vía, in the Plaza España you can find the Telefónica headquarters.


My last tip! probably in you walk you are going to feel thirsty, so if you want to save money on drinks and snacks, in parallel streets you can find many Chinese stores

Youth Hostels in Madrid downtown

Hello everyone!

If you are looking for affordable accommodations in Madrid centre, here you can find some Youth Hostels.
I'm sure  many users would like to know  about your experience in one of the Youth Hostels.. so plz share with us! ^^

HOSTAL SPLENDID Location: Gran Via Street 15, 5ºA.Subway: Gran Via, Sevilla, Sol. Bus: 1, 2, 202, 74, 149, 3, 44, 40, 149, 48 (callao) Rates: 35 or 38 € per night.	To contact.. Telephone: [0034] +915 224 737 / [0034]+ 915 224 736 Fax: 915 224 736 EMail: hostalsplendid@terra.es http://www.hostalsplendid.com/indexi.html
Youth Hostel Madrid - Hostels In The Centre
Cat's Hostel Cañizares nº6, Madrid, 28012, Spain Metro: Antón Martín (Light Blue Line, L1)Tel: +34 91 369 2807Fax: +34 91 429 9479 Website: http://www.catshostel.comE-mail: info@catshostel.com
Los Amigos Opera Backpackers Hostel, Calle del Arenal, 26 28013 Madrid Spain. Metro: Opera (Red Line, L2) or (Green Line, L5)Tel: +34 91 559 2472 Website: www.losamigoshostel.comE-mail: reservassol@losamigoshostel.com
Barbieri International Hostel c/Barbieri 15, Madrid 28004 Spain Metro: Chueca (Green Line, L5) All contact is through the website. Website: http://www.barbierihostel.comE-mail: booking@barbierihostel.com

More hostels

Royal Palace of Aranjuez,

Hi people!

This Royal Palace is located in the town of Aranjuez very close of Madrid and is open to the public. The palace gardens were declared World Heritage by UNESCO in 2001.

You'll be surprise with the lavish decor of the rooms and private rooms of the royal palace.

You must go through its famous gardens, at least for the Parterre and the garden of the island, which are next to the Palace.

If you have time, you can get closer to the extensive gardens of the Prince where, on the one hand, you can see the Royal Pier on the River Tajo, used by Fernando VI, which is located next to the Museum of Royal Barges, where Weird real boats are preserved from the seventeenth century.

Also you can visit the Royal Pavilion built by Charles IV known as the Casa del Labrador, close to it, is the garden Chinesca de Villanueva.

Check for more info: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1044

Aranjuez Royal Palace
Schedule	Price / Ticket Prices
10.00 to 18.15 h. Closed: Mondays	Normal: 5 € (guided tour) 4.50 € (free visit). Reduced: 4 € (with student card).

 How to get to Aranjuez.
Take a train [C3] in Atocha Railway Station, Madrid. Don't worry for schedules, the train runs all day every 20 minutes.  Aranjuez is very close from Madrid, the journey time is over 44 min.

Debob Temple

Continuing the tour of Madrid, now I want to show a very special and magical place, the Debob Temple.

                                           

Location
Ferraz street.
Subway: Plaza de España (L3,L10), Ventura Rodríguez (L3)
Zone: Moncloa- Argüelles 
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Admission Free
Closed Monday.

The "Templo de Debod", close to the Plaza de España (A-3) is a Egyptian temple from the 4th century before Christ. The temple was built originally 15 km south of Aswan in southern Egypt very close to the first cataract of the Nile and to the great religious center dedicated to the goddess Isis, in Philae. In the early 2nd century BC, Adikhalamani (Tabriqo), the Kushite king of Meroë, started its construction by building a small single room chapel dedicated to the god Amun.[1] It was built and decorated on a similar design to the later Meroitic chapel on which the Temple of Dakka is based. Later, during the reigns of Ptolemy VI, Ptolemy VIII and Ptolemy XII of the Ptolemaic dynasty, it was extended on all four sides to form a small temple, 12 X 15 m, which was dedicated to Isis of Philae. The Roman emperors Augustus and Tiberius completed its decorations.

From the quay, a long processional way leads to the stone-built enclosure wall, through three stone pylon gateways and finally to the temple itself. The pronaos, which had four columns with composite capitals collapsed in 1868, and is now lost. Behind it lay the original sanctuary of Amun, the offering table room and a later sanctuary with several side-rooms and stairs to the roof.

