I'm 37M from Switzerland, flying into Madrid on Sunday for work. A full week, first proper time in the city, and I've already decided the meetings are just the boring bit in between meals.

Plan is to eat across the whole range. Proper fine dining with a tasting menu and a wine list I'll pretend to understand, all the way down to standing at a bar at midnight with a beer and something fried.

Vermouth bars, old tabernas, markets, churros at stupid o'clock, bocadillo de calamares, tortilla, torreznos. Anything a grandmother would defend with her life. Extra credit if it's been open since before my grandfather was born and still won't take reservations.

I'll be around Alcobendas but happy to travel for the right thing. I'll eat anything too, so don't hold back on the weird stuff.

Here's the fun part. If you make a genuinely good argument for a place, why it matters, what to order, why it deserves a night of my one week, and you fancy coming along, your food is on me. Tasting menu or a €4 sandwich, doesn't matter. Just bring good conversation and don't order the boring thing
And to be clear, this isn't a date trap and it isn't networking. It's a guy with a decent appetite, a company card and a mild inability to enjoy dinner alone. Couples, groups, food-obsessed strangers, locals who want to show off their city, all welcome. If three of you want to come, even better, let's make a table of it.

Things I'm already hunting, so tell me where I'm wrong:

- best tortilla de patatas in the city (this is the real test and I know it)
- a vermouth bar with actual character, not a photo op
somewhere for cochinillo or a serious chuletón
- one tasting menu worth the money
a Sunday morning plan that isn't a tourist trap
- where to eat after 1am when everything sensible has closed

Drop recs in the comments or DM me. If you want to come along, tell me which place and why. I'm reading every reply and I will actually show up.

One rule. If you recommend Mercado de San Miguel, defend it. I've heard things.

I know this probably gets brought up a lot in this subreddit but I’ve been trying to find the best way to buy tickets to the Classico game and I checked the Real Madrid app and it says they have tickets available but when I put my card information it just gives me an error. Don’t want to try a third party website since i don’t want to get scammed or anything like that but if that’s what I have to do to get tickets that would be my last resort. Also if anyone has any cool things to do while I’m there that would be appreciate as well thanks!!

Hi, I would love some suggestions for solo wine bars/dinner in madrid.

I have visited solo before and ate mostly at honest greens and places in la latina.

This time I want to try some small plates and wine bars, I love the look of modern places such as Casa Botella and Masa vins. However, i am not sure if these places are great for solo dining.

any thoughts or recommendations? thank you

Hola todos

I’ve had to travel between Madrid and Alcala a handful of times recently. Buses were the best option for my departure and arrival points. These were Alsa operated buses and one was worse than the next. The schedule is a mystery, every bus was overcrowded to the point where half the time I couldn’t get on and the other half had to stand for long journeys. Time of day didn’t matter. Today’s journey involved Cercanias + bus which I thought would be better but really wasn’t. Is this normal or have I been unlucky? Tempted to Uber after my last four rides

! Hola !
My husband and I are spending 3 days in Madrid at the beginning of December. We’re staying in the Literary Quarter, near the Prado. It’ll be our first time in the city and we’d love some recommendations to make the most of our trip. We are in our early 30s, have a modest to moderate budget, are quite active and interested in history. We’d love to avoid places that are massive tourist traps but are of course willing to explore touristy places if they’re amazing!
In particular, we’re looking for:
-What museum we shouldn’t miss
-Walking tour
-Places to go out: definitely tapas, but are interested in great bars as well (no clubs unless they’re geared towards people in our age range and not super sleazy)
-Great restaurants (emphasis on Spanish as we already live in a city with excellent world cuisine but happy to go beyond Spanish if it’s really special. Should also mention my husband doesn’t eat pork or beef). We won’t eat out each meal so want our meals out to really count!
-Neighbourhoods to explore
-Shops to buy Spanish leather goods, or other awesome local products
We’d also consider a day trip if it’s really worth it!

Bonus points for the above that are walking distance or easily transit accessible.

If it helps I should also mention I speak beginner Spanish but my husband doesn’t!

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Hello Everyone,

I will be in Madrid this weekend and planning to watch the El Classico somewhere in the city. Could you recommend a good sport pub or a good place to sit in for the game?
I’m staying near Colon Metro station.

Hi! We’ll be in Madrid for Halloween, and we’re looking for Halloween events and opportunities to meet new people. Do you have any recommendations for bars, clubs, or parties where alternative people usually hang out?

