Our favorite bookstore in Madrid is holding yet another fun event on Sept. 16 at 8pm to say goodbye to summer. What’s the pretext? The launch of Bobby Fischer bio-thriller, ‘Pawn Sacrifice’. So expect chess, drinks and laughs – all on the house! Here’s the event page.
Wondering where to take your mom when she comes to visit you in Madrid? Here’s a list of places (aside from the Prado and the Royal Palace) that are all hand-picked, tested and approved, if not by me then by my friends. All these ideas have definitely worked – and not just for my mom, but for a lot of out-of-town guests and other family members, too. Here goes!
I can’t recommend this tour enough. The guys at Madrid Food Tour are young and passionate about the city’s food culture and history. They offer a variety of tours that take you through the city’s most authentic neighborhood markets, tapas bars and restaurants. Plus you get to walk around the city while the tour guides give you insights into Madrid’s history. I went on the Huertas market tour and wrote about it in a previous post.
But you can check out all the tours here and then choose the one that appeals to you most! The tours are given in English and can be personalized if you have particular food preferences or needs. Just ask them! Another note – I recommend starting out the trip with this tour so your mom can get a better feel for the city and its gastronomic offerings.
This is one of my favorite restaurants in Madrid. What makes Lambuzo perfect is that it is an authentic, Andalucían-style taverna in the heart of Madrid, run by a whole family, and each member has his or her role. For example, you’ll find Pepe, the father, working the front and Luis, one of the sons, working the bar. They specialize in food from the South of Spain, so get ready for a variety of fried fish, rice dishes and other delicious treats. Lambuzo now has two locations, although my favorite is the one near Opera, which you can read more about in my previous post here.
My mother has been to the Prado and Reina Sofia twice now and although they’re of course worth visiting, she actually preferred the Thyssen (so did my brother and sisters) and Sorolla museums. While the Thyssen’s collection is considered one of the best in the world, the Sorolla’s is less expected – it is in the painter’s former home and houses an outstanding collection of pieces that you can see as you walk through the charming rooms. Here’s a post on all of Madrid’s obvious and not-so-obvious arts institutions (plus how to get in for free) so you can add more to your list.
I always jump at the chance to take friends and family to this place. A former slaughterhouse turned cultural center, El Matadero is a must for anyone into contemporary art and cultural activities. It is a huge space with different warehouses, each dedicated to their own type of art. For example, there’s the theatre nave, the reading nave and the music nave, among many others. The Matadero also holds wonderful farmers’ markets with local products and food trucks, as well as live music and activities for the little ones. It’s also situated along Madrid’s river so if the weather is nice, I recommend taking a stroll afterwards or even hopping on a bike.
I have too many good memories of Casa Mingo, a century-old Asturian restaurant serving roasted chicken and cider by the bottle. Please take your mother here if she likes the good-old kind of restaurant that cannot be imitated no matter how hard you try. This is the real deal (plus it’s incredibly cheap!) Here’s a previous post I wrote on it.
Madrid has a thriving indoor and outdoor market culture. My mother’s first experience with Madrid’s market scene was Mercado de San Miguel, naturally. While I do suggest taking your mom there, don’t forget about Madrid’s other markets. On my mom’s most recent visit, we went to Mercado del San Ildefonso in Malasaña and she was stunned by the architecture, vibrant food scene and open-air seating areas. Then there’s Mercado de San Antón in Chueca which is never a bad idea for its gourmet food stands and amazing rooftop bar (check out other rooftop bars here). Plus, virtually every weekend there’s an outdoor market (aside from the Rastro) and food festival in Madrid. Some of my suggestions are Madreat, Mercado de Productores and Mercado de Motores.