In 1960, due to the construction of the Great Dam of Aswan and the consequent threat posed to several monuments and archeological sites, UNESCO made an international call to save this rich historical legacy. As a sign of gratitude for the help provided by Spain in saving the temples of Abu Simbel, the Egyptian state donated the temple of Debod to Spain in 1968.

The Debod Temple is in one of the most beautiful places from which to watch the sunset. Behind the temple the park opens into a terrace with wonderful views westward and eastward, over the Holly Oak trees and pines which soften the horizon in the wide green expanse of the Casa de Campo. With intense contrasts in colour, at one’s feet lies the Parque del Oeste, or western park, while around one is the temple and its surroundings, whose stone reflect the light of the setting sun and from whose reflecting pool this vision is magnified.

Even in a cosmopolitan city like Madrid we can still be surprised by what is hidden in the Cuartel de la Montaña park: the Temple of Debod, a monument that is over two thousand years old, which was brought to Spain from Egypt, stone by stone and carefully reconstructed in the capital.

The most beautiful parks and gardens of Madrid

Hi Everyone! Today I want to recommend the most beautiful parks and gardens of Madrid. These places are worth visiting

Gardens of El campo del Moro


Location:
Paseo Virgen del Puerto, s/n
Subway: Príncipe Pío (L6,10,R)
Zone: Príncipe Pío
---------------------
Admission Free

It was not called Campo del Moro until the XIX century, and was beacuse in these lands between the river and the Real Fortress, the hosts muslim camped during their stay in the village.
 
When in 1734 the Fortress was destroyed because of a fire, the Royal Palace rose in its place. When Maria Cristina was in goverment, the garden was designed inspirated by Versalles. It has some 70 arboreal species, some up to 170 years, two famous fountains: the Newts and the Shells that establish the axis of the gardens.

If the Field of the Moor is located in the facade west of the Palace, the Gardens of Sabatini are toward the North, bordering with the Cuesta de la Vega and the Bailén street. They are of classic style and around 1930.
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Gardens of Sabatini

Location:
Bailén street.
Subway: Opera (L2, R)
Zone: Opera
---------------------
Admission Free
 
If the Field of the Moor is located in the facade west of the Palace, the Gardens of Sabatini are toward the North, bordering with the Cuesta de la Vega and the Bailen street. They are of classic style and around 1930.


The Sabatini Gardens, Campo del Moro and Plaza de España are not far from the Royal Palace there are several gardens: the children's playground in the Plaza de Oriente, the enclosed Sabatini Gardens on the northern side of the Palace, which are entered from the Calle de Bailén and have benches and well kept hedges and borders; and the so-called Campo de Moro entered from the Cuesta de la Vega. There are gardens where people lie under the sun in the spring in the Plaza de España, at the end of the Gran Vía.


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Royal Botanical Gardens

Location:
Plaza de Murillo, 2
Subway: Atocha, Atocha-Renfe (L1)
Bus: 10, 14, 19, 24, 26, 27, 32, 34, 45, 57, 140 and Circular line
Area: Paseo del Prado
---------------------
Admission 2€.

Designed 250 years ago, Madrid´s Botanical Garden invites visitors to enjoy a pleasant stroll surrounded by thousands of live plant species. Declared Artistic Garden in 1942, among its collections there is a herbarium with over one million specimens, a library and an archive with almost 10,000 drawings, as well as an exhibition of 5,000 live plant species. In this vast representation of flora, visitors find the collection of lithops or living rock cacti particularly astonishing. 

These cacti live in the deserts of South Africa and Namibia and survive thanks to their own particular defence mechanism: an appearance that makes them look like boulders and stops animals from eating them. Some of the other attractions that draw visitors to stroll around this garden located in the heart of Madrid are a cypress dating from the period when the garden was founded or a collection of carnivorous plants.


The entrance to the Botanical Gardens is the Glorieta de Murillo right beside the Prado Museum.

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Gardens of Retiro Park 

Admission Free


It is Madrid's most famous park, which located just behind the Prado museum, and it is an ideal way to finish (or for that matter start) any day in Madrid. The large Park was originally built as the gardens for the Palacio del Buen Retiro of Philip IV, in the 15th century but has been open to the public since the end of the 1800's. Among other attractions the gardens houses some 15000 trees, a working observatory, three exhibition halls, including which the Crystal Palace a building entirely built of glass and a lake.

