Madrid Travel Guides
Not knowing your way around is one of the worst aspects of traveling. Many people like the familiarity of their home streets and local businesses. Bus tours and travel guides can make life a lot easier in a foreign land and ease some of that clueless traveler indecisiveness that so often grips us. Once you get a nice overview of the city, you’ll likely feel more prepared to revisit some of those places on your own. Or, if you prefer, some travel packages feature all-inclusive planned excursions the whole way through, which will ensure you make the most of your visit to Spain.
It’s useful to have travel guides in the city, if for no other reason than to cart you around. Traffic in the city centre is unreal at times, with cars swerving, honking, parking and tailgating all over the place. While many museums, restaurants and monuments are within walking distance, you’ll miss out on the historic background, the colorful stories and the travel information that really brings this Spanish city to life. Your freedom might be somewhat hindered on a tour, but you will get an overview of many different places all in one day, so you’ll have a better idea where you’d like to spend more time once you’re back on your own again. A Madrid Vision city bus tour (www.madridvision.es) might take you to Royal Palace, the Paseo del Prado, the Puerta de Alcalá, down the historic Gran Via boulevard, through modern Salamanca and to the Paseo de la Castellana mansion for $14-$43/person.
Many newcomers to Spain desire to expand their Madrid travel to the surrounding areas. Top Day Tours (www.tourmadrid.eu) offer full or half-day tours that depart from top hotels in Madrid and whisk you away to Toledo for the day or even just half a day, if you prefer. Their Toledo travel guides will take you to medieval cathedrals, the Church of St Tomé, the Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca, the Museum of Victorio Macho, the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes and local restaurants. Another day tour may take you to medieval Avila and UNESCO World Heritage site, Segovia. A third possibility is a half-day excursion to the Valley of the Fallen, where civil war monuments lie, and El Escorial, which is full of Renaissance art. The cost for the Toledo and Valley of the Fallen/El Escorial tours are $184 and the Avila/Segovia tour is $298.
At www.isango.com, you can find affordable travel guides and city centre transportation. For just $30.45, you can take the “Madrid Introduction” tour, which takes you via deluxe air-conditioned motor coach to avenues like Gran Vía and Castellana; important squares like the Plaza de España, Oriente, Mayor, Puerta del Sol, Atocha, Neptuno, Cibeles, Puerta de Alcalá, Colón and Plaza de Castilla; the Hard Rock Café; historic quarters like Austrias, the Borbouns and Salamanca; Oeste and Retiro parks; and coliseums like the Bull Ring, the Santiago Bernabeu soccer stadium and University Campus. These travel professionals will help you collect your bearings and decide where you may want to explore further.
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