My mom adored this place, mainly because the owner, Craig, gave her a glass of whisky to drink as she browsed through the paperbacks and hardcovers, used and new. There’s more to the story, though. Desperate Literature was opened in Madrid about a year ago by the guys who run a very special international bookstore in Santorini, Greece, where my mother had actually visited and my sister had previously worked for a summer. Maybe it’s the music, the high quality book selection or the people from all over the world who run Desperate Literature with such care and love, or maybe it’s because it’s nestled in between the streets that bring you to Madrid’s Royal Palace and Opera House…. I guess it just has that je ne sais quoi. And if your mom is an avid reader, she’ll get to donate the book she finished reading on her flight to Madrid and find herself a new one for the trip home! Here’s a full post on Desperate Literature.
If you’re wondering where to get a drink late at night, you can try Toni 2, a sort of piano bar mostly for patrons of a “certain age” – only the classics are sung here, accompanied by a live pianist. It’s an old-fashioned kind of bar with an extra long grand piano in the center (here’s a full article on Toni 2). If your mother isn’t so into the vintage karaoke scene, then I’d definitely recommend getting a cocktail at Bar Cock, another beautiful old-fashioned bar off the Gran Vía. The only time I went here, Harrison Ford was there! Also, across the street from Bar Cock is La Barraca, the restaurant mentioned next.
I’ve been asked a lot about where to get paella in Madrid and never knew what to say, until recently. One of Madrid’s most active writers, Dan Catalan, just discovered a place that his grandmother took him to in Madrid. It’s a Valencian restaurant located in the city center called La Barraca, which specializes in rice and seafood dishes like paella, which he says is definitely mother-worthy. Just note that this restaurant is on the pricey side – maybe you’ll take your mom here, but she’ll have to pick up the tab… Check out Dan’s post here.
Madrid has an impressive number of rooftop bars and we’ve written about 20 or so in our 4-part series. If I had to recommend just a few, I’d say Palacio de Cibeles and Circulo de Bellas Artes for stunning views, and then Casa Granada and Mercado de San Anton for great food and ambience. My mom loved Casa Granada back when it was in such desperate need of renovation that we actually felt our chairs were going to slip off the roof. It’s since been refurbished so you’ll still get the dining experience, just without the fear…
Lined with tapas bars and restaurants, La Cava Baja is the most happening street in La Latina. The first time I walked along it with my mother was during winter and it was very foggy outside. She said it looked like a fairy tale – as if a knight on a horse was going to appear riding through the mist. Even on a clear day, La Latina is a must if your mother (like mine) enjoys going into Madrid’s charming little bars and walking through the area’s old and windy streets. For specific recommendations on bars in La Latina, check out this article: Coziest Wine Bars in La Latina (with gluten free options!)
I personally can’t recommend any particular flamenco performance in Madrid, but if you think your mother would enjoy experiencing a tablao, our friends at Madrid Food Tour have compiled this list of Where to See Flamenco in Madrid and we trust them.
My mom went on a guided tour of Toledo a few years ago and didn’t enjoy it so much because she didn’t get to “roam around freely” as much as she would have liked. So while I’m not against taking a tour, I do think you should make sure to have enough time to wander around and explore the nooks and crannies of wherever you go. I’ve taken my mom on a number of day trips around Madrid and her favorite was when we drove to Segovia and El Escorial in one day. If you can get your hands on a car, I highly recommend it. You can also check out our article on Madrid’s 10 most beautiful surrounding towns which all link to a description, map and transport details.
Pepe Botella has long been my favorite café in Madrid, as anyone who’s ever visited me will already know. Its ambience, location and simple drink menu has always set it apart from the rest of Madrid’s cafés, for me at least. I recommend going here either before or after lunch and sitting with a book or a newspaper, or just chatting away. When I go in the afternoon, I like starting with a coffee or tea, and then welcoming in the evening with a glass of wine. Here’s a full post on Pepe Botella.