Retiro park is a wonderful oasis of calm to the East of the centre of Madrid, it is the largest and most beautiful of all Madrid's parks is the Retiro. It has 130 hectares of woodland which form a green, tree-clad (more than 15.000 trees) island in the middle of an asphalt sea. One may enter it through any of the fine gateways. These are located in the Plaza de la Independencia, the Alcalá Street, the O'Donnell Street, and the Alfonso XII Street. White stone figures of the Kings and Queen of Spain peep out from the avenues of lofty tees and thick bushes, and just inside the park there is a large artificial lake where row-boats can be hired. 

The park also has its rose garden, as well as the Cecilio Rodríguez gardens and many delightful secluded nooks where strollers can enjoy a little privacy. In the middle of the park there are two buildings known as the Palacio de Velázquez and Palacio de Cristal, where art exhibitions are sometimes held.

It is very popular on Sunday mornings when people turn up for a leisurely stroll through its leafy paths. The park was once a palace garden, and it contains a boating lake and many majestic fountains. On Sunday’s you’ll also see Punch and Judy shows, tarot card readers and stalls selling candy floss.

 






There are several café bars throughout the park where you will usually also have the pleasure of listening to the many talented musicians who serenade the crowds. It is an excellent place to relax, making it one of the very popular Madrid tourist attractions.

My advice to you.. spend all day in Retiro Park..  
coz is very high!. Lot of thing to visit such the Crystal Palace, the rose garden, the monument of the fallen angel… Is a wonderful place to take pics.

Museums in Madrid

If you are an art lover visiting Madrid you shouldn't go the three most popular museums. MNCARS, Prado Museum and Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum.

The three museums are very close to each other, located in the Paseo del Prado you can walk. In my opinion, the first that you should go is the Sofia Museum. Then, the Prado Museum, you’ll spend all the morning in both Museum.

In the noon, very close to the Prado Museum you could find diferents kinds of restaurants. After take the lunch you could visit the Thyssen Museum.

Reina Sofia Museum.

 

The museum is mainly dedicated to Spanish art. Highlights of the museum include excellent collections of Spain's two greatest 20th century masters, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí. Certainly the most famous masterpiece in the museum is Picasso's painting Guernica. The Reina Sofía also has fine collections of the works of Juan Gris, Joan Miró, Julio González, Eduardo Chillida, Antoni Tàpies, Pablo Gargallo, Pablo Serrano, Lucio Muñoz, Luis Gordillo, Jorge Oteiza, José Gutiérrez Solana and many other significant artists.

Foreign artists are few, but there are works by Robert Delaunay, Yves Tanguy, Man Ray, Jacques Lipchitz, Lucio Fontana, Yves Klein, Max Ernst, Richard Serra, Bruce Neuman, Clyford Still, cubist still lifes by Georges Braque and a large work by Francis Bacon.

 

Rates of MNCARS			Schedule
General admission Joint visit collections and temporary exhibitions	€ 6.00		Monday to Saturday	10:00 to 21:00 h
Entry only for temporary exhibitions	€ 3.00		Sunday:	10:00 to 14:30 h
Free admission days Monday to Friday from 19.00 to 21.00 Saturday from 14.30 to 21.00 Sunday 10.00 to 14.30			Tuesday: Closed

More info in: http://www.museoreinasofia.es/index_en.html

Prado Museum

 
The Prado Museum is a museum and art gallery located in Madrid, the capital of Spain. It features one of the world's finest collections of European art, from the 12th century to the early 19th century, based on the former Spanish Royal Collection. Founded as a museum of paintings and sculpture, it also contains important collections of other types of works. A new, recently opened wing enlarged the display area by about 400 paintings, and it is currently used mainly for temporary expositions. El Prado is one of the most visited sites in the world, and it is considered to be among the greatest museums of art.

The collection currently comprises around 7,600 paintings, 1,000 sculptures, 4,800 prints and 8,200 drawings, in addition to a large number of works of art and historic documents. By 2012 the Museum will be displaying about 1300 works in the main buildings, while around 3,100 works are on temporary loan to various museums and official institutions. The remainder are in storage.

The best known work on display at the museum is Las Meninas by Velázquez. Velázquez not only provided the Prado with his own works, but his keen eye and sensibility was also responsible for bringing much of the museum's fine collection of Italian masters to Spain.

