I have lived in Madrid with my young family for three years, managing a multimedia team covering everything from politics and economics to Spain’s world-beating fashion companies, its booming tourism industry and its agricultural sector under pressure from climate change.
With its many landscaped parks – Retiro being the most famous, Madrid Rio my favourite – this modern and wealthy European capital is legendary for its café, restaurant and nightlife culture.
Even a cost-of-living crisis has not dampened Spaniards’ enthusiasm for their “bar de siempre” – their usual watering holes. They just adapt their orders to small beers or glasses of vermouth in these more straitened times.
When visitors come, here’s what I recommend:
Shopping: Spain is the home of Zara, the temple of affordable fashion, and its upmarket sister-brand Massimo Dutti, so check out their flagship stores on Madrid’s Plaza de Espana and Calle Serrano, respectively. You might also want to grab some melatonin sleeping pills, which have a higher dose per pill than elsewhere in Europe, for a guaranteed post-tapas snooze.
Eating: The bocadillo de calamares (squid sandwich) at El Brillante, close to Atocha station in the tourism heartlands, is an institution. It’s a classic example of Spain’s unashamed love affair with carbs and fried food, and is also thought to be a legacy of both religious bans on eating meat during certain parts of the year and shortages caused by dictator Francisco Franco sending meat to troops during the Spanish Civil War.
When I’m up for living on the culinary edge, I go for a crispy-on-the-outside, runny-on-the-inside tortilla de patatas (egg, potato and onion omelette) from Casa Dani in the Salamanca indoor market, Mercado de la Paz.
Good reads: “The Shadow of the Wind,” by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, is evocative fiction set at the end of the Spanish Civil War. I also enjoyed the factual and lively “Ghosts of Spain” by fellow foreign correspondent Giles Tremlett. It provides a good breakdown of Spain’s turbulent past from the Muslim conquest of the peninsula in the 700s to the Civil War and Franco dictatorship, and how that history continues to haunt the present.
Faux-pas: The rhythm of daily life in Spain takes a lot of getting used to. Lunch rarely starts before 2 p.m., and restaurants don’t open for supper until 8:30 p.m. at the earliest, which can be a struggle for parents with young families and people attempting to socialize on a work night. And saying goodbye at the end of the night is never a slow process. I haven’t yet found a good way to leave politely but fast, something Spaniards refer to somewhat disapprovingly as dropping a “bomba de humo” (smoke bomb).
The influencer: @MorganInSpain on Instagram has helped demystify a lot of Spanish etiquette and customs for me, including the persistent use of old-fashioned fans as the best way to stay cool and the wolfing down of 12 grapes for luck on New Year’s Eve. @SpainSays is great for picking up some local language idioms – my favourite being: “Me he bebido hasta el agua de los floreros” (I even drank the water from the vases) when confessing to a night of overindulgence.
Hot ticket: Real Madrid’s Estadio Bernabeu has been revamped and offers the chance to see some of soccer’s biggest stars, but to get tickets online you have to be fast, lucky and ready to spend at least 80 euros ($85). Smaller rival club Rayo Vallecano’s matches are family-friendly, with tickets easier to get hold of; they cost around 30-50 euros.
Best public bathroom: Nip into an El Corte Ingles department store, which are in most main shopping areas and have free toilets. Don’t leave without stopping at the gourmet food hall for a glass of cava, a tapa and a perusal of its impressively bountiful tinned-fish and cured-ham aisle.
Way around: Madrid has an efficient and inexpensive bus and metro network, made even cheaper if you buy a 6.10 euro travel card that covers 10 trips. The number 200 bus will whisk you from Barajas Airport to Avenida de America – a distance of 5.8 km (3.5 miles) – in central Madrid in 15 min for just 0.60 cents.
Music scene: Spain’s Eurovision entry for 2024, “Zorra” by electropop husband-and-wife duo Nebulossa, courted controversy because the term “zorra” – literally “vixen” – is sometimes used towards women in a derogatory way. Lead singer Maria Bas, 55, said she was seeking to reclaim the word for women to celebrate being themselves. The duo won the backing of fans including Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and a viral Spotify following.
Outpaced: Spaniards seem to quite effortlessly juggle endless socializing, work, enjoyment of meals, sports, hikes and holidays. They dress wonderfully, too. It is sometimes hard to see how they cram it all in – I remain unsure that I’ll ever manage to integrate such an energetic schedule into my own life!
DATA POINTS
Largest local employer: Madrid regional government, about 150,000 workers Popular car: SEAT Ibiza, about 15,000 euros ($15,730) Price of ice cream scoop: Bico de Xeado ice creams, 2.98 euros ($3.14) in a tub or cone Cup of coffee: Espresso with milk, 2.20 euros ($2.32) at Religion coffee shop. (Aislinn Lang/Reuters)
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