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

What a tough question as there are so many places! I had to ponder this one for a couple of days.
I love La Latina barrio! It is one of the traditional castizo neighborhoods in Madrid and is filled with bars, restaurants and sites. The buildings are old and the streets are quaint! I especially love walking down Cava Baja to Plaza San Andres, stopping along the way for a drink and a tapa (or a few), then heading in through Plaza de la Paja, just meandering through the many streets. There are beautiful little churches ( I discovered a few this summer) and little quiet plazas. It doesn't feel overly touristy at all. It is just a wonderful central neighborhood that hasn't changed much. Oh, and the Fiesta de la Paloma (La Latina's festival) in mid=-August is a great Madrileno tradition!

I love the Reina Sofia gallery/museum. The building itself is lovely - looks great from the outside with the lifts at the front (from which you get a great view from the inside) and the modern extension at the back, and the inside is such a nice place to wander around. Obviously the main attraction is Picasso's Guernica, which is awesome whether you're seeing it for the first or the hundredth time (not that I have - but I'm getting close!), but there's plenty of other great art in there too. They have some good temporary exhibitions occasionally too.

I also love the Berbabeau stadium, although I liked it better when the (east?) side was open at the top. It was so great watching a match from up there in September under a clear sky in 80 degrees wearing just a tee shirt and shorts! Of course, you can still do that, but the roof somehow makes it feel less special.

And then after a match I like to get the tube back to Tribunal and hit a few of the bars before turning in for the night.

That's kinda my perfect Madrid day really - Reina Sofia, Bernabeau, Tribunal!

First Choice - The Prado - I can stay in there for hours and want to stay even more.

Second Choice - The area between the Prado and the Puerta del Sol. So interesting to walk through.

Third - The train station at Atocha - Who would ever anticipate a tropical garden there!!!

Fourth - Sabatini Gardens adjacent to the Royal Place. Small, but so nice.

Billy - i fully agree with u, the Bernabeu is one of the greatest places in Madrid. I will visit it this year again.
MadridMan - Have u ever visited Rosaleda Park, i was there three or four times (May/June) - great gorgeous roses.

Sunday afternoon in Retiro is great.

Taking a beer at Plaza Santa Ana is great, too.

Saludos, WB

At night,I really like La Latina,and the bars and restaurants of the Cava Baja.Lunch At the Circulo de Bellas Artes,and walking around the Templo de Debod and the park.But if it is very hot,the pool at the Hotel Emperador takes some beating.

WBOEVING, HI AGAIN!!! Long time no see! You're one of our founding members and you only have 5 posts. That's not a bad yearly average. hehehe... Just teasing you.

But yes, I have been to the Rosaleda Park many times. It's very pretty!! I love it.

Hope you make it back to Madrid again someday soon.

Saludos, MadridMan

Hola David, please tell me how I could get to
Circulo de Bellas Artes from the Atocha train station. I may want to go to Circulo de
Bellas Artes for lunch. I will be in Madrid in April. My wife and I are looking for new places to eat when in Madrid.

Thank you,
Jim from New York City

Jim,the easiest way would just be to walk from Atocha down the Paseo del Prado to Cibeles.Circuloo de Bellas Artes is just off Alcala( you can short cut if you take some of the back streets).Maybe 15-20 minutes walk or so.The nearest Metro is Banco de Espana,but it is easier to walk(or cab)

I love "La Plaza de Toros de las Ventas" , "Plaza Puerta de Moros" and "Campo del Moro" garden.

David thank you for the information on the Circuloo de Bellas Artes. Please tell me if Circuloo is near a Vips and the James Joyce Pub on Alcala. Do you know the name of the street that it is off Alcala.

Thank you for your assistance.
Jim (New York City)

well dont get me started, but i think all of Madrid is great, as my signature says, expand it to from Madrid to heaven, i used to lived there.
NOw if I have to choose against the firing squad, then I would choose the Santiago Bernabeu stadium ,home of my beloved Real Madrid FC team ,and I was a former alavin/benjamin division player in that organization ::)

I would have to say that place is a great place. Probably my favorite.

Numero uno favorite spot is Retiro Park on a Sunday Morning when all the street performers are 'working.'

Numero dos is a split decision: sitting at the terraza of Cafeteria Iowa on c/Serrano, having a refresco and watching the ladies stroll by;
or doing the same (without the refresco) among the Reyes Godos at Parque de Oriente

Hmmm, a tough one.

The Bernabeu is pretty cool (i did a 2 week project there last month so I got to see plenty of the 'off limits' areas such as the dressing rooms) :-)

I think my favourite place in the centre of Madrid would be either kicking back with a beer on a terrace in Pintor de Rosales or perhaps relaxing in Plaza de Colon (when the skateboarders finally take a break).

In the Communidad de Madrid though, it definetely is Puerto de Cotos/Peñalara. The walk is fantastic and the view is incredible.

The skateboarders are pretty prolific in Pza de Colon ... "Pintor de Rosales" I have to check where this is 1

Pintor de Rosales is the street parallel with Princesa, running along the edge of Casa de Campo. It joins with the road that comes up from Puente de los Frances going through the park (the road that they close at weekends to disrupt the prostitution and the big gathering of the South Americans that used to block the entire road for the whole weekend).

IIRC, it is also where the teleferico starts.

And the telerifico is a "must do" up to the top of Casa del Campo . On a week day in summer it´s beautiful !

Never done it to be honest, it is one of those things i have seen plenty of times but never fancied. I guess I should get to it.

Now if only they would reopen the Faro at Moncloa, I am dying to go up there. Anyone know if there are plans to reopen it (if they haven't done so already)