"Madrid - at last" a Madrid Travel Page by davidcross

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'Guernica' - Pablo Picasso

Way back in history - -

In the year 2000 I created a Madrid page with only this and some tips about the other pages mentioned.

'I have only spent one night and a morning in Madrid other than getting from the airport to Chamartin station and back.
Consequently this is mainly about Avila, Segovia and Toledo which are not named separately on VT and are all easily reachable from Madrid. Unlike the ones on Madrid itself, these usually have photos.

(Photo: the main object of my one morning in Madrid - not my photography - Picasso's Guernica)

NB Toledo unfinished'

It took until 2009 to get me actually staying in Madrid. i did not repeat my visit to the picture of Guernica in the Reina Sofia museum so I have left the photo from last time.

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End view of Royal Palace - from the Cathedral

2009 - Preparations

My daughter had been married in March and Pam and I headed for a holiday in Wales a week later and very good it was. We had decided not to go abroad together this year. I was to go for a short time alone - but I had no intention of spending too much.

Searching the web I found a flight with Easyjet for less than £50 return to Madrid - end of search. I found the Hostal Splendid on the Gran Via at a reasonable price, booked 4 nights and that was that. I then started to research Madrid, both on the web and by asking friends and reading guidebooks from the library.

By now I have fixed on the notion of only going to museums if they are special to the place visited. This left quite a few but they obviously had to include the Prado and the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza. I had wanted to see the Museo Archeologico for some time. That might have been enough but I am afraid I had never heard of Sorolla and the Museo Sorolla therefore made a fourth.

Then there were the Royal Palace, the Royal Theatre, the Temple de Debod, the Basilica de San Francisco el Grande, the Cathedral and the Ermita de San Antonio de Florida - to say nothing of the CaixaForum and the Open Air Sculpture Museum.

I allso wanted to get a picture of the centre of Madrid as a whole but I knew that I am not a city animal and I should want a day in the country. This can be found under Comunidad de Madrid. It left far too much for the time, I thought - so get there first and then decide.

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Vertical Garden

Resume

I will do tips for some of the places I went. briefly these were:
The Templo de Debod, a "nd century BCE Egyptian temple donated by the Egyptian Government as a thankyou for Spain's help with the Aswan Dam.

The Cathedral, an impressive mixture of traditional Baroque with very modern architecture

The Basilica de San Francisco el Grande with the 4th largest dome in Europe

The Ermita de San Antonio de Florida where there is very bright painting by Goya - and his remains if you go for that sort of thing!

El Prado - I did as I ad been advised, made no attempt t see everything but marvelled at the Velasquez paintings and Goya's Black Paintings.

El Museo Thyssen Bornemisza - I wish I had done the same here - I tried to see too much.

El Museo Sorolla - immensly enjoyable visit to a museum in Sorolla's old house with furniture he had collected and porcelain as well as a wonderful display of his own paintings.

El Museo Archaeologico - expansion works mean only one large gallery is open at present.

El CaixaForum (sic) - a free cultural centre with an amazing vertical garden - see tip.

Open Air Sculpture Museum - not a museum in any recognisable sense but a free display of fine sculptures where one road crosses another on a viaduct.

I walked all round the outside of the Royal palace.