San Isidro is a citywide festival, pure and simple, but unlike San Fermín in Pamplona or Las Fallas in Valencia, it isn’t really a great source of local pride or identity for the city of Madrid. Many residents take advantage of the three-day weekend to travel elsewhere—often back to their hometowns—or to get a bit of Spring cleaning done in the spare time off work. This should come as little surprise. Madrid is the great Spanish melting pot, a cultural and economic center that pulls people in from across the country but never fully instills in them the type of local identity that underpins the more famous Spanish festivals.
If anything, Gay Pride is the better candidate for Madrid’s primary festival. It certainly draws more visitors and press to the capital, and seems to adequately reflect the anarchic, welcoming nature of the city—one that shrugs off regional Spanish identity to embrace anyone who’s down to party.
But San Isidro does have its supporters. They’re mostly residents with deep family roots in Madrid, proud Madrileños who dress up in traditional garb to eat the classic food and dance the chotis in parties scattered throughout the central barrios. The festival has some of the cultural posturing of the “castecismo madrileño,” the Madrid castizo identity that’s proudly Spanish, built on the rejection of the bourgeois French affectations of the elite, and the feeling still stands.
I have a special affinity for San Isidro myself, partly because of the contradictions in it—a festival that both represents the soul of Madrid and couldn’t be further from it. The strong passion and utter indifference toward the holiday reflect the multiple layers of Madrid’s identity, at once a city and a collection of barrios, provincially Spanish and globally connected.
Or maybe we all just like beers in the park.
Good question. Legend has it that one day, in the Moorish town of Mayrit (present-day Madrid), a day laborer named Isidro was ploughing his lord’s field when he miraculously caused a spring to gush forth from the earth, like a teenager hitting a sprinkler head with the lawnmower.
In another instance, Isidro saved his son from a deep well by praying to raise the water level, thus bringing the child floating back to the top.
These are several of his many miracles that would end up lifting this humble and devout Madrileño to prominence and eventual sainthood—a move spearheaded by the Spanish monarchs who had a particular interest in the miracle worker. King Phillip II himself was supposedly cured of a grave ailment by drinking the water that flowed from a spring that San Isidro found. San Isidro’s most famous miracles took place in Madrid and had to do with water, making this diviner, well-digger, and rainmaker the patron saint of both Spanish farmers and the city of Madrid.
San Isidro doing his thing.
Today, in what we now know as the Pradera de San Isidro (a park in the Carabanchel neighborhood south of the center—metro Marqués de Vadillo) his miraculous springs still flow. A hermitage dedicated to the saint was erected in the area during the 14th century, then rebuilt in 1725 near one of Isidro’s famed springs, and believers still pay their respects and collect the healing water during the May festival thrown in his honor.
While the festival historically takes place in the Pradera de San Isidro (a meadow in Carabanchel), it has since spread throughout the entire city. Activities sputter to a start during the week but officially kick off with the commencement speech (pregón) on Friday at 8pm in the Plaza de la Villa, attended by city officials and an invited celebrity—2016’s is the musician Santiago Auserón, a staple of the Movida Madrileña. The celebrations will last until Monday evening.
1. Grab a guide and find what you like: The official San Isidro guide is the one true resource, praise be upon it.
2. Go to a free open-air concert: (Everywhere throughout the long weekend) There are many free open-air concerts throughout Madrid during San Isidro, including in the Plaza Mayor, Las Vistillas and Plaza de la Villa. On several nights at 9pm, for example, live classical music is played next to Templo De Dubod as the sun goes down. It’s worth seeing. Again, the official guide is your best source here.
3. Have yourself a class picnic in the Pradera (Sunday 15th is the big day – Pradera de San Isidro, though there are also events on Saturday and Monday) This is the most emblematic part of the festival. In fact, the picnicking tradition here has purportedly been around since the 1600s, and by the time Goya used it as the subject of some paintings in the late 1700s the tradition was already widely referenced. The pradera area has many stands with food and drink of all sorts, so you can bring your own or buy food down there. It’s an all-around good time.
Picnicking in the Pradera. I took this with a scratched-up iPhone 3GS!
