First day in Madrid

Madrid is a very walkable city with great people watching. While you fight jet lag, visit the Tourist Information office at Plaza Major and possibly join an English-language walking tour. I'm assuming you and your companions are in agreement about how you'll spend your time together, but if there is something that interests you more than the others, that's what you should do. Perhaps visit an art museum like the Reina Sofia, have a few tapas and turn in early.

I travel alone. Usually I get to my hotel, check in when my room is ready, and rest up. Until my room is ready I store my luggage at the hotel then walk around the neighborhood, getting oriented. I recommend having a hotel reservation and a plan for how you are going to get from the airport to the hotel. In advance, understand when check-in time is. I almost always arrive at the airport early in the am, so can't always access my hotel room until around noon. Walking around in daylight will help you recover from jetlag. I rest, read, drink tea, eat a light meal, walk some more. By 9 or 10pm I turn out the light. I use a prescription sleeping medication every night, so I just keep on my regular schedule and get over jetlag quickly.

If dining is a priority, you should be conscious that the Spanish really do eat their evening meal very late. An early arrival at a serious restaurant is 9 p.m. This is not so much a safety issue as a matter of keeping your eyes open through three courses. Your hotel should be able to give advice on eating earlier, perhaps in its own restaurant. The Maribel series of guides has a good reputation for reliable food tips; here is a link to her Madrid research http://maribelsguides.com/mg_madriddining.pdf

Waiting for the 9:00 dinner hour was often out of the question for us, especially jet lagged. You can always get tapas early. Several tapas, and you have a meal.

Thank you for the wonderful suggestions. I do have a hotel reservation and a walking tour sounds like a wonderful idea to keep me up and moving! Tapas are at the top of my list, so an early dinner seems like a great plan!

That's right. WALK! But that's after checking-in, taking a shower, and maybe even a short nap - IF YOU MUST. It's highly recommended that you stick-it-out until night to sleep in order to get your body's clock on-schedule. If you want to "KISS", ("Keep It Simple, Stupid" ;-), go to the Plaza Mayor, sit down at one of the terrace bars and order a glass of wine - OR A COFFEE! - and have something light until your 2pm lunchtime. After that, walk around the Royal Palace area, Opera, and then on to the Puerta del Sol and breeze through the Huertas neighborhood and the Plaza Santa Ana - where you'll also want to sit-down for another glass of wine and maybe something to eat. Best of luck and Happy Travels to Madrid!! Saludos, MadridMan - AND BarcelonaMan - @ you-know-where!

I know everyone suggests walking, but if you're as exhausted as we sometimes are after an overnight flight I suggest the great hop-on, hop-off bus in Madrid. You can get a great feel for the entire city and if you do need to walk, just get off and walk around one of the dozens of great stops, and you can get right back on when you choose...they run quite often.