If you watched the IIFA awards on TV this weekend, you would’ve caught a glimpse of Madrid – or “Mad Madrid,” as they say! I attended the awards, and while it was a fun, star-studded event, the greatest part about the weekend was just exploring Madrid – it’s definitely made it onto my list of favourite cities. If you’re planning a vacation, you should absolutely consider Madrid – if only for these reasons:
1. The food
Crunchy goat cheese salad with raspberry and honey mustard sauce at RealCafe
Russian salad at Ene Gastro Club
Stir fried vegetables at Ene Gastro Club
Chocolate coulant with raspberry ice cream at RealCafe
How could I even do this without mentioning the food? And my God, the food! Some of the yummiest meals I’ve eaten in recent times were during my short stay in Madrid. Madrid is actually the second largest consumer of seafood in the world after Tokyo, and although I’m not normally much of a seafood person, I loved eating the seafood there – I had hake at two meals, squid, sardines and clams. So good!
2. The wine
Again, not much of a wine person, but when in Spain… 🙂 You can apparently get wine for cheaper than you get bottled water (I didn’t test that theory out, though), so you definitely need to have some while there. You’ll also want to try the local beer wherever you go!
3. The sights
There’s no other way to say it: Madrid is absolutely gorgeous. From cobbled streets to stunning architecture to wide open spaces to the greenery to quaint little tourist stores and cafes – walking around is such a pleasure, and you’ll want to do a lot of it in Madrid just to soak in everything. One of my favourite moments during the entire trip was walking around Puerta del Sol while a guy played the violin in the background. Straight out of a movie, that was.
4. Walking around Gran Via
I absolutely love Manhattan, and Gran Via in Madrid felt almost like I’d dropped onto Broadway. Gran Via is in fact known as the Spanish Broadway, and you’ll want to spend one full afternoon just walking around. The shopping in particular is great, with Bershka, H&M, Zara, Mango, Primark (a huge one), and many more stores in a line. It’s a busy street and there’s a lot of action happening, so if this sounds like something you’d like, try getting a hotel on this street or nearby – you’ll love it.
5. The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
Santiago Bernabeu Stadium
Santiago Bernabeu Stadium
Santiago Bernabeu Stadium
Santiago Bernabeu Stadium
Any football fan – regardless of whether you’re a Real Madrid fan or not – will want to visit the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. We got a tour through the stadium (including the dressing rooms, ahem), and it’s one very cool experience – especially getting to walk on the pitch. There’s a bunch of club memorabilia on display, and you can easily spend a large chunk of time just slowly moving through everything. Finish it all off by dining at the RealCafé Bernabéu, which will offer you a super view of the stadium (and a spectacular chocolate coulant with raspberry ice cream).
Thank you for the memories, Madrid! 3 days just weren’t enough for this lovely city, so I’m definitely going to be returning one day. A big thank you to Turespaña for such a well thought-out itinerary, Qatar Airways for their fantastic service and making the journey there so breezy (you’re really going to want to consider taking the trip with this airline), and Melia Barajas for being such a comfortable place to crash after the busy days. To next time! 🙂