Short Breaks in Madrid

Day 2: Parque del Buen Retiro, Calle de Fuencarral, Bullfighting at Las Ventas

What you do on your second day may well depend on how late you were out the night before. And you could do a lot worse than to visit the park of El Retiro. Strolling through its rich green expanses, observing Madrileño families and friends doing just the same, it’s difficult to imagine that this park was once the preserve of royals and their entourage. Thankfully times have changed, and a Sunday walk in the park is as much a part of the Madrid experience as tapas and late nights. Particularly under the fierce summer heat, lounging a while in the shade of the trees can provide a welcome respite from the fierce glare. Street performers do their stuff along the boulevards that surround the small lake, and you can also hire a rowing boat at the northern end at a cost of about four euros for a forty-five minute stint on the water.

Calle de Fuencarral is also of interest, if not the first place that springs to mind on the typical tourist’s list. Just a ten minute walk from the Puerta del Sol, not only are there some decent cheap hotels to stay around here, but there are also a mass of shoe and alternative fashion shops lining the roadside. The Museo Municipal is located on the street, and offers a fairly interesting, if not comprehensive, history of the Madrid’s transformation into a modern capital city. There are also a couple of decent budget places to dine like La Comacha which serves excellent paella and tapas, whilst Colby is a pretty cool restaurant, where filling pasta, pizza and meat dishes can be purchased for eight to ten euros. Add to this the hustle and bustle of the crowds on a weekend night, and it is clear this quirky neighbourhood can provide plenty of fun. 

On Sunday evenings, from seven p.m., bullfighting takes place at the grand Plaza de Toros Monumental de Las Ventas. Tickets go on sale at the box office outside the plaza from ten a.m. until two p.m., and from five p.m. till eight p.m. Don’t be confused by signs on the side of the exterior indicating no tickets available unless you attend during the Fiesta de San Isidro (in May) or happen to be in town when a popular bullfight is on, then you’ll have no problem finding tickets.