The Making of Madrid
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Eight scams to avoid in Madrid
Visitors coming to Madrid are often nervous about being targeted by scammers. A legitimate fear if you don’t understand the language and are reliant on the kindness of bilingual strangers to help you navigate your way around a foreign city. As problems can start as soon as you get off the plane with unscrupulous taxi drivers…
Madrid’s Oldest Stores
A tribute to Madrid’s oldest stores You may have noticed little brass plaques in front of shops in Madrid. Designed by the cartoonist Mingote, they indicate that the store in front of you has been in business for more than 100 years. An incredible feat considering that these shops have stayed the course through a civil…
Best Day Trips from Madrid
While Madrid boasts fantastic art galleries and fabulous museums, if you’re interested in Spain’s Roman and medieval history, a day trip is your best bet. Only a short train or bus ride away, destinations like Segovia, Toledo, and Alcala de Henares never disappoint. Toledo Once the Visigothic capital of Spain, Toledo’s history goes all the way…
Three Myths About the Spanish Inquisition
Founded in 1478 to root out false Jewish converts to Christianity, the Spanish Inquisition was a bloodthirsty organization that killed between 5,000 and 10,000 people during its 350 year existence. Given these horrifying statistics, it might seem odd to say that the Spanish Inquisition wasn’t quite as bad as it has been made out to be…
Recent blog posts
Where to find a bathroom in Madrid
Public bathrooms: the awful reality In 18th-century Madrid, long cloaks were all the rage among Madrid’s working classes. Not only did they double as a blanket when you got sleepy but they also provided some much-needed privacy when you needed to take a wazz against a wall. Two hundred years later, you’d think things would have…
How to Survive Summer in Madrid
You’re coming to Madrid in August for your summer holidays, hombre, are you crazy? – would be the typical response a Madrileño would give you if they heard your travel plans. They know from bitter experience that this delightful city turns into a furnace during summer. Anyone in their right mind ought to head to the…
Mealtimes in Madrid
What are typical mealtimes in Madrid? Mealtimes in Spain can drive you crazy, especially if you arrive at a restaurant ravenous, only to find the kitchen won’t be open for an hour yet. As Madrid is always full of tourists, there will be places willing to serve you lunch at 12pm. Unfortunately, these are often tourist…
Why are true Madrileños called gatos?
What is a gato? Gato means cat in Spanish but in Madrid, it also refers to someone who can count their ancestry back two generations within the city. This means that both their parents and grandparents were born and raised here. While there’s a little bit of debate on whether this should be on both sides…