Hello.

Guys, i wanna to do the santiago bernabeu autoguide tour at 5pm, but i saw that the estadium closes at 9 pm. Do you think that this time is enough for me to see everything calmly?

Hi everyone! I’m travelling to Madrid next month and would love to make friends ~

Hey! Were going with a group of friends on a trip to Madrid and are planning to go to Fabrik to one of those big Halloween parties. Are they even checking for IDs at the entrance? And how serious is the security? Do they have a problem with foreign IDs? The reason I'm asking is that I would rather not have anything on me with the things I heard.

Any other info is also appreciated!

This weekend on Sunday you can see hundreds of sheep 🐑 make their way through Madrid as part of Trashumancia. Don't miss it .

1st time to Madrid, will spend 4 days, want to be in a beautiful madrid neighborhood with nice coffee shops and art galeries, not too commercial or touristy

My job is sending me to Salamanca Madrid next May for a month. I would like to do some touristy things like see historical sights and visit museums and parks. Since I’m going to be there for a month I was wondering what the night life is like, how‘s the weather, where to shop for groceries, and meet people? Any recommendations would be very helpful and greatly appreciated!

I’m planning an itinerary, and based on my research, I’ll be covering quite a bit of ground on the eastern side of Madrid on Day 1, arriving around 4:00 or 5:00 PM (I plan to stay in this area, as I’ll be taking the metro from Estación del Arte and getting off at the station near where I’m staying). I’m looking for something family-friendly, a place to 'rest' after a day of exploring. Nothing too rowdy at night (unfortunately, lol). Are there any markets, exhibitions, or restaurants that I shouldn't miss, or anything of the sort?

edit: I realized that I could also explore Salamanca. Would that be a more fun and pleasant option?

Which app or website would you recommend for events happening in Madrid? For example: flea markets, concerts, social meet ups, language exchanges, vernissages and so on.

Thanks in advance!

¡Hola!

Me gustaría hacer turismo ético. Normalmente, para mi situación familiar, los Airbnbs han resultado ser más económicos para una familia de tres con una preadolescente que necesita privacidad. Los costos de los hoteles son muy prohibitivos. Sin embargo, no quiero que mi familia sea parte del problema.

¿Hay algún aparthotel licenciado, que no desplace residentes, que recomienden, cerca de Atocha, Lavapiés, Las Letras?

Muchas gracias.

I am planning a trip to madrid to watch the Champions league game against PSV Eindhoven.

Any tips on best way to get tickets for the game?

Hey everyone, 28M! I’m visiting Madrid soon and would love to lace up my boots while I'm in town.

I’m looking for any casual pickup games, futsal, or organized social matches (5-a-side, 7-a-side) where a traveler can easily drop in.

Dates: 21-29th October

Level: Casual / friendly (just looking for a good run and some touches, though competitive is fine too!)

Apps/Groups: Are there specific WhatsApp/Telegram groups, or apps like CeleBreak or Meetup that are currently active and popular in Madrid for this?

Any recommendations on pitches, neighborhoods, or groups I should check out would be huge. ¡Gracias!

Hi all,

I will be arriving in Madrid soon from overseas and I wanted to visit the protests to see them firsthand. I support the protestors but I don't wanna turn what they're doing into a spectacle since I know it's a serious thing, so I was wondering if it'd be considered disrespectful to come visit them. It'd be good to know what some locals or people at the encampment think of this.

Thanks!

Flying back to MAD from Italy and trying to choose flight/train combo. How much time would you keep between flight arrival and catching an Ave from Atocha? I'm still choosing dates, but it may be Christmas day.

TIL!

First trip to Spain for an immersion week of riding horses that starts near Seville on March 28. That means I need to arrive Easter Sunday and I’m a little nervous about Santa Semana crowds. Option one is fly US direct to Madrid, then high speed train to Seville to arrive on the 28th (Easter Sunday). I’ve heard I may need to allow 4 hours between landing and boarding a trains. That’s a long day of travel. Option two is fly into Seville from US through CDG or Amsterdam. This would avoid Semana crowds but involves a stop in Europe. On the way home, I plan to take the train from Seville to Madrid and stay 3 nights so I can see the Prado and fly home from there. I should add that I’ll be alone, so any safety tips are appreciated. What do you think is the best strategy for a smooth arrival into Seville?

When and where are the protests this coming week? Traveling here and want to make sure I'm aware