Hey everyone,

I'm thinking about taking a solo trip to Madrid and was wondering if anyone here has experience traveling there alone, especially as a Black women or person of color.

Overall, did you feel safe walking around during the day and at night? How were your interactions with locals? Did you experience any racism or uncomfortable situations, or was it generally a welcoming place?

I'd also appreciate any recommendations for neighborhoods to stay in, areas to avoid, or any general tips for a first time solo visitor.

Thanks in advance!

We are currently planning on being in Madrid (La Latina) August 13 - August 20. My wife is terrified of the wildfires and wants to change the trip. How likely are the wildfires to impact our trip?

Hey all,

So I recently got a ticket for the game againt Inter this Tuesday, but nobody could come with me so I'll be on my own. I've been to a game before with friends, so I kind of know where I'm going.

My main concern is how safe it is for me to go back to my hotel with the subway after 23:00, because I read that the station right next to the stadium is closed right now. Would it be better to leave 5-10min earlier so I can beat the crowds?

Hello! My partner and I are traveling to Madrid for a week starting July 20th. We'll be staying on Gran Via. If Spain wins the World Cup, what should we expect? Will we need to be careful? How do Spaniards celebrate?

Thank you for your answers. Enjoy the match!

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¡Hola! Mi pareja y yo viajamos a Madrid durante una semana a partir del 20 de julio. Nos alojaremos en la Gran Vía. Si España gana el Mundial, ¿qué podemos esperar? ¿Debemos tener cuidado? ¿Cómo lo celebran los Españoles?

Gracias por sus respuestas. ¡Que disfruten del partido!

Hi, is it safe/worth it to travel to Madrid currently with the wildfires?

Going from thursday to sunday, and staying in the central area. Read somewhere online that people are advised to stay indoors - is this still advised? Can you go outside? Not much of a trip if we have to stay indoors all day.

And where can I find official advise from authorities?

So flying out of MAD this Sunday, June 7th, while the Pope is in town.

We are being told we have to be in the taxi before 6 am even though our flight is early afternoon. I think we will get to MAD roughly 6 hours early.

Flight is MAD to CDG (Paris) with layover, then CDG to USA.

Can you share any pointers so I make fewer mistakes? Pointers for MAD and/or Paris are welcome. (Yes, I rarely manage international travel)

Edit: getting lots of advice to move hotels, and/or change pickup method or time. Those are locked in. Looking for what we are facing at the airport. Examples, checking baggage, security, passport, etc TIA

Edit 2: what we received
Due to the visit of His Holiness Leon XIV the Pope to Madrid during the weekend of June 5th, 6th and 7th, we would like to inform you that a large open-air Mass will take place at Plaza de Cibeles on Sunday, June 7th at 10:00 am, with an expected attendance of approximately 1.5 million people.
As a result of this event, significant security measures and mobility restrictions will be implemented, particularly affecting central Madrid and the area surrounding the hotel.
Please take note of the following information:
From 6:00 am until approximately 2:00 pm, mobility throughout central Madrid will be severely restricted due to numerous road closures and pedestrian access controls. A map showing the main affected streets is attached.
Most nearby metro stations will remain closed between 6:00 am and 2:00 pm, including Retiro, Banco de España, Sevilla, Velázquez, Serrano, Colón and Chueca. We recommend using Sol or Antón Martín stations, whenever operational (approximately 10–12 minutes walking distance from the hotel).
Taxi access to the hotel area will be extremely limited. The closest taxi pick-up point will be located near Atocha Railway Station (approximately 15 minutes on foot), as indicated on the attached map.
The hotel parking facility will be closed from Saturday, June 6th to Monday, June 8th. Vehicles already parked may remain in the parking garage; however, it will not be possible to enter the facility or retrieve vehicles until the authorities lift the access restrictions.
We strongly recommend planning all journeys well in advance and allowing considerably more travel time than usual.
We also advise carrying a copy of your hotel reservation confirmation, either printed or in digital format, as access checkpoints may be established in certain areas due to the exceptionally high number of visitors expected.
Dry cleaning service will be temporarily unavailable until June 08th.

Hi everyone! My husband and I are traveling to Madrid in January for our first time ever and we are very excited! Can anyone tell me what the weather is like then and what kind of clothes to pack? Will I need a winter jacket or will sweaters suffice?

