GPS for walking around Madrid

I agree with Michael. No need for one. Make the PdS metro station your first stop; Plaza Mayor is five minutes west and Prado maybe fifteen minutes east -- all three are on the same axis. After that you'll have the lay of the land. But, since you asked the GPS question and want a recommendation: the Garmin nuvi 775T is probably the best. It's primarily an automotive model, but small and thin enough that you can dismount it and stick it in your pocket. Battery life is good. Price is steep; around $350. I've never really found a hand-held that I liked for traveling although I have a couple that I use for other stuff.

Now, for what I THINK I know, but stand ready to be corrected by the intelligencia/geeks: the ipod and similar devices with a GPS funtion aren't satellite-only (they get some input from ground-based systems). To do this, they require that the machine's data function be turned on. This is super-expensive. I've heard/read horror stories of folks who didn't switch data off on leaving the U. S. and come home to staggering bills although they never used any of the data-based applications while overseas.

Apropos of zilch, scattered around the Plaza Mayor and the streets leading to it are a bunch of stand-up ham joints. I've unremembered the name, but you'll spot them easily enough. They all have the same sign in the window: ham sandwich for a euro, beer for a euro, coffee for a euro. One of the true great bargains left in europe.

Chase: I just returned from Spain yesterday and will suggest that you’re not going to need a GPS unit to help you navigate the streets of Madrid on foot. The area of the city you’ll be interested in visiting is quite compact…all sites are no more than a 15-20 minute walk of Puerta del Sol. Simply use the street map in any decent guidebook and/or the free copy your hotel distributes…they’re good enough. Like many historic centers in European cities, the streets aren’t on a grid system and can be sort of confusing at first. Puerta del Sol is the center…major streets spoke out from there. It’s easy once you get a feel for it. Good luck, and enjoy this wonderful city!

Thanks guys..much appreciated.. maybe i wont get one. I was thinking about it for day trips outside of Madrid but you are probably right about not needing it...how was spain? where did you stay? any suggestions?

Chase,
Depending on how long you're staying, you might want to consider renting an apartment. That's what my wife and I did for 4 days this past May. It was an easy metro ride to Sol. We had a great time, it was nice to stay in a regular neighborhood instead of in a tourist hotel. Plenty of things to see, we hung out at Plaza Mayor and walked our tails off to Palacio Real, El Museo Prado and every place else. The shops selling bocadillos were great for getting a small lunch to keep us going. And don't forget to get an horchata, it's delicious! Not like the horchata made from rice that we have here. We even took a 40 minute walk back to our apartment after sightseeing all day. Have fun, you'll love it.

I’ll recommend Hostal Acapulco right in the center of Madrid. A quad room with terrace overlooking Plaza del Carmen was €85 per night. This lodging is very clean, not touristy, and number one on tripadvisor. Check out tripadvisor for reviews and photos. It’s about half a block down from the Gran Via and a couple of blocks up from Hotel Europa and Puerta del Sol. I’ll stay there again. Favorite tapas bars in Madrid were Casa Toni, Oreja de Oro, and Cerveceria de Santa Ana. Museo del Jamon was sort of fast food-ish. It’s a chain with several locations in the old center (very cheap, however, with €1 drinks). The Prado is free from 6-8 pm…no crowds this time of year…we went twice. I would recommend taking advantage of this freebie. We also enjoyed free admission to the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía one evening. Don’t miss these museums. Daytrips are easy…El Escorial is about an hour NW by train….20 minute walk to Atocha station from PdS. Segovia was easy by bus…25 minute walk to Principe Pio shopping center/bus terminal from PdS. The only downside to the bus is that an evening return to Madrid means rush hour traffic as soon as you hit the city…40 extra minutes added to the trip. Time it to avoid rush hour traffic. We planned for Toledo, but unforeseen circumstances precluded us from visiting…bummer. The Christmas lights in Madrid are among the best I’ve seen anywhere. The entire city is adorned with lights above the streets and huge Christmas trees in the plazas and parks…incredible! El Corte Ingles department store is decorated with large snow flake lights timed to Christmas Music...very cool. There’s an über-busy confectionary on the west side of PdS…perfect for yemas and marzipan. Hope that’s enough to get you started!

Good advice on Hotel Acapulco- we paid 64 Euros for each of three nights at the end of September, free internet... five minute walk to Gran Via and Puerto del Sol Metro....Casa Toni our best tapas... Destination restaurant: Gloria De Montera, 2 minute walk from Gran Via station- excellent, if we were staying longer we would have returned. great gelato place as you walk back to hotel from Gran Via metro...enjoy

Right on! thanks a bunch... i cant wait... one last question and i'll leave you guys alone... best paella, flamenco? and did you go to Botins? is Botin worth the visit?

