Madrid location - 2 choices

Go with the second one. Both locations are good, and you will have access to the city by foot and metro, but Plaza Dos de Mayo is closer to the historic center. Calle de Velazquez goes through a much ritzier neighborhood with lots of shopping. It's certainly not a bad place, but it's less interesting to walk through, in my opinion, than the Malasaña neighborhood the Plaza del Dos de Mayo is in.

I stayed near Plaza Dos de Mayo about a year ago (Ibis hotel on Calle de Manuela Malasaña near the Bilboa subway station). The area around Plaza Dos de Mayo was fairly quite, but nearby streets (Calle de Manuela Malasaña & especially Calle de Fuencarral) had a lot of restaurants and bars, mostly younger people. I walked thru the other location, agree with Squiggle, nice and more built up, but maybe less to do, especially if you are younger.

Google street view lets you "walk" both neighborhoods.

Thank you both for your replies. I am not so young. I'm fifty, female, and will be on my own. I'm not looking to party with students, but also don't want high-priced designer shops. Basically looking for the charm of the culture and safety. It sounds like the Plaza Does de Mayo neighborhood is what I'm looking for. If you have any other suggestions, I would love to hear them. Thanks again!

Have you chosen your language school? Don't you want to be near your school?
For charm etc, there is the Huertas neighborhood. There is a language school there that caters more to adults instead of college students. You would still be close to all the major sites, museums, parks, etc.
https://www.tildemadrid.com/

Hi Michelle. Thank you. And yes, that is why I was asking about those neighborhoods - there are schools in both of them for 50+. I will check out the one you referred to, as well.

Jai,
Are you thinking on taking the classes that are specifically designed for seniors which include the cultural activities?
In my research, there were some negative reviews on those programs in regards to the quality of the cultural activities. I also noticed they were pretty expensive compared to the regular classes.
I opted for a semi-intensive course at LAE Madrid with two hours of class in the morning. They offer free cultural activities two afternoons/week, which is sufficient for me, because I plan to tour on my own the other afternoons.

Here's a recent post on TripAdvisor regarding Plaza Dos de Mayo that you might find helpful:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187514-i126-k11176371-Plaza_de_Dos_de_Mayo_for_a_3_month_stay-Madrid.html

Hi Michelle,

Thanks again for your posts. I want to tour on my own, too. And it would also be nice to meet people. I am looking for a mix -- learning Spanish, getting to know Madrid and possibly some nearby places, meeting some people, staying in a nice place, etc. All in a fairly easy-going kind of way. All your posts are really helpful in helping me fine-tune what and where I will end up. All tips are welcome!

And by the way, did I mention that I'm vegetarian? I think that will be a bit hard in Spain.

Thanks again!

Vegetarian? Watch out for what I refer to as "occult ham". It's in everything.

I bought some cookies at a convent bakery in Toledo. It just happened that there was a placard listing the ingredients displayed on the counter. Some of the cookies were made with lard rather than butter or vegetable shortening.

I even saw listed on a menu a salad that contained both tuna and ham. The mind boggles.

Thanks so much acraven. Can one find any delicious and healthy vegetarian food in Spain? I might start a new post about this. I was in Barcelona two summers ago, and food was a bit of a problem. I ended up living on gazpacho, which I am not complaining about because it's delicious. I have found that France has come a long way for vegetarians. My French teacher in Lyon was vegetarian, and I could easily find delicious vegetarian French food in Strasbourg and Toulouse. But Spain ...?

I'm sure you can find good vegetarian food, but it will probably be helpful to have specific suggestions. I think a thread would be a smart move. Also try Google. I bet there are multiple "best vegetarian restaurants in Madrid" lists out there.

As someone who has problems with the extremely late meal hours in Spain, I noshed my way through the San Miguel Market several times. I saw mostly tapas, but quite a variety. One stand had some sort of cheese kebabs. Another had--mixed in with a large variety of offerings--small vegetable kebabs. There's also a stand selling cups of cut-up fruit.

Eventually I started looking at the vegetable sections of the menus posted outside restaurants to be sure there was something in the vegetable category I'd enjoy that was not potatoes. Once or twice I found grilled or roasted vegetables, similar to the vegetable platter available from just about every Italian restaurant I've ever eaten in.

I saw a scarmbled-egg course offered occasionally as part of a 2-course lunch menu-of-the-day. One time it included ham; the other time, it seemed only to have vegetables. That is something you would want to confirm by asking the server, though.

From reading menus I discovered that to a Spaniard, fish may be considered a vegetarian food, so that's something else to think about.

I didn't try pizza in Spain, but that might be worth considering. The 2 or 3 pizzas I had in France were not quite up to Italian standards, but they were still very good.

Hi Acraven. Thanks again for your complete reply. This gives me a lot of insight into what I am likely to find. I will look around adventurously and keep an eye out to make sure I stay vegetarian. I have been vegetarian for decades, and it suits me. I really appreciate your taking the time to answer me so thoroughly. Take care!