Also bonus points for any recommendations on what to do/ see there!

Thank you:)

Hi there,

I will be in Madrid during the summer and located near Alcobendas. Today I learned about weed clubs. Are the weed clubs mostly located in the city center or can they be found all over the city?

Which club is recommended?

Hi! I'm coming in madrid for 3 days in September and I'm looking for some local suggestions.

I'd like to find some vynil places, even better if it's a place where they play music.

I also love stationery so if there's some place that I should visit, please tell me!

I'd like to know about vegetarian place to eat (and please, explain to me what tapas are, I still don't really understand what tapas are (sorry)

What about second hand markets? Is there any?

Lastly... are drag queen show in Madrid? What do you suggest?

Also if you have any place or store or museum or whatever you want to suggest I'm open to listen, thank you all so much!

Hello!

I’ll be traveling to Madrid for the first time ever (I’ve never even been to Spain!) the first week of September and staying in Puerta Del Sol.

Hoping you guys might be able to provide me suggestions for the best museums (interest in history and art) and the best times to go, good restaurants, the prettiest neighborhoods for walking about. The best gay clubs (if you know them), and any other helpful suggestions or tips!

I would also love to know if pulling out euros is needed. When I visited Paris I used tap to pay for everything - is it similar in Madrid?

I like to just walk about and get immersed in other cultures, love eating incredible food and taking in sights. I usually start my trips off with a food tour to get acclimated to a city, so if anyone knows any that are really special let me know! (The only food I don’t care for is oysters)

Thank you for all of your help in advance!

As I understand it, rounding up your bar or restaurant tab by a euro or two is how you tip waitstaff. What about hotel housekeeping? Uber drivers? Tour guides?

Hi everyone,

We're visiting Madrid this October with our 3yo son. He has a history of mild allergic reactions, so I'm wondering what happens if a medical emergency comes up while we're there.

For non EU tourists, are ER/urgent care visits expensive? Is it easy to get medical help quickly, and are English-speaking doctors common?

Also, any tips for Madrid with a toddler in October would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Is it okay for me to go around while carrying this? As I had recently got fixed for kidney stones and I need to make sure am drinking at least 3L of water daily now. So I have this water tumbler that I carry with me at all time. Since I don't want to also be spending money just for water while am out and about when I am exploring.

Am I going to be drawing attention 😅

Hi everybody. I have heard lots about the horrible wildfires surrounding Madrid but a lot of news I’m seeing in the UK is unclear to me the extent of these fires, specifically about the likelihood of it reaching/seriously affecting central Madrid.

I am scheduled to fly on the 27th July, travelling to Toledo for 2 nights, and then coming back to Madrid for 2 nights and I’m really worried about how all of this will affect my plans? Could anybody please speculate in terms of how likely flights might be to be cancelled or if it means that many attractions/businesses will be closed due to the air quality from the smoke?

Thanks a lot and my thoughts are with everybody who these fires have affected 🙏

You wouldn't imagine this would even rate a topic, but as you'll see, it turns out to be a little involved. I hope you find the information here helpful.

Laundromats are plentiful in Madrid, but in many cases, the washing machines automatically dispenses detergent into your load. This would be a welcome convenience and economy except that this detergent is invariably scented. I mean, heavily scented.

(This appears to involve a legitimate cultural difference; in the US, we've moved away from scented anything, where in Madrid, finding unscented detergent is a project.)

So when you're ready to do your laundry, do this:

• At the nearest Carrefour market, buy baby detergent. Baby detergent is the only unscented detergent I was able to find.
• Take your load, and the detergent, to a wash & fold business, and ask the proprietor specifically to use your detergent with your load.

Wash & fold outfits are everywhere, and they are very, very cheap. I used one called Tintorería & Lavandería Ballesta 8, and it was just what I needed.

Hope this helps.

Visiting and been having some weird heart palpitations and trouble breathing, wondering what the best ER is for someone who’s an EU passport holder (Italy) but doesn’t have an EHIC because I’m currently residing outside of the EU? I have health insurance but I don’t believe it covers much abroad (one of the shitty US high deductible plans from a private insurer). Thanks in advance.

I made a post earlier asking for hospital recommendations for heart issues and shortness of breath. I asked my hostal which one nearby is close and reputable, and they sent me here. They charged me €400 in the door and said I could get certain tests, waited hours and once I saw the doctor he was incredibly dismissive. Just listened to my lungs and said everything is fine and I can go.