Those last two questions are rough ones. The best flamenco is probably down south, around Seville. I'd suspect in Madrid it'll be mostly real touristy stuff. Ask around when you get there. Paella is hard as well. Lived in Spain as a kid; loved the stuff. Now the authentic dishes are hard to find. What to avoid are the hundreds of places all over the country with a big poster out front showing four kinds -- these are some kind of mass produced, microwave crap -- it'll gag a maggot. Paella takes hours to cook. Find some out of the way place on a back street and study the menu outside. If it lists paella without a stinking picture, go give it a try.

I agree with Ed regarding paella…very bad paella (basically fast food) may be found all over Madrid. I can recommend two very good options: (1) The seafood paella at Cerveceria de Santa Ana (on Plaza Santa Ana) was very authentic and very good, and (2) The vegetarian paella at Artemis Tres Cruces in Plaza del Carmen was veggy but traditional in its preparation and excellent. In fact, this place has combination platters for two that allow you to sample several veggy menu items…excellent! We opted for Zarzuela over Flamenco, but there weren’t any operas at the theater while we were in town. We walked by Botin’s, but the reviews weren’t that great…skipped it. Also, we were looking forward to sampling churros...they were just okay in my opinion...nothing special.

Thanks for all the advice...i'll shoot an update when i get back....

Chase: A few random things you might find helpful or at least mildly interesting to know about. We found the Aerocity shuttle to be a great way to get from Barajas to Madrid and back. Their on-line booking engine was down, so I booked via www.gomadrid.com. It’s secure, so no issue with providing credit card details (BTW, this is a great website for visitors). Select the shared shuttle option…€26 one-way for four of us and we ended up with our own shuttle…no extra stops. There’s a big Christmas Market in Plaza Mayor…cheapo decorations for sale…sort of detracts from the beauty of the plaza (and the knock-off Winnie the Pooh & Mickey/Minnie Mouse characters walking around selling balloons were interesting). If adhering to copyright laws isn't an issue for you (it is for me), you’ll find opportunities to buy pirated copies of the latest films. Twice, we had young guys walk right into our tapas bar flashing DVDs of Twilight New Moon. There’s a sizeable police presence in Puerta del Sol. One evening we enjoyed watching a political demonstration from a distance for a few minutes…something about anti-capitalism/anti-privatization of part of the social security system…dozens of police vans and perhaps a hundred officers (a lot anyway) but no trouble whatsoever. It was an interesting moment…authentic. Have a great trip & enjoy Madrid!

PS: If you want to dig deep into the heart and soul of Spain and really understand the history & culture, buy or borrow a copy of James A. Michener’s Iberia. Fascinating and trip enhancing to be sure!

Great suggestions will look those up... i did have another question...what would you suggest regarding currency exchange, credit cards vs debt cards...did you find one currency exchange location better then another, much difference? I was told i should just do it at the airport but i always find airports to charge way too much for anything...

While I always take two different credit cards with me, I never plan on using them and have always opted for cash from ATMs using my credit union debit card. I also have never found it necessary to exchange dollars for Euro before I leave, but others like to have some cash on them when they arrive (preference). You’ll find at least one location at the airport with a couple of ATMs as you’re walking to the exit/baggage claim. I believe one is tied to a bank (Santander I think), so it’s good to use…not sure about the second machine. Get a few hundred Euro there, and you’ll be able to pay for your transport into the city and have enough for a couple of days. I would steer clear of the currency exchange places…high fees and bad exchange rates. Again, I just pay cash for everything…bank ATMs are all over central Madrid. Just be sure to contact your bank and credit card companies to let them know you’re travelling overseas…your bank can also raise your daily ATM withdrawal limit so you can get more cash in a single ATM transaction. If your hotel takes credit cards, you could pay for your room with the credit card and then pay the bill as soon as you get it in the mail (but there may be extra fees). Otherwise, you shouldn’t need the credit card unless an emergency pops up. My last tip is to consider travel insurance. I had never considered it before but bought a $76 Travelex Basic policy that covered 4 for this trip, primarily to protect us from cancellation/interruption should someone fall ill with something like H1N1 immediately before or during our trip, but it covers a lot more. We didn’t need to use it, but it gave us some peace of mind. Good luck!

We carry a couple of ATM cards and the usual assortment of credit cards. Gas, hotel, and big meals go on CC which (as always) is paid to zero the day after it arrives. We snag cash from ATMs every two or three days so that we're not toting more than we can afford to loose. Our ATM cards are fee-free. We figure that the relatively small foreign tranaction fees on credit cards are worth the worry of not having excessive cash floating around. For us, on any given trip, the FTFs amount to less than one percent of the total trip cost -- much less than what we spend for coffee. The ATMs of any of the big Spanish banks are fine and offer the best exchange rate you can find.

Thanks again for all the advice...just two more weeks ...cant wait.....have a great holiday...and if you think of any other helpful info please post...

Chase