I'd be interested to know of this message board's members' favourite spot in Madrid ... and why .... Maybe it'll help first time travellers here decide their itinerary .
Mine was a choice between Casa del Campo and Retiro Park .. And I've decided on Retiro Park where I spend many hours . It's so peaceful and yet you can have some loud fun on he boating lake " El Estanque " . Definitely go to the monument at the back of the lake .. On warm evenings during the weekend they'll be drummers and street artists .Though you may want to avoid some of the guys offering marijuana on a regular basis . Very cool and relaxed .
And go to the cafe by the statue of the fallen angel ( El Angel Caido ) , order a beer , and watch the world go by .
One end of the park you can play football ( soccer ) and tennis ( pre-arranged ) .
Retiro's exactly waht it's name suggests .. A place to rest and collect your thoughts and just chill out .
Steve

My favorite spot in Madrid is Muse del Prado.

It is like drinking a glass of wine. You have a sip and slowly drink your glass, enjoying every drop of wine. The Prado you go for a few hours and come back again the next day or a year later and still there are things to learn and see for the first time.

Bill

this post is probably predictable but the Santiago Bernabau home of Real Madrid football team was magnificant ive been to some great stadiums Old Trafford (man utd) super ground, Allianz Arena (bayern munich) great ground,Camp Nou (barcelona)excellant ground but when i went to the Bernabau i went "WOW" it is amazing the tour of 9 euros and spend as long as you wish there was great value for money. im no art or museum man myself and not everybody is a football fan but i respect everybodys favourite spot and there are hundreds in Madrid thats what makes the place so special, and like bill from NYC says everytime you come back there are things to learn how true Bill!

Not predictable at all Billy and I'm still kicking myself I haven't done it .. There's no doubt that the Santiago Bernabeu stadium is the best of it's kind in the world . Soccer fans should NOT miss it . Also a great cafe overlooking the pitch !

If I had to choose one, I'd go for my favourite bar in Madrid, not because it is a particularly special bar, although it is very good, but more because it holds many happy memories of when I first started coming here.

It's called Cazorla (after the village in Andalucia) and is on the corner of c/Padilla and c/General Pardiñas.

Re the Bernabeu, it's a great stadium, but it lacks atmosphere for me when R Madrid are playing. I've also been there when Spain played England in a friendly, and the atmosphere was much better. Billy, I think you've been to the new Wembley, how does that compare to the Bernabeu ?

Re the other choices above, Prado is a must as is Retiro. I've always found the Casa del Campo a little bit intimidating though. Am I going to the wrong areas ? I was at the zoo only last week, and still they have prostitutes hanging around the place.

Yeah , I was at the zoo this year on a fantastically hot day ... And , yes , the prostitutes were everywhere , but they're never agressive ... The zoo is a great day out , by the way , but expensive ! .. With Casa de Campo I would suggest taking the amazing 2km cable car ride from Arguelles to Casa del Campo ... On a week day as the weekends can be busy .. Take a picnic ( There is a cafe up there but a picnic is nicer ) and enjoy the quiet and the wonderful views over to the royal palace ( Palacio Real ) . It's a very magical place . Steve

It is a very good zoo, and at 17,50 € you're right, it's not cheap. But I don't mind too much, they now have recently added Koalas and Pandas to their extensive collection.

The cheapest way with these sights is to buy the annual pass, which gives unlimited access in Madrid to the cable car, the zoo, parque atraciones and the two aquapolis. There are also attractions inclunded on the coast, and I think discounts on Faunia and Warner Bros, though I stand to be corrected.

sorry ive not done the new wembley yet Jamongris so i cannot compare and i admit the new stadiums in England all lack atmosphere from what they used to be Old Trafford with 75,000 on does not generate that much noise
i also did the zoo its was superb as good a zoo you will go in very clean and all the animals look well looked after, this was also after taking the cable car ride but beware its quite a long walk to the theme park/zoo (unless i got lost?) the silver back gorilla in the zoo is worth the entrance fee alone he/she is so entertaining

One of my favorite places is the park area between El Templo de Debod and the El Teleférico. This is one of Madrid's nicest, fanciest parks, and has great views of the Royal Palace from the Templo del Debod as well as the Casa de Casa over the "river valley". This park is full of tall, mature trees and the grounds are manicured with lots of flowers.

I've only walked through this area twice but have driven by several times and always yearn-to-return. You never find tourists around here except a few at the Templo de Debod and a few more around the Teleférico (which carries you to across the river to the Casa de Campo from the Rosaleda Park in/near Argüelles).

Saludos, MadridMan

UPDATE: This morning I had to pick up some pants at the El Corte Inglés in Arguelles and so, thinking about what I posted this morning, I decided to walk the streets of the neighborhood and found myself in the Parque del Oeste - which is the park I mentioned above between the Templo de Debod and the Rosaleda Park where the Teleférico is.

Man, what a nice park that is. All the "land" is grass, not dirt, and it's full of trees. SO nice. I continued on to the Templo de Debod where I entered, went upstairs, and looked at the displays. This was the FIRST time I'd done this. (FREE ENTRY!) Then I took a look over the "valley" to the Royal Palace and Almudena Cathedral and then walked back through the park. Nice park. VERY nice. And in a rather fancy part of town too.

I like Retiro Park a lot but it's nice to walk through a park like this one, the Parque del Oeste where there's real grass on the ground and not grassless dirt. The sidewalks are paved with bricks. Nice. And the buildings surrounding the park are rather fancy too.

Saludos, MadridMan