Madrid as a City Break.

[bqkali]

I will also post my train reviews (and Madrid also) when I get back. I leave NY on April 17, returning the 27th, and will have rode the train about a half dozen times throughout Spain during that time.

[jjferr]

Well, I will certainly check back in once we've completed our trip and give you my review of Renfe. Congratulations on the 20 year anniversary. Which itinerary is the Brilliance doing for 12 days? I thought the only 12 day ones it did were the same itinerary I am on (Sicily, Athens, Rhodes, Alexandria, Malta, Cyprus except it added Port Said, Egypt) but that was later on in the year.

 

Our itinerary is Villefranche (Nice), Livorno, Civitavecchia, Mykonos, Kusadasi, Santorini, Piraeus, and Naples. We have been to four of these ports already. We are really looking forward to the Greek ports.

[ManOfSnow]

Our itinerary is Villefranche (Nice), Livorno, Civitavecchia, Mykonos, Kusadasi, Santorini, Piraeus, and Naples. We have been to four of these ports already. We are really looking forward to the Greek ports.

 

Of all the ports you listed, I've only been to Villefranche (Nice). I picked our cruise because it didn't hit Italy. As much as I love cruises, I just can't see Rome in 1 port day. :)

[ManOfSnow]

True to my word I promised I'd give a review of the Renfe service (and a bit of our trip in Madrid)

 

First, in regards to Renfe's service from Madrid to Barcelona: It could not have been any easier to take the train. I was a bit nervous at first having not been on a train very often, but all of that was for nothing. Booking the tickets was a bit tedious because I didn't really understand how the Renfe worked. Once I got past that with help of this forum and Maribel's Madrid guide, it was a breeze. We arrived at the Atocha station about 45 minutes before our train was to depart. Put our 3 tons of luggage in the coach and we were on our way. I am sure some say that the scenery between Madrid and Barcelona is nothing fantastic, but I thought it was pretty. We had blue skies the whole trip and I found watching the windmills, etc. fascinating. The ride was so smooth, however, that my wife was asleep in just about 5 minutes. I'd highly recomend RENFE to travel in and around Spain and I would definitely take it again.

 

Second, Madrid:

 

It was fantastic. We arrived at about 8:30am on Saturday and immediately took a taxi from the airport to the hotel ME in the Plaza de Santa Anna. We got there at about 10am and were told that our room wasn't ready (we certainly didn't expect it to be), but if we came back in 45 minutes they'd do their best to clean one for us now! Wow, were we impressed. We checked in, dropped off our luggage and walked around for about an hour. Of course, everything was pretty much closed at 11am on a Saturday in Madrid, so we went back and our room was ready. We got our room, took a much needed 2 hour nap, showered and went out to the city. The hotel was fantastic. It was very modern and clean and the location was ideal. We definitely felt like we were in the center of the action. The front desk staff were all young and very helpful. The room itself was very different. The hotel has a very "South Beach" theme, so it has neon lights, everything is white, flat panel TVs. It's not exactly my style, but my wife loved it. I loved the fact that they had US electrical outlets and free wifi. This way I could charge my iPhone and other electronics. The shower also had multiple shower jets that hit your back as well as your head. Overall, I'd definitely recomend this hotel and stay there again.

 

We picked up the Madrid Vision bus (hop on, hop off) and went around the city. We didn't have time to go to any of the museums, and we're not big museum people, so we skipped them. We went to a few churches near the Prado, the Botanical Gardens, and my wife did plenty of shopping down the Plaza del Sol.

 

On Saturday night we asked the concierge what restaurant they recomended and they pointed us in the direction of a small local restaurant that served traditional Spanish dishes. Overall, we were not that impressed. The tapas, vegetables and side dishes were pretty good, but our main course was not that good. I probably wouldn't go back again. As a side note, it seemed that people in Madrid were more typical Spanish than what I found in Barcelona last year. What I mean is that we found typical siestas where stores were closed during the day (didn't really see that in Barcelona) and when we ate at about 10pm we were the only people in the restaurant. It wasn't until about 11:30, when we were leaving, did people start coming in. When we were in Barcelona, we ate at about 9:30 and the restaurant was packed.

