Spain

25 things · Madrid

getting around and how they talk

Andén 0, the ghost station at Chamberí

Chamberí station on line 1 was shut in 1966 because the platforms were too short for the new trains.

All year

Getting in from Barajas

Barajas has T1 to T3 in one building and T4 three kilometres away with its own metro and train station.

All year

The Tarjeta Multi

Metro de Madrid sells no paper tickets: you buy a Tarjeta Multi, a red contactless card, for €2.50 at any machine and load single trips or a 10-trip ticket onto it.

All year

How madrileños talk

Madrid slang: mazo means a lot ('mola mazo'), Madriz is how they say the city's name, 'ir a por' is the local way to say go and get something, and a caña is the small beer.

12 October, the Hispanidad parade

12 October, the Fiesta Nacional or Día de la Hispanidad, is a public holiday: the armed forces parade down the Paseo de la Castellana past the King and the government, with a flypast that trails red and yellow smoke over the city.

12 October only, parade about 11:00 to 13:00 on the Castellana

Sol, the Austrias and La Latina

Kilómetro Cero at Puerta del Sol

Puerta del Sol has a stone plaque in front of the old post office, the Casa de Correos, marking kilometre zero of Spain's six radial roads.

All year

Botín, the oldest restaurant in the world

Sobrino de Botín on Calle Cuchilleros 17 holds the Guinness record as the world's oldest restaurant, open since 1725.

All year

The bocadillo de calamares

The calamari sandwich is Madrid's street food even though the sea is 300 km away: squid rings fried in a plain roll, lemon if you like, never sauce if you ask a purist.

All year, any hour

Chocolatería San Ginés

Chocolatería San Ginés is in the Pasadizo de San Ginés, an alley off Calle Arenal, serving churros and porras with thick hot chocolate since 1894, open 24 hours.

All year, 24 hours

Casa Labra

Casa Labra on Calle Tetuán 12, one minute from Sol, has served tajadas de bacalao, battered cod, and cod croquettes since 1860.

All year

The Sunday vermú in La Latina

La hora del vermú is the Sunday aperitif: vermouth from the tap, de grifo, with soda, an olive and a slice of orange, taken standing in a bar between the Rastro and lunch.

Sundays 12:30 to 15:00, all year

El Rastro

El Rastro is the Sunday morning flea market down Ribera de Curtidores and the streets off it, running since the 1700s.

Sundays and public holidays, 09:00 to 15:00

The cave mesones on Cava de San Miguel

Cava de San Miguel runs along the west wall of Plaza Mayor and its mesones are built into the old cellars: Mesón de la Tortilla, open since 1960, Mesón del Champiñón with the mushrooms and a keyboard player, Mesón del Boquerón.

All year, evenings

views and the Retiro

The Fallen Angel at 666 metres

The Fuente del Ángel Caído in the south of the Retiro is one of the few public statues of Lucifer anywhere, by Ricardo Bellver, 1877, and the plinth sits at 666 m above sea level, which the city insists is a coincidence.

All year

The Azotea of the Círculo de Bellas Artes

The Círculo de Bellas Artes at Calle Alcalá 42 has a rooftop, the Azotea, with the Minerva statue and a full view over Gran Vía, Alcalá and the Metropolis dome next door, the most photographed building in the city.

All year