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Welcoming the return of Madrid’s traditional tapas crawl:

The Madrileños may not have got the celebration they were hoping for – winning the 2020 Olympics – but you can’t keep the bubbles in the bottle for long with such an effervescent capital city.

In fact, the country’s economic woes have helped to resuscitate one of the city’s great traditions, the evening or lunch time ‘tapas’ crawl. Back before the crisis, the idea of getting a tasty free snack with your beer or wine had largely disappeared.  But harder times mean that many bars are now offering really good tapas to tempt people to come in and have a drink.  You’ll see plenty of boards offering special deals on both light bites and full meals as you walk the central streets.

What to do and eat on a small budget:

If you’re in the Spanish capital for a few days you’ll find there are plenty of things going on, and many at bargain prices as I found out on my recent weekend break – shattering my preconception that I’d end up spending a fortune.

With deals to Spain available from most countries from sites like orbitz.com, jet2holidays.com or unitedvacations.com.au it’s usually possible to save a bit of money even before you get there.

And, if you are looking for even bigger bargains you can check out webpages such as groupon.es to book attraction tickets by credit card before you even leave home.

Even without speaking much Spanish, the offers are fairly clear. I managed to pre-order a large seafood platter for two, a bottle of white wine included, in a classic restaurant not far from the city’s historic bull ring for just 19 euros.

You can make lunch even cheaper if you get a picnic together from a local supermarket and set off for one of the city’s central parks: the Retiro, Madrid Rio on the banks of the Manzanares river, or out in the semi-wild woods of the Casa del Campo. The best one to sit and eat in is the Retiro, with its ponds and glades among the trees. It also offers plenty of street entertainment, from puppeteers to buskers and mime artists. And if you’re in the park on a Sunday at noon, make sure you head for the Glorieta de la Sardana where you can see some typical Catalan dancers. There are also several art galleries, most of them around the central Estanque lake, where you can visit one of the frequently changing exhibitions which are usually free.

Museums Route in Madrid:

But for Art with a capital A, there’s no substitute for the Prado, one of the world’s greatest galleries, and the nearby Reina Sofia for modern paintings, both of which are just a short walk west of the Retiro. I always feel overwhelmed by seeing too many great masterpieces in one session, so it’s handy that their ‘happy hours’ fit in well with sightseeing time. From 6pm at the Prado (7pm at the Reina Sofia) you can fill those early evening hours with a two hour free wander around the galleries instead of paying 8 euros or more at normal rates.

While there are quite a few other city museums charging just a few euros, I found another interesting one that’s always free just up from the Prado on the way to the huge Cibeles fountain. Given all the history between Spain and the UK, it was fascinating to visit the Naval Museum and see the other side of those famous sea battles such as Trafalgar, plus it’s a good one for kids, with plenty of model ships to look at.

Of course, every city trip needs a bit of serious shopping time. The best streets to go are Serrano and Goya, a few minutes walk north of the Retiro. Another, generally cheaper area, is around Preciados, which runs into the Puerta del Sol, the plaza with Kilometre Zero, the plaque from where all distances are measured in Spain.

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Traditional Shopping Routes & Sourveniers:

But if you’re looking for something suitably Spanish to bring home, be it a fan, a leather bag, a flamenco dress or whatever, there’s few places better than the bustling Rastro flea market on a Sunday morning. It sums up perfectly the vibrancy of Madrid and the spirit of its residents.

Guest Post Bio

Katie is a UK based blogger who spent a couple of months travelling round Europe earlier this year. She writes about her adventures over at www.delightso.me.