 

Later Saturday night we went to a traditional Flamenco show. It was one of the ones recomended on this thread, if interested, I can pull it up. It was pretty good, but didn't seem as good as the one we went to last year in Barcelona. We did go to the second "late" show at 12:00am.

 

Sunday morning we slept in a bit to catch up on some sleep and headed out to do some souvenir shopping near our hotel. We headed to plaza mayor where a flea market type event was going on. People were selling coins and other collectibles. We then headed over to the Royal Palace and went inside. Wow, is that place impressive. My wife got yelled at by a guard for taking a picture of the grand stair case. I've never been inside a palace before, so I don't have much to compare it to, but wow. Later that day we hopped back on the opposite line of the Madrid Vision bus and saw the rest of the city. The new part of Madrid is fairly uninteresting. We headed back to the Plaza del Sol for some more shopping and we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe (I know, typical American!). Later that day we took the metro up to the Plaza de Toros and saw a bullfight. It was not exactly what I expected and now that I've seen it I can safely say I don't ever need to see it again. For dinner we ate at an Italian restaurant (we didn't exactly want to eat meat :)) that the hotel recomended. This time, the concierge hit the nail on the head as it was excellent and I would definitely recomend it! Monday morning we woke up and took the train to Barcelona for our cruise.

 

Overall, we had a fantastic time and we were so happy we stayed in Madrid before our cruise. It was a great start to what turned out to be a fantastic cruise and vacation. If anyone has any questions on Madrid, please let me know!

[bqkali]

I'll keep my review of Madrid brief, but I am happy to answer any questions and will check back on this thread just in case :)

 

We went to Madrid at the end of a land-based tour through Spain. We started in Barcelona, flew to Granada, bussed to Nerja, then bus to Malaga, train to Cordoba, and finally train to Madrid. We also day tripped to Segovia from Madrid, so we are now pretty good at getting around the country lol.

 

Overall, we found Renfe to be very comfortable, very easy, and very punctual. There was no need to arrive at the train station too early; it is a quick process to board. You will need to go through basic security and then present a boarding pass and walk onboard. Seats on the train are assigned so be sure to know which car of the train your seat is in and board accordingly.

 

For our train from Malaga to Cordoba, we rode business class "Preferente". If the cost difference is not too large, we would recommend it. It is quieter, there is more room, and the service was lovely but not intrusive. However, our experience in coach was also great. They also showed movies (in both coach and preferente) IN ENGLISH on the train. Headphones were provided. As a side note, we also found the buses convenient. Regardless of bus or train, you MUST be able to handle your own luggage.

 

About Madrid: We saw the Reina Sofia, Prado, Botanical Gardens, Royal Palace, Retiro Park, Templo de Debod, and several of the main squares. Contrary to the other poster, we felt that Barcelona was more "Spanish" than Madrid (though most of the smaller cities we visited were even more Spanish). While in Madrid, I almost felt as if I may as well have been in NYC at times...personal opinion only. The pace of life seemed much faster with people on the go all the time.

 

Again, let me know if you have any questions.

[jjferr]

Thanks for your review of Madrid. We are looking forward to our visit there in July.

[ManOfSnow]

Contrary to the other poster, we felt that Barcelona was more "Spanish" than Madrid (though most of the smaller cities we visited were even more Spanish). While in Madrid, I almost felt as if I may as well have been in NYC at times...personal opinion only. The pace of life seemed much faster with people on the go all the time.

 

I can definitely understand what you mean here. Madrid definitely felt more "big city." I certainly felt like I was in the capital rather than in a Spanish town. I felt that the "new Madrid" was no different than just about any other big city that I've ever been to. Now that I think of it, I think I'll say that the people in Madrid seem more "Spanish" than the people in Barcelona, even though the city of Barcelona did seem to be more "Spanish" as a city. The architecture and sites in Barcelona definitely felt very Spanish, but I felt the way that a lot of things were setup were setup to be very touristy. Madrid didn't seem very touristy to me. I've been to 3 different cities in Spain (Vigo, Madrid, and Barcelona) and they all seemed very different.