Tapas, thrones and theatrics: Madrid at a glance

The Spanish capital offers world-famous museums, top restaurants and extensive parks. We didn't visit any of these this time. Because in Madrid, it's all about the journey.

Going straight ahead is a relative concept. At the Puerta del Sol in the heart of the Spanish capital, there are several variations of it, depending on where you are coming from and where you are going. The one straight ahead is a little more to the left than the one further to the right, but that doesn't really matter too much, because Madrid's city center is actually interesting everywhere. Sometimes spacious, sometimes narrow, sometimes magnificent, sometimes less so. And everywhere is full of energy, full of people, full of life. There are not many places like Madrid that never seem to slow down. That sweep you away in the same way.

We have around 46 hours to immerse ourselves in this wonderful city. But first we go underground, because the first stage from Barajas airport takes us into the metro. And then onto a regional train. And finally we climb up into the night-time daylight, right into the turbulent, wonderful madness of the Puerta del Sol. We continue on foot to the hotel, try to find out how the room works technically and are finally hungry. Time for tapas and Tinto de Verrano.

 

Saturday morning in the literary quarter. The great names of Spanish world literature once had their home here. Cervantes, Lope de Vega and many more worked here. Art can still be felt today, as we encounter not only the Spanish spring air, but also the construction work of a market with artistic and artisan products. Paintings, soap, jewelry, postcards - the atmosphere is creative, and a coffee shop that could also be found in the hipster districts of Berlin has fine coffee and pan con tomate on offer for us.

Our plan: drift without a plan. Be in the sun. Don't skimp on coffee breaks. From the Plaza Mayor, we stroll towards Gran Via, Madrid's Broadway. We criss-cross side streets and alleyways and finally reach the Royal Palace. Time for a small snack and a coffee. We sit outside and watch. Watching Madrid is probably never boring. Cab and bus drivers compete on the street for the most elegant braking maneuvers, delivery services tend not to, travelers from all over the world marvel loudly and quietly, and in the middle of it all are the locals, who have seen it all before anyway.

A touch of Broadway.

And then, as in any good theater, the plot comes to a head. Whistling resolutely, some police officers enter the intersection and are able to - partially - stop the traffic. The reason is a small procession that needs several attempts to turn off on its way to the Almudena Cathedral - the church next to the Royal Palace. Meanwhile, the incense fades, the altar boys and girls look stressed and a delayed bus driver observes the scene with quiet resignation.

Our not-so-planned sightseeing route takes us through shopping streets, across squares where a bagpiper suddenly appears and finally to a lunch near the Gran Via. We continue our culinary journey where we left off the previous evening and decide that you can of course try a Tinto de Verrano at lunchtime.

The next corner hides the preparations for a major demonstration, and yet somehow an incredible number of people still fit into this city center. We stroll past the bagpipe player and head back to the literary quarter for a short stopover.

The sun slowly becomes less intense and we start our evening program. That means: right into the hustle and bustle, starting with the iconic Plaza de Santa Ana. We hear many languages, both those spoken in the different parts of the Iberian Peninsula and those from what feels like every other part of the planet. Madrid seems to have a great attraction, and on this fresh spring evening, which is slowly fading into night, we feel a touch of New York on the Gran Via. We follow the flow, right up to a tapas stop late in the evening. Our short visit to Madrid slowly comes to an end, as we have to return home early the next morning. At least for this time.

 

Madrid: When it gets dark, things really get going.

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Good to know

There are several flights a day between Zurich and Madrid, both with Swiss (with whom we were traveling) and with Iberia or Air Europa. If you want to take more time, you can also get to Madrid by train via Lyon and Barcelona in around 14 hours.

Hotel accommodation in the Spanish capital is not terribly cheap. We decided to stay at Room Mate Alba - the accommodation from the Spanish Room Mate chain is good value for money and usually in a good location.

There are an unmanageable number of restaurants and tapas bars in Madrid - the range and quality are similar. We would like to highlight the coffee bar Ambu Coffee on Calle de las Huertas, which we found to be very cozy and of high quality.