I will be in Madrid on March 8, 9 and 11 and plan to the see the Bullfight that will be there on the 11th, is it possible to get tickets the day of the fight or do you recommend getting them now? I have looked into reserving them in advance, but from the website I have looked at they need a hotel to be able to send them to. Since will we not be in Madrid on the 10th (we'll be in Sevilla) how would this work? Has anyone done this before?

Amy.... where did you find the schedule/ticketing info? I looked all over www.las-ventas.com and only found the 2000 schedule posted there.

Leche

[This message has been edited by MadridMan (edited 02-22-2001).]

I actually received the information from Localidades Galicia. I am not quite sure of the address. They are the one who would reserve the tickets for this. I'll keep looking for the web address.

Amy

I found the address: http://www.eol.es/lgalicia/

[This message has been edited by Amy25 (edited 02-22-2001).]

I, too, have been looking for the bullfight schedules at las-ventas.com. I think Amy is right..."Opening Day" for 2001 is Sunday, March 11th (look under Proximos Festejos). But the other information (under La Temporada) appears to be last year's schedule.

This seems a good time and place to offer up my bullfight ticket buying experience for whatever it's worth. And as best as I can recall it.

I lived near the ventas ring for while, and always preferred to get my tickets at the ring box office--ignoring the scalpers in the little booths who mark up the prices 20 percent.

My favorite seat was in section 8, row 14. This is the level that divides the lower section from the middle section. (Can't remember the technical terms now.) It's high enough to give you a good overall view of the action, and close enough to the ring for detail. It's also near where the toreros keep their swords and capes.

The advantage of sitting on this row is that you can avoid having someone's knees in your back. Too, section 8 is in the sol-sombra location. The sun is there only for the first bull and perhaps part of the second--offering a neat compromise between location and price.

Ideally, when possible I'd like to sit on row 14 adjacent to the fence that divides section 8 from the next section counter-clockwise. But I don't recall if that is section 7 or 9. Again, the advantage is a bit more space and relief from being crowded.

As I recall, the ticket sellers were invariably helpful and accommodating--searching through their books of tickets to give me exactly the seat I wanted. If my Spanish is not entirely forgotten, I think the magic phrase was "seccion ocho, fila catorce.
Enjoy.
Cantabene

I hope to be arriving in Madrid on May 11, a Friday. Since this is the weekend prior to the San Isidro Festival, do the actual festival bullfights begin on this weekend or do they begin on San Isidro day (May 15). I would like to take in a bullfight on May 13 and it sounds like getting a ticket for the festival fights are next to impossible unless one wants to pay scalpers high costs.
Any advice on this would be much recommended. Thanks!
Dargus

Amy i went to a bullfight last year around that same day, and we got the tickets the day before the event. I guess that it is still early in the season and it isnt sold out at that time. So we had good seats. Be prepared to be shocked though, however it is very intersting to see.