Rates of Prado Museum			Schedule
General Admission	7€		From Tuesday to Sunday: 9.00 - 20. 00 h	Closed Every Monday (including holidays)
50% discount with student card	3’5€		Box Office Hours. 9.00 - 19.30 h. Access to the Museum until 30 minutes before closing (the exhibition of the rooms 10 minutes before closing)
General Admission + copy of the Guide Prado, €	19.50€

More info in: http://www.museodelprado.es/en/

Thyssen Museum.

 

The Thyssen-Bornemisza collection, is the second largest private collection in the world after the British Royal Collection, includes Impressionists, Expressionists, and European and American paintings from the second half of the 20th century, with over 1,600 paintings. 

 

Rates of Thyssen Museum			Shedule
General admission	8€		From Tuesday to Sunday	10.00 to 19.00.
			Closed Mondays.
			The ticket office closes at 18.30.

More info in:  http://www.museothyssen.org/thyssen/home

Museum Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando.

Location:

13 Alcala st. MADRID

The Academy houses an important museum, reopened in 1986, which contains more than 1,400 paintings, 600 sculptures and 15,000 drawings, as well as an outstanding collection of decorative arts. The permanent collection includes masterpieces of Spanish, Italian and Flemish art. Goya was a member of the Academy from 1780 onwards, and the Museum holds 13 of his paintings, including two Self-portraits, the Bullfight, the portraits of Moratín, Juan de Villanueva and the actress La Tirana, and the famous carnival scene known as the Burial of the Sardine. Among other works in the Museum’s permanent collection are the Agnus Dei and Mercedarian Friars by Zurbarán; a Mary Magdalene by Ribera, signed in 1636; the only painting by Arcimboldo held in Spain; the Riva degli Schiavoni in Venice, signed by Leandro Bassano; the splendid Knight’s Dream by Pereda; the Old Testament scene of Susannah and the Elders by Rubens; the Marquesa de Llano by Mengs; and the Venus, Mercury and Cupid, painted by Van Loo in 1748. The 19th century in Spanish art is represented by a series of portraits by Vicente López, the magnificent portrait of Manuel Godoy, Prince of the Peace by José de Madrazo or the Portrait of Isabel II by Federico de Madrazo. Other movements, such as the Romanticism of Esquivel, are also represented, as well as other genres, such as the landscape paintings of Haes.

The 20th century is worthy of special attention, since it presents us with the work of modern members of the Academy, thus providing us with a general overview of contemporary art. In this way, all the artistic movements of the 20th century can be followed, from works by Sorolla and Cecilio Plá, the regionalism of Sotomayor, portraits by Vázquez Díaz, and landscapes by Benjamín Palencia and Lozano, through to the modern avant-garde movements.

The Museum also has on display an important collection of casts, such as the Gate of Paradise after Ghiberti, and many sculptures that allows us to follow the development of Spanish sculpture from the 17th century until today, through such extremely fine works as the Saint Bruno by Manuel Pereira or the Mater Dolorosa by Pedro de Mena; the portrait reliefs of Ferdinand VI and his queen Bárbara de Braganza by Gian Domenico Olivieri; the Portrait of Alfonso Clemente de Aróstegui by Felipe de Castro; Philip V on Horseback by Roberto Michel and Philip V on Horseback by Manuel Francisco Álvarez de la Peña; the series on the Massacre of the Innocents produced by José Ginés for Charles IV; the Portrait of Antonio Teixeira Lopes by Mariano Benlliure y Gil; Sensitiva by Miguel Blay; Head of a Woman by Picasso; and Academia by Pablo Gargallo.

The gallery rooms also display fine works purchased through the Guitarte Bequest. These include the Vanitas by Michel Bouillon, executed in 1668; the Self-portrait of Francisco Bayeu; the magnificent Still Life with Lemons by Juan de Zurbarán; the Head of Apollo attributed to Thorwaldsen; the Painter in his Studio by Magnasco; Cubist painting such as the Still Life with Fruit Bowl, Bottle and Newspaper by Juan Gris; and part of the collection of drawings by Picasso from the Suite Vollard.

Rates Royal Academy of San Fernando	Schedule
General Admission                     5€	Tuesday to Saturday from 9am to 3pm Sundays and public holidays from 9am to 2.30pm Closed Mondays
Student Card                              50% discount
Free admission                    every Wednesday

For more information: http://rabasf.insde.es/