A Madrid Guide On Having Fun While Staying On A Budget

1. Destination?
I traveled to Madrid, Spain.

2. Season that you traveled to Madrid?
I went there in the late Fall.

3. Favorite Site?
I love graffiti and there is a building that is covered in graffiti inside. The courtyard is also covered. They have live music and people selling beer and snacks. It’s a very urban cool feel. The area is called Malasaña and it is like New York's Brooklyn.

Children Playing in Graffiti Covered Walls

Man Plays Guitar for Concert Crowd in Madrid

4. Favorite food to eat?
I really like Paella.

5. Favorite drink?
Red wine from Spain, wherever we went we would ask for red wine, I found 9 out of 10 wines were great. At the price of $2.50 US with amazing chicken wings included.

6. Do you need to tip at meals?
Just to round it up but being American we did tip more.

7. Where did you stay?
We stayed in an AirB&B on the edge of the city center.

8. What's your favorite neighborhood and why?
I loved the old town area because I love the old winding streets, all the areas have great spots. The new area is still old and has great roman style building. The old area has a huge street fair that runs a square mile along with great restaurants and shops.

9. What is the price point there for American's to travel?
It is very reasonable there. A nice dinner for 2 in a good restaurant can be around $30 US including a couple of glasses of wine.

10. Is Madrid safe for a female traveler?
I found it a very safe place to travel, but as a female traveler, I would take an Uber if you have to go far.

11. Did you step outside of Madrid and see the effects of the (Deforestation - Extensive forests of Spain have been destroyed over the years due to unplanned cutting, forest fires, and poor farming practices)?
No, I didn’t.

12. Did you feel that Madrid was a clean city?
I found Madrid to be very clean.

Madrid just passed a Massive Pollution Clean-up Effort such as:
a. Fewer cars allowed in the city
The whole center of the city has no cars. We walked everywhere and there was not a lot of traffic except in the main circles.
b. Adding a bike lane.
There are bike lanes and scooters to rent. It didn’t feel like a huge biking city like some European cities, but there’s a great subway and bus system. You can also walk most of the city pretty easily.
c. Enforcing a lower speed limit.

13. Was there anything that you didn’t like about Madrid?
No, I really liked the city. It’s a beautiful city with really nice people.

14. Anything else you would like to add?
Take the free walking tours they are great. You meet people from all over the world and get the history of the city. Also, take a day trip to Toledo. Its 45-minute train ride and worth it. We went for the day and you only need 6 hours to see the city on the hill. There is a great lookout in the Library Coffee place off of the main Zocodover Square. We did the walking tour from there.