Madrid Travel Guide

Tourist Offices

You can begin your info search with Spain's tourist offices located in the following places:

In Madrid -- The Patronato Municipal de Turismo (Municipal Tourist Board), Plaza Mayor 3 (Metro: Sol; tel. 91-588-16-36; www.munimadrid.es/turismo), can provide up-to-date information on what to do and where to go in the Spanish capital; it's open Monday to Friday 10am to 8pm and Saturday 10am to 3pm. Other tourist offices are located at Duque de Medinaceli 2, the Barajas Airport (Terminal 1), Puerta de Toledo, and the Chamartín rail station (open hours vary).

In the United States -- For information before you go, contact the Tourist Office of Spain, 666 Fifth Ave., Fifth Floor, New York, NY 10103 (tel. 212/265-8822). It can provide sightseeing information, events calendars, train and ferry schedules, and more. Elsewhere in the United States, branches of the Tourist Office of Spain are located at: 8383 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 956, Beverly Hills, CA 90211 (tel. 323/658-7188); 845 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 915E, Chicago, IL 60611 (tel. 312/642-1992); and 1221 Brickell Ave., Suite 1850, Miami, FL 33131 (tel. 305/358-1992).

In Canada -- Contact the Tourist Office of Spain, 102 Bloor St. W., Suite 3402, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1M9, Canada (tel. 416/961-3131).

In Great Britain -- Write to the Spanish National Tourist Office, 22-23 Manchester Sq., London W1M 5AP (tel. 020/7486-8077).

Websites

You can find lots of great information at the following sites.

Spain in General -- TURESPAÑA (Tourism in Spain official website; www.spain.info), Tourist Office of Spain (www.okspain.org), All About Spain (www.red2000.com), Cybersp@in (www.cyberspain.com).

Madrid -- Madrid by All About Spain (www.red2000.com), Time Out: Madrid (www.timeout.com), Soft Guide Madrid (www.softguides.com), Web Madrid (www.webmadrid.com), Chamber of Commerce of Madrid (www.descubremadrid.com/en/index.asp).

Online Traveler's Toolbox

Veteran travelers usually carry some essential items to make their trips easier. Following is a selection of handy online tools to bookmark and use.

General:

Airplane Food (www.airlinemeals.net)

Airplane Seating (www.seatguru.com and www.airlinequality.com)

Foreign Languages for Travelers (www.travlang.com)

Maps (www.mapquest.com)

Subway Navigator (www.subwaynavigator.com)

Time and Date (www.timeanddate.com)

Travel Warnings (http://travel.state.gov, www.fco.gov.uk/travel, www.voyage.gc.ca, or www.dfat.gov.au/consular/advice)

Universal Currency Converter (www.xe.com/ucc)

Visa ATM Locator (www.visa.com), MasterCard ATM Locator (www.mastercard.com)

Weather (www.intellicast.com and www.weather.com)

On Madrid:

Local Scene: The www.madridman.com website run by American resident Scott Martin gives you chatty background information on where to stay and what to do once you're in Madrid.

Restaurants: The site www.spain.info has a good section on Madrid attractions, especially eating spots.

Weekly Events: Check the Metrópoli section of El Mundo newspaper on Fridays (www.elmundo.es) for the most comprehensive summary of everything going on in the capital (in Spanish only).

Mad About Madrid: The www.madaboutmadrid.com website gives you a further rundown on city events in English.