[Bridges] Information on visiting Madrid

[bridges at lists.uwaterloo.ca]

For those of you who are interested in seeing Madrid as part of your
trip to Bridges Donostia, we invite you to read this personal guide,
written by Paco Gomez.  The same information is also available on the
Bridges website here:

 	http://www.bridgesmathart.org/2007/2007-madrid.html

Please contact Paco if you have any questions!

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PERSONAL GUIDE TO MADRID

By Paco Gomez (fmartin at eui.upm.es)

ACCOMODATION

I wouldn't stay at the hostels around La Puerta del Sol. Many of them
are expensive, and the whole area is very noisy due to nightlife. Let
me recommend you Apartamentos Tribunal
(http://www.hotel-tribunal.com/index.html). They speak English, have an
on-line reservation system, and are nice to people. I've been using
this Apartamentos Tribunal for years to put people visiting me,
colleagues, conference attendees, etc. Those are little apartments,
very clean and neat, with a small kitchen.

Near Apartamentos Tribunal there is a metro station, Tribunal station
(less than 20 meters from the lobby of the appartments), as well as a
taxi station (50 meters away from the lobby). The area I'm recommending
you is 15 minutes away from La Puerta del Sol on foot. La puerta de Sol
is the heart of downtown Madrid.

HOW TO GO TO SAN SEBASTIAN FROM MADRID

By train: The metro (line 1, the blue one) takes you directly to the
train station. In Madrid there are three main train stations: Atocha,
Prncipe Po and Chamartin.  Usually, trains to North leave from Chamartin
station, which is located in the north of Madrid. All the three train
stations have trains that take you from one station to the rest. From
Tribunal metro station you can go directly to Atocha train station, and
from there to Chamartin. Sometimes trains to the north leave from
Atocha; this should be checked out.

By bus: For buying bus tickets, check
http://www.continental-auto.es/index.do. The bus station has a metro
station called Avenida de America. How to get there? At the Tribunal
metro station take line 10, the dark blue one, to Alonso Martinez. Then
switch to line 5, the green one, all the way to Avenida de America.
There you'll see a big bus station. Look for a bus company called
Continental-Auto.

By airplane: From Apartamentos Tribunal to the airport I just recommend
to take a taxi. Out of peak hours it should cost around 30 euros. To
get there by bus you have to go to Avenida de America; see instructions
on the previous paragraph. Once there, take bus 200 (for details on
Madrid buses check http://www.emtmadrid.es/services/index.html). It
goes straight to the airport.

CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

There are many things that you can see in Madrid, but if you are to
stay one day only, I would just recommend the following ones:

   1. The Prado Museum: http://museoprado.mcu.es/ihome.html, one the
      main museums in the world.

   2. Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum: http://www.museothyssen.org/thyssen/home.html,
      holding a great collection of art from the XVIII to XX centuries.

   3. Queen Sofia Museum: http://www.museoreinasofia.es/, it is
      specialized in art from the XX century.

RESTAURANTS

In Madrid you can find thousand of restaurants with a great variety of
food, according to the region, the type of food, etc. I have to warn
you that some places are expensive, especially when they see unaware
tourists who don't speak Spanish. Check the prices first, and do not go
to the restaurantes around La Plaza Mayor; they are famous for cheating
on tourists.

I recommend the following links below. You'll find some nice
restaurantes to eat, suggestions, stories, reviews, recommendations,
etc. I think the best thing is to eat tapas. Try Plaza Santa Ana and
around. You won't be dissapointed.

   http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Spain/Comunidad_de_Madrid/Madrid-262020/Restaurants-Madrid-Tapas-BR-1.html

   http://www.softdoc.es/madrid_guide/eatingout/tapas.html

   http://www.guiadelocio.com/madrid/restaurantes/

   http://www.travelinginspain.com/hidden2.htm

AN OFFER

I'll be in Madrid in July before San Sebastian. I wouldn't mind to
take you to a tapas tour. Just let me know (via e-mail, for example) in
advance and we will make it.
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-- 
Craig S. Kaplan                         If civilization is to survive,
University of Waterloo                   it must live on the interest,
Cheriton School of Computer Science        not the capital, of nature.
http://www.cgl.uwaterloo.ca/~csk/                     -- Ronald Wright