Warning: last year there were about 12 toilets stationed for the thousands of people at the Pradera, so be prepared to do the festival’s traditional holding-it-in dance.
4. Party on the street “Paseo de 15 de Mayo” (Primarily Sunday, the 15th, to a lesser extent Saturday and Monday / next to metro stop Marqués de Vadillo) The San Isidro Festival has a very prominent “barrio” feel to it, and the neighborhood next to the Pradera de San Isidro (Marqués de Vadillo Metro) reigns supreme. They even named the major street that cuts through it after the date of the celebration, May 15th. Go here to drink wine and beer from the bars that set up stands along the street, then head onward to the Pradera for your picnic.
5. Check out the tacky/amazing carnival (Saturday, Sunday, Monday / Pradera de San Isidro): Like all carnivals, it has rides of questionable safety and hordes of roaming teenagers, but it’s a good time nonetheless. Last year I enjoyed playing the childhood favorite, “shoot the single-serving alcohol bottle off a shelf with a cork gun.” There’s also a ferris wheel that offers a good view of the city.
Everyone’s favorite childhood fair game, “shoot the single-shot liquor bottles with a cork gun!” This was San Isidro a few years back. I won!
6. Party in Las Vistillas (Friday, Sat, Sunday, Monday near Puerta de Toledo, Jardin de Las Vistillas) This little park in La Latina plays annual host to another of the city’s “verbenas” (local parties), together with the Plaza Mayor and the Plaza de La Villa. The scenic gardens fill up with food stands, music, and people dancing the chotis. It’s usually one of the first things that comes to locals’ minds if you ask them about the holiday. (For acts taking place here, check the guide).
7. Drink Wine Under Fireworks/ Music in Retiro (Saturday and Sunday, 8:30pm/dusk): Bring a bottle of wine and a blanket, lay back and enjoy.
Fireworks in Retiro, a photo I stole from the internet because cell camera is incapable of this.
8. Check out the bullfights: (Afternoons in Las Ventas) San Isidro is traditionally the beginning of bullfighting season in Madrid, and it’s actually the biggest bullfighting festival in the world. There are 24 afternoons of bullfights, including one specific day in which they all don Goyesco costumes, an event reasonably called La corrida goyesca. You can find schedules online and tickets for as low as 8 euros to some events. Others are quite popular and pricy, so get on those tickets ASAP if you’re into the bloodsport.
9. Watch the little Parade of Big-heads and Giants (Friday 13th at 6pm –Route: Plaza de Santo Domingo – Plaza de Callao – Puerta del Sol – Mercado de San Miguel – Plaza de la Villa): This strange little parade has origins in the 16th century but was rediscovered in the 1800s—it marches larger-than-life figures down the main streets of the center of Madrid. The giants are four pairs of monarchs who represent Europe, Asia, Africa and America. (Author’s note: I’ve never actually been to this, but it looks moderately interesting, very grammable.)
the parade (source: www.madrid.es)
10. Hit Up the Castizo Swing Festival in the Matadero (Saturday, May 14th, all day, The Matadero) The endlessly hip Matadero can do no wrong. There will be dancing, singing and general rabble-rousing throughout the day and into the night on Friday, with live musical acts. Check their website for more details about the event.
10.1. Stroll by the Feria de Cacharrerías (Sunday Afternoon, Plaza Comendadoras in Conde Duque / Malasaña) Go get yourself a nice clay pot or something. You deserve it. Here’s a good lowdown.
The history of the chotis dance is surprisingly recent, arriving to the Spanish capital only around 1850 from Vienna, but it’s now considered a cultural hallmark of Madrid. You’ll see people dancing it on stages or in groups, particularly in The Pradera, the Plaza Mayor, or in Las Vistillas park. The men traditionally don’t move much at all, and it’s said you can dance it on a single tile.
In terms of music, my person favorite chotis song, and perhaps the best known, is Madrid! Madrid! Madrid! I once saw an old man singing this passionately at a now-defunct karaoke bar off the Plaza Mayor. It was pure magic.
