Madrid
You HAVE to go to the Prado Museum. It's so huge
that it's overwhelming so I'd recommend either spending an entire day or going
twice. I also went to the Reina Sofia which is a contemporary art museum and
it's REALLY cool. I preferred it to the Prado, actually, because I'm more into
that than religious art. Make sure you go to the Prado on a Sunday because it's
free. But if you go on another day it's still very reasonable for students...
like 6 euros or something.
La Puerta Sol is a really beautiful and famous
square and is right by another famous square called Plaza Mayor. These are
places where you can just walk around and get a really cool feel of the city
and culture. Be prepared for really ridiculous gypsies in the form of dogs,
babies, silver men, etc.
El Jardín Botánico is right next to The Prado
and it's beautiful botanical gardens. With your student i.d. it's just 1.30
euro and you can walk through it in less than an hour.
Buen Retiro Park is a really huge and beautiful
park. Things to see there: 1) Rosaleda, which is a rose garden and it's soo
precious! 2) The Palacio de Cristal, which is literally a glass palace. 3) The
Palacio de Velazquez 4) there's a boating lake and around it there are always
shows going on and street theater.
El Rastro, the flea market. It's open on Sundays
and holidays and you can get anything under the sun.
Palacio de Aranjuez- Castle and Gardens. It's
basically the Spanish version of Versailles. It's ornate like that. It's a
little bit far... about 45 minutes on the metro but I definitely recommend it.
The gardens and fountains are exquisite.
El Mercado de San Miguel- it's a really great
market in a glass building with kiosks of many different types of food. I
really liked the olives and paella there. They are incredible! Go there hungry
because there are so many options!
Fuencarral & Hortaleza- Hipster/trendy area
of Madrid with fun shopping.
CLUBS & BARS:
The
nightlife in Madrid is CRAZY
1-
Kapital is a 7 floor epic
club. It's really cool.
2-
2- Joy
The Metro
The metro in Madrid is really easy to navigate.
You'll figure it out in no-time. Make sure you keep your ticket stub because
you need to have it when you get out.
BE CAREFUL TO NOT GET PICK-POCKETED. One
of my friends got pick-pocketed on the metro when she was texting. We were all
standing together in a group of 4 and didn't notice. In Spain they are so
skilled and slick, so always hold your purse close to you, especially when
you're on the metro.
