Has anyone been to Madrid recently? If you have, I'd love to hear whether the city's core is relatively car-free. My husband and I are going to Madrid at the end of February and I've been preparing by listening to Rick's audio talks with local guides. I don't know how old these talks are, but they keep referring to how effectively "pedestrianized" the city has become. Rick said the same thing about the center of Florence, but when we visited last spring, we found cars and pedestrians in a treacherous head-to-head battle on busy streets. I'm hoping we'll be able to walk most of Madrid in greater safety.
Posted by
North Italy
473 posts
We were there ten days ago and it was one of the many things we loved about Madrid. Most of the centre is pedestrian and even when traffic is allowed there are wide sidewalks for example on Gran Via, or between Puerta del Sol and down along Paseo del Arte or around Palacio Real. There's lots of space and so cars and pedestrians are mostly totally seperate
Posted by
WI
385 posts
Madrid's touristic center has a number of areas that are very friendly to pedestrians and tourists who are not familiar with the territory. Lots of plazas (Plaza de Santa Ana, Plaza Mayor, area near Teatro Real / Opera, area near the Royal Palace, etc.) and neighborhoods with narrow streets (e.g., area around Calle de la Cruz near Puerta del Sol) that are people friendly and full of bars and restaurants.
However "walk most of Madrid" you will find it is still a large urban area with its share of cars and traffic. I haven't been to Florence but I assume it's similar in that it's also a big city.
In any case, it's easy to find busy areas that are good for walking and spaces designed for the public in Madrid (near enough to the busy traffic). Madrid is great, I think you'll love it!