Traditional Clothing: El Chulapo
The spirit of Goya’s Madrid is alive and well in San Isidro with some revelers dressing up like the 18th-century subjects of the famous Madrileño painter’s artwork, in a style fittingly known as “Goyesco.”
You’ve probably seen little children running around these days in their traditional chulapo/ chulapa outfits. Kids and adults alike dress up in this 19th-century outfit and go to the major festival grounds around they city. They’re all adorable. If you’re anyone, you might consider buying yourself the traditional palpusa hat. I certainly might.
Chulapos y Chulapas (source: www.barullo.com)
Rosquillas: Little doughnuts, sold mainly during the festival, usually made with olive oil and a slight anise flavor. There are different names for each type.
Las Listas: rosquillas with powdered sugar on top.
Las Tontas: rosquillas without powdered sugar on top.
Las de Santa Clara: rosquillas with glazed sugar on top.
Las Francesas: rosquillas with glazed sugar and almonds on top.
Traditional food is sold throughout the pradera. Here are some olives I spotted.
Fritura de gallinejas y entresijos: fried hen innards (A festival favorite of tons of people!)
Barquillos: little cylindrical wafers, similar to an ice cream cone. The seller, known as a barquillero, dresses up in a chulapo outfit and plays a type of roulette on something that looks like a portable oxygen tank. If you win, you get two barquillos!
Cocido Madrileño: the typical dish that comes out any time Madrid is feeling local pride.
Encurtidos: skewers of peppers, olives, cocktail onions, etc.
Vino en bota: a sac of wine. Like normal wine, but in a sack.
Clara con limón: Beer mixed with a carbonated lemon beverage.
This isn’t much of a “pilgrimage” considering it’s right next to the Pradera where you’ll be hanging out, but if you’re of a religious inclination and fancy stumbling over to pay homage to Madrid’s patron saint, be prepared to wait in an excruciatingly long line of mainly elderly Madrileños and devout Catholics at the Hermita de San Isidro. Bring a botijo to collect some of the healing water and memorize this traditional prayer to say when kissing the box containing his relics:
“San Isidro hermoso,
patrón de Madrid,
que el agua del risco
hiciste salir”
Hermita de San Isidro, the time of Goya and the time of Google Street View screenshots.
You do? Are you sure that’s wise?
You can start by listing all the rosquilla varieties, that’s fun. Make sure to not stop, even as people begin wandering away from you. You could also half-heartedly suggest a visit to the San Isidro museum, which occupies—in what seems to be a bit of a historical 6-degrees-from-Kevin-Bacon—a 17th-century house built on the spot of an even older house that once pertained to the Vargas family, who were the lords of the miraculous day-laborer.
If anyone accepts your offer to go, feign appendicitis and stumble away.
Alright, settle down.
• The actual remains of San Isidro are kept in a prominent position behind the alter in the Almudena Cathedral, just in front of the Royal Palace in Madrid.
“Cool!”
• One of San Isidro’s miracles involves feeding pigeons from a bag of grain that miraculously replenished itself.
“Say whaaaa?”
• One of his miracles was getting an angel to plow the field for him while he just sat around praying.
“Clever!”
His wife is known as Maria La Cabeza (the head) because her head was kept as a relic after her death, paraded around by believers to bring rain to the dry countryside.
“Quaint!”
• Someone in Queen Isabel’s court bit off one of his mummified toes in a religious fervor.
“Understandable!”
• Francisco Goya has painted several wildly different takes on the San Isidro pilgrimage and festival, including one in the grotesque style of his “Black Paintings” collection.
“Educational!”
See? Look how much fun they’re having!
• The “Puente de Toledo” bridge (also known as the “Puente de Praga” due to its resemblance to the Charles bridge in Prague) has a statue of San Isidro performing the miracle of saving his son from the well. His son later died of other, non well-related causes.
