Where are the bullfights held, is it in the city? Is it something I should do while there with my teenagers? I am travelling in the summer. Do I need to get tickets ahead of time.

To clarify for our readers, about what city are you asking? Tell us that and we'll be happy to help.

And welcome to our ALL SPAIN Message Board, joycenj!

Saludos, MadridMan/ BarcelonaMan

Madrid please

Thanks for the clarification. I'll edit your subject line to reflect the city in question.

Madrid bullfights are mainly held in "Las Ventas: Corrida de Toros" - website http://www.Las-Ventas.com - on the edge of downtown. Unless you're arriving during a big festival (doubtful), you should be able to walk up the day of (or the day before) the bullfight and get tickets.

Best of luck! Saludos, MadridMan

one more question. What time of day are the bullfights held??
thanks.

The bullfights are in the early evening, around 7:00 or so, on Sundays only, from March through October. If you are going in May, there is a three-week-long festival called San Isidro during which there are fights every day if I remember correctly.

If you have never been to a bullfight before, I highly recommend reading about it so that you understand a little about what is going on. You may be surprised to know that there are three matadors and each one fights twice. Also, there are three parts to each fight. I could never figure out when they were cheering for a "good bull" or booing at a "bad bull" but it was a fascinating experience. Someone out there may have a good web site or book to recommend.
I noticed on the Las Ventas web site that there are tours offered in Spanish and English of the bullring, which I think might be interesting.

I have been to a bullfight with teenagers before. We were sitting pretty close to the ring, and some kids were really spooked (especially the girls) as for some reason they didn't know the bull is actually killed. I don't know why they didn't know that going into it, but they didn't. If you or your teenagers are easily grossed out, you may not like seeing all the blood, especially six times. That said, some of the kids thought it was interesting.

Esperanza, if you're out there, did you ever take your students to a fight? Maybe you have some additional input.

Thank you so much. You are an invaluable source for information. More questions to come!

I took my son (then 17) to a bullfight in Madrid's las Ventas. He wanted so much to see a real Bulfight. By the third or fourth bull, he was bored to death. We videotaped a complete bullfight and when he showed it to is friends they also were bored.

The first bullfight I saw (20-years earlier), one of Gregorio Sanchez's Cuadrilla was gored and I learned later that he had died. After that, I was no longer an aficionado.

Tickets are cheaper and sometimes the Corridas o Novilladas one sees are better Faenas at Carabanchal's Vista Alegre Bullring.

joycenj, I suggest you try to learn something about the "finer arts" of bullfighting before going so as to appreciate what it is all about. This link may help: http://www.montana.edu/4teachers/instcomp/hunts/social/spanish3/bullfight.html

good advise to know a bit more of what the corridas are. They are an important historical and cultural part of Spain although controversial by some modernists because the bull is kill.
I enjoy them then and always look forward to go to one. DO not missed the museum Taurino behind the plaza monumental its cheap and great info on the fine art of matador:corridas.

La Historiadora,
I just checked www.ticketstoros.com and the Las Ventas website and could not find any bullfights scheduled in May. San Isidro festival is in Madrid, right? Maybe they just have not posted the schedule yet.

Unless you go to one of the better corridas, ie. during San Isidro, I wouldn't bother buying expensive tickets as it should be easy enough to walk around and sit where you like. I did. When I went to Las Ventas a few years ago, it was towards end of the bullfighting season in late September, the arena was about three quarters empty, and most of the crowd were Japanese tourists. At a corrida like this, you can be sure that you aren't going to see the best bullfighters, although the last one on the bill is generally the best of the lot - and even if you don't know much about it, the difference in their abilities is quite evident. So if you're worried that your kids might get bored, don't bother going too early. Mind you, there's probably more chance of seeing one of the first bullfighters get gored than the last one, if that appeals to you!

I think you should understand and explain to your kids that bullfighting is not a sport, but a ritual, and an art form. Yes, it is brutal, but culturally the bull is very important in Spain. Although the ultimate aim of a bullfight is to kill the animal, the crowd appreciate a brave bull as much as a brave and skillful matador, and in their eyes this is the most noble way for the bull to die. Before you go, I'd recommend that you read Ernest Hemingway's Death in the Afternoon, a fascinating and beautifully written account of his time following some of the great matadors of the 1920's, which will give you a far better understanding and appreciation of the whole thing.

sparkalina, the San Isidro Festival is in May. The actual saint's day is May 15, and the events such as the corridas surround that date for three weeks. When the daily corridas will begin, I do not know. I had also noticed that the schedule wasn't up yet on the web site. Perhaps in a few more weeks the schedule will appear, or maybe someone who is in Madrid now can give you more details.

The schedule is not up because they are probably still trying to work out which bullfighters will be available and how many different days they will bullfight. The big names might appear on three different occasions. Plus, there are bullfighters who might start out the season particularly strong and work their way into the schedule. They will also have decide who will be debuting "tomar la alternativa". I'm not really an expert on bullfighting scheduling, I know these are some of the factors.

La historiadora is right: May is Las Ventas busiest month. There are actually two fesitvals. One is just a few days long around the May 2 holiday of the Comunidad de Madrid. San Isidro begins several days before May 15th and runs into early June. All in all, there must be some 25-30 bullfights. So, I wouldn't expect to see anything until at least March, if not a little later.

Now, if you want to participate in the artwork contest for this year's poster...here's what you have to do:

http://asp.las-ventas.com/noticias/noticia_detalle.asp?codigo=751&codigo_seccion=3

In fact, the deadline is March 8, so that should give you an idea of when the calendar will be made official.

Good Luck!

For what seems to be an up-to-date schedule of events - not including WHO's fighting - visit http://www.eol.es/lgalicia/ and click "Bullfights" as well as the Localidades Galicia bullfight website @ http://www.bullfightticketsmadrid.com/ for what kind of bullfight is taking place.

Saludos, MadridMan

WOW I just checked both websites and now there are a lot of dates listed so that is a good sign that I should be able to catch 1 or 2 while in Madrid.

Does anyone have a website for bullfight dates in Seville at Real Maestranza?

For Seville, the official website for Real Maestranza is http://www.realmaestranza.com/ but their website seems to be down now. I don't think they have the line-up set yet either.

Saludos, MadridMan

I think that place sounds a bit expensive , when the cartels are announce this place sells tickets , delivers to your hotel and charges about 14e per ticket
Tauroentrada