Madrid, Spain + Add a trip

You know how sometimes you go into a place, the decor is perfect, the service is good, the waiters are immaculately dressed,everything is just right and then the food arrives and you realise they put all of the money into the decor, the service and the dress....

...and the owners' pockets.

There is much better curry in Madrid!

My favourite place for good tapas are not in the touristy areas. If you can, head to "la casa del abuelo" in Goya ( Barrio Salamanca) and the money - quality-quantity is excellent for the Tapas.

Parque de El Capricho is a Beautiful historical garden with built avenues and walkable paths in the "forest". Still in the process of renewal, it was bought by the madrid government after having been abandoned for a while, ever since it stopped being an army bunker in the war, having been appropriate from a previous hotel and having had a plane crashed right in the labyrinth, which has been rebuilt according to documents to its previous Laurel-grown glory.

Great and original tapas at Almendro 13. A real locals bar. Very unusual drinks menu with lots of liqueurs and sweet (but really nice!) wines

Great, and inexpensive, 5 star hotel! We stayed here because a friend had his wedding reception in the hotel and booked the room for us. We paid for only one night ourselves but wouldn't have minded paying for the whole stay, it was so reasonable = €130/night! The facilities are top-notch (if you are planning meetings or a wedding) and the rooms very comfortable with all the amenities you can think of. The food is also excellent, and breakfast is served for a very long time (remember that Spaniards eat dinner VERY late (after 9pm) and are up late at night too), so stay out as long as you like at night!

Especialidad: Cocido Madrleño

Founded in 1929 this is a very old tapas bar in Madrid, specialiced in spanish wine. A place where you can taste more than 70 different types of wines.

I´d like to recommend a very good restaurant guide to everyone who´s travellig to SpaiN: www.citymenus.es It publishes all the menus and prices, very helpfull