“huh.”
That church visible from the Plaza Mayor as you walk down toward La Latina is called San Isidro church.
San Isidro church
“How about we talk about something—”
“Rosquillas” is how they translate “donuts” in the Castilian version of the Simpsons, and, Dunkin’ Donuts is known as Dunkin’ Coffee in Spain, all because “Donut” was already a registered trademark in the country.
“Listen, I gotta go…”
Verbena: a festival for a patron saint, usually with traditional dress and dancing. “This verbena rocks!”
Romería: a Catholic festival based on a pilgrimage to a hermitage or sanctuary. “This Romeria rocks!”
Botijo: clay jug-like thing to collect water from the sacred springs. “Whoa, sick botijo. Botijos rock!”
Chulapo/a: the name of both the people and the traditional costumes for San Isidro. “Hey, those chulapos rock!”
Chotis: The traditional dance. “Chotis rocks!”
Goyesco: Goya-esque. “This all feels very goyesco, which rocks!”
Rosquillas (la tonta, la lista, etc…): typical doughnuts. “These rosquillas are fine, I guess.”
Bota de vino: a wine recipient. “I shouldn’t have drunk that rockin’ bota de vino all by myself. How goyesco of me.”
[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/embed?mid=zGCIXzIDPGqs.kBmVv5oWRpGg&w=640&h=480]
I routinely walk by Los Porfiados and have always been intrigued by what I could glimpse from the outside. I was thrilled when I finally had the opportunity to enter and scratch it off of my shortlist. An Argentine bistro situated on Calle Buenavista, this establishment radiates elegance and class. The decor and lighting are cozy and inspire diners with a sense of comfort. Reservations are necessary in order to be seated due to its popularity. I saw many people enter and then be turned away due to this spot being so trendy.
The staff all hail from Buenos Aires, sans one who is from Barcelona. I was told that the location is only a year and a half old, swiftly ascending to local fame. Upon being seated, the attentive waiter relayed to me my options from their vast menu. It was difficult to choose from their selection–they offer Argentine empanadas and gourmet pizzas, fillets of meat and a many fresh salads. To start I had a smooth cream of broccoli soup, accompanied by a glass of vino tinto.
The main course was a solomillo de cerdo with sweet potato chips. Absolutely excellent, the meat was savory and cooked to perfection. After using eenie meanie minie mo to make a decision of which of their assortment of desserts to consume, I was presented with a delicious chocolate cake. The check was slightly steeper than most of the other locations I’ve written about, coming out to 19€. Keep in mind that this is a cash only business. I recommend this location to anyone who wants to be classy for a night, whether to impress a date or to celebrate a personal achievement, or to merely hone the skill of pretending to be classy.
Less than two hours driving from Madrid, you’ll find the city of Cuenca, which is a “must-see” kind of place if you’re travelling around Spain. Cuenca was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 and its Hanging Houses well deserve such honor.
These iconic houses from Cuenca were built in the 15th century and the best way to see them is from the bridge of San Pablo. Another city monument is the Cathedral of Cuenca, whose construction started in the 12th century.
Once you walk around the city and check out other important sites, you should also enjoy the city’s gastronomy. As in most parts of Spain, Cuenca has a passion for meat and a tender roast lamb is its specialty. I can’t tell you which is the best “Asador” or rotisserie in the city, but here’s a link to Trip Advisor. Hope you have fun finding the right place (please let us know if you do)!
Depart from: Atocha train station
Schedule:
Departure (Madrid-Cuenca)
Return (Cuenca-Madrid)
Duration: approx. 50min (AVE) 2h 50min (Medium distance)
Price AVE (High speed): 24€ (round trip approx. 48€).
Price (medium distance): 14€ (round trip approx. 28).
Depart from: Méndez Álvarez
Schedule: Check Avanza web site (English)
Duration: approx. 2 hour 10 min
Price: 14€ (round trip 28€)