In Madrid be aware that there is extensive road construction occurring in and around the city. Puerta del Sol is cordoned off with little if any auto or bus traffic and this also impairs your overall view of this site. We had a friend who drove us around much of the time in Madrid and even though he is a native even he encountered problems with the construction at times. If you are planning on driving in Madrid and are unfamiliar with the city then you may want to think again until the current works are completed. The Metro was great and bus service to adjacent cities was prompt and efficient.

Have a great trip.

Powerhouse

I took a long, hard look at the construction site of Puerta del Sol just yesterday afternoon. It actually doesn't look that bad, rather "clean" in fact, but there's only taxi-traffic allowed along with a few other vehicles. Maybe soon will come the cranes and other large, heavy machines. Not sure.

Also worth mentioning the sirpentine M-30 innermost outerbelt and the vastness of the Manzanares River/M-30/Puente de Segovia project. Wow. That's CRANE ALLEY! Looks like a scene from The Terminator where the machines are running the planet. Luckily, that's not an area of tourism.

There's also the area around the Princípe Pío/Estación del Norte and adjacent plaza is a total construction site. Again, few tourists will go here but it's not far from backside of the Royal Palace's Campo del Moro gardens.

One sometimes-visited tourist site is the pedestrian Puente de Toledo bridge which is a beautiful old, Baroque bridge spanning the Rio Manzares which has (still) statues of Madrid's patron saint, San Isidro and also Santa María de la Cabeza. This is right in the "Crane Alley" of the River Renovation Project. I loved this bridge.

Also, the Calle Montera (leading into the Puerta del Sol) has been made pedestrian so no car-traffic allowed. Calle Arenal does not allow any car-traffic either until about October, until the SOL project is finished.

I'm often in/around the Moncloa area and exiting the Moncloa metro you see ALL KINDS of construction and barriers and access is "challenging" for both pedestrians and drivers. I've been in taxi traffic jams entering the Moncloa plaza for as long as 40 minutes during rush hour.

Worth mentioning here is the ongoing STOP WORK strike of metro/subway conductors on (most) workdays from 7-9am and 7-9pm - rush hours. During these STOP WORK hours there are still metro trains but fewer and they're most often FULL FULL FULL of people and no space for one extra person to board.

Saludos, MadridMan

I just did my regular check of the traffic camera in Puerta del Sol and noticed they have torn down the bus shelters and there is equipment strewn all over. This seems to have taken place in the last few days.

Just in time for my trip next week!

Madrid Traffic Camera

The M-30 work is immense.. I cant beleive how much $$$$ is being invested there .. it blows my mind... thanks for explaining the 7-9 7-9 thing.. I keep hearing those messages they are running - they say something like due to a union decision there will be half service on some lines or something like that ... I keep hearing on nthe 9 line si I thought maybe that was all but I guess its accross the board.. and yes the trains are jam packed full... and HOT!!!

Which brings me a question, what exactly are they doing around Sol? I noticed the change the other day when about 20 taxis went by all full, they don't allow empty taxis through anymore you have to walk down abit to catch one.


pedestrian Puente de Toledo bridge where exactly is that anyways, I've heard of it but haven't found it yet

A new tunnel between Atocha and Chamartin for commuter train lines (Cercanias) is being built. This new tunnel will have three intermediate stations: one called Sol-Gran Via with connection to Metro lines 1, 2, 3 and 5; the second one is Alonso Martinez (Metro lines 4, 5, and 10), and the third one is Nuevos Ministerios (Metro lines 6, 8, and 10). The works at Sol are the construction of the station.

Apart of this tunnel, there is the old one that goes under Paseo del Prado, Paseo de Recoletos and Paseo de la Castellana, and there will be a third one. This will go under Paseo de Alfonso XII and Serrano street and will be used only by the high speed trains with no intermediate stops. The beginning of its construction is planned by late 2007.

It crosses over Manzanares river from Piramides to Marques de Vadillo.

We drove UNDER the Puente de Toledo in both directions on the M-30 just this afternoon and it's mostly covered with a protective sheeting while the "works" take place. The lane-lines painted on the serpentine M-30, being yellow here and white there, going in different directions, makes it SO dangerous to drive if you're not paying attention 100%.

Saludos, MadridMan

Here are some of the wonderful construction projects going on along the Río Manzares River and M-30 innerbelt on the http://www.TraficoMadrid.com website. Check out "Crane Alley"! Looks like some futuristic scene.


Glorieta San Vicente




Puente de Segovia - Near MadridMan!




River, M30, Vicente Calderon, Atlético de Madrid
Stadium


Puente de Toledo

Glorieta de Marques de Vadillo


M30


M30


M30


Plaza de Moncloa construction project

Wow! So much construction going on at the Manzanares these days.Oooh weee!

I'm quite familiar with the area as I've been to the Vicente Calderón stadium and vicinity a few times(I admit it,I like "El Atleti" also).Great atmosphere,great tailgating and the most lively soccer fans in all of Spain.I've gobbled down a few brewskies and sang with the crowd at the bars outside the stadium just before the games(I just never mentioned "El Madrid" even once so I did fine,hehehe...).

Been to the Puente de Toledo just across the street from the Metro Pirámides.Great view of the stadium there and the ahem... RIVER? I don't know what the criteria for distinguishing a river from a stream is but the Manzanares looks more of a stream to me than a river.It gets even narrower as you head further north like by el Paseo de la Florida next to the Casa de Campo.Anyways,Madrid seems to be the city of never ending construction so if you are going to visit bring a good set of ear plugs.