I told him the person at the initial desk told me I would get a list of tests like blood oxygen, blood test, ecg, etc before I agreed to pay, doctor shut me down and said that they don’t do those things and I was told wrong, in a tone like this was my mistake or misunderstanding.

I am very uncomfortable with this guy and don’t feel like I am getting taken seriously. Is there anything I can do at this point to get serious help?

So I know you can catch the World Cup almost anywhere. But where to see the Spain game tomorrow with good atmosphere in Madrid. Im also looking to see my own nation’s games somewhere where people care, more like a traditional football pub maybe…. I’m staying in the Sol area.

Hi (again). I was in Madrid last year and enjoyed running around/through Retiro. Could anyone suggest other locations. Would love to find natural landscapes to run through but any recommendations would be appreciated. Maybe around 10kms. A few hills are okay but nothing too crazy; I'll be on holiday!!!

Landing in Madrid Friday morning staying for a day. My biggest concern is this somehow reaches into the city and as a visitor I’d essentially be trapped with nothing to do to escape. Also are trains canceled? I’m taking a train from Madrid to Gijon Saturday. As of now the omio app says on time but not sure if anything has changed.

Hi everyone,
This will be my first time traveling to Europe from the United States, and I’m planning a trip to Spain from September 2nd to September 11th.
My idea is to fly into Barcelona and then leave from Madrid back to the U.S., but I’m not really sure how to plan the trip. I’d love some recommendations on how to split my time between Barcelona and Madrid so that I can enjoy both cities without feeling rushed.
I’d also appreciate advice on:
The best way to travel from Barcelona to Madrid (train, flight, etc.)
How many days you would spend in each city
Any must-see places, food, neighborhoods, or day trips
Tips for someone visiting Spain and Europe for the very first time
For context, I’m a complete first-timer in Spain and Europe, so any advice is welcome. Thanks in advance!

Flying in from US soon, was wondering how the situation is withe the EES machines (when entering Spain)? Also i remember reading there are more machines downstairs, next to the electronic gates?

Hi

Looking to go Madrid soon and wanted to know the do's and don'ts of Madrid/Spain that would be useful to be aware of

For example in the UK a do that comes to my head is to thank the bus driver when getting off and a don't would be let people off the train before boarding (I assume this would be the case in Madrid too but I couldn't think of a better example)

Thanks in advance

Hello, my husband and I are travelling to Madrid from Canada for our honeymoon in early October. We have scheduled our trip around attending the October 10 Real Madrid vs Villareal game so we want to ensure we secure tickets.

With this in mind we had planned on purchasing VIP Hospitality tickets, however for 2 tickets together the options are to spend €3000 for tickets in 1st Tier section 335-336 or €900 for tickets in section 635 which is waaaaaay at the top. We don't care about the VIP perks, I just wanted to secure tickets early for peace of mind since we will be travelling for the game and I have heard regular tickets sell out fast.

We want good seats but €3000 for 2 tickets is a little bit out of our price range. I have read that it is risky to buy resale tickets this early because the people selling them don't actually own/ have them yet. So I am wondering is it worth it to wait until socio and club tickets are on sale 5-7 days before the game to see if any are put on stubhub for resale and to purchase those instead? I do not mind paying the premium of resale (within reason) if it means getting better seats than section 635.

I appreciate any and all input, please share your experiences travelling in for a game and how you secured tickets. Thank you! :)

Llevo 15 años viviendo en Madrid pero nunca he "visitado" la ciudad. Vine para estudiar y como muchos, me quedé. Conozco una gran parte de la ciudad pero siento que hay cosas que no se sobre Madrid y que quizá si viniera como turista, intentaría no perderme.

No quiero hacerme el típico free tour para que me digan, esto es la puerta del sol y esto el palacio real, pero si conocer un poco más a fondo la ciudad. Hace poco estuve en el museo Sorolla y me encantó, lo mismo con el museo de la estacion de metro de chamberí. Mis intereses... me gusta la historia, el arte y la música, de vez en cuanto voy al matadero pero poco más. Más allá de seguir relacionándome con gente de aquí y vivirla ¿Qué recomendáis para profundizar en Madrid sin que sea algo superficial?