Madrid: Useful Information

- To avoid embarrassment, remember when looking for the bathroom, that ‘m’ is for ‘mujeres’ which is ‘women’, not ‘men’. Men will either be ‘caballeros’ or ‘hombres’.

- Keep your belongings on you or in a hotel safe if valuable. There are professional pickpockets and scam artists about.

- Look for bargains in the restaurants; many list special offers (two for price of one etc).

- People from Madrid like to look smart when out at night. The other extreme is the bohemian crowd, who generally hang out in the district of La Latina.

- Food at the airport isn’t really the best in bars and cafes, especially if you are vegetarian. Pack a snack or wait until you get to your hotel.

- Food for vegetarians in general in Spain isn’t too varied but certain tapas dishes are always a good bet.

- It isn’t an urban myth that service in Spain is laid back. Be prepared for shop assistants and bar tenders to chat amongst themselves before serving you. The Spanish don’t like to be rushed!

- If you buy a tourist travel pass you can get discounted travel on all types of public transport within the Madrid region. The pass is valid for either 1,2,3,5, or 7 days, and starts at 5.00 euros for a 1 day city centre pass.

- There is also a bus service that runs at night, but unless you can recognise where you need to get off, taking a taxi is wiser for night time trips.