Exploring More of Spain in Madrid

By Annabelle Henderson, ESADE Business School, Barcelona, Spain

After spending over two months exploring the beauty of Barcelona, my friend and I decided to explore more of Spain and visit the capital: Madrid! Neither of us had been to Madrid before but were excited for our new adventure. We went for 2 nights and flew from Barcelona airport, which was only an hour or so flight and fairly inexpensive.

We arrived on the Friday evening, and went for tapas at an authentic Spanish bar. We were served drinks with sides of hams, olives and bread and afterwards explored the busy streets, stopping to eat at a restaurant where a Spanish band was playing live music for the guests.

The following day we visited the Royal Palace of Madrid and the beautiful Sabatini Garden. Afterwards, we went to the largest flea market in Madrid which went on for miles down the streets, and sold everything: from clothes, to jewellery to cool prints. I got a couple of prints as a souvenir to display on my wall back in Barcelona! Then, we ventured to a Mexican taco place where all tacos were only €1 and filled ourselves up on chicken, pork and even ox tongue tacos. After this, we went for a walk around Parque de El Retiro which is a huge park with a beautiful lake and live music to enjoy.

The following day we took a tour around Real Madrid’s football stadium: Santiago Bernabeu Stadium which was so exciting! Although it is currently undergoing renovation so perhaps I will return another time to watch a Real Madrid game. We finished off our final evening at the rooftop bar on top of the Riu Hotel, which gave panoramic views of the city. From there, we watched the sun set over Madrid.