Post: #1

Am flying from London to Madrid on Monday.

I have about 3 weeks in Spain with no specific plan of where to go.

Firstly, anyone have tips for nightlife in Madrid? Tips on the Madrid chicks?

Secondly, any suggestions for where to go in Spain and what to do with my 3 weeks?

Thanks

Post: #2

the best nightlife in madrid is in two areas by the center: sol and la latina. things start at around midnight at dont finish up til 4 or 5. in sol there are a lot of hostels and so that brings along with it a lot of gringos so there are the irish pubs and other places u wont really wanna go to but there are two places which are cool in sol: sesamo, which is a sangria bar in a cave-like ambiance with live music and quotes from famous spanish poets written on the walls and la fontana de oro, another bar with live music. sesamo is good to go to early to grab a table and la fontana is a good late-night spot... dont get there til 3. the nearby area of la latina is a dose of much more genuine spanish culture... just get off the metro/bus and find the most crowded bar and order a beer.
if you want hipster head to alonso martinez/tribunal area. there are actually some really hot girls here. the clubs, like milenio only charge like 5 euros to get in.
for food, head to this small bar by plaza colon (the place with the big flag). the bar is in a supermarket complex right next to calle ayala, 30. spanish food is awful, but this place makes the best spanish tortilla in spain.
as for other places, i went to barcelona, malaga, grenada, sevilla and cordoba. cordoba is kind of an under the radar place i thought with beautiful girls. but ibiza is the best apparently. grenada has the alhambra but i heard its hot as balls this time of year.
enjoy

Post: #3

(08-02-2009 02:22 PM)mojodrew Wrote:  the best nightlife in madrid is in two areas by the center: sol and la latina. things start at around midnight at dont finish up til 4 or 5. in sol there are a lot of hostels and so that brings along with it a lot of gringos so there are the irish pubs and other places u wont really wanna go to but there are two places which are cool in sol: sesamo, which is a sangria bar in a cave-like ambiance with live music and quotes from famous spanish poets written on the walls and la fontana de oro, another bar with live music. sesamo is good to go to early to grab a table and la fontana is a good late-night spot... dont get there til 3. the nearby area of la latina is a dose of much more genuine spanish culture... just get off the metro/bus and find the most crowded bar and order a beer.
if you want hipster head to alonso martinez/tribunal area. there are actually some really hot girls here. the clubs, like milenio only charge like 5 euros to get in.
for food, head to this small bar by plaza colon (the place with the big flag). the bar is in a supermarket complex right next to calle ayala, 30. spanish food is awful, but this place makes the best spanish tortilla in spain.
as for other places, i went to barcelona, malaga, grenada, sevilla and cordoba. cordoba is kind of an under the radar place i thought with beautiful girls. but ibiza is the best apparently. grenada has the alhambra but i heard its hot as balls this time of year.
enjoy

What would you recommend in Ibiza? Places to stay? Nightlife? Things to do during the day?

Post: #4

San Sebastian and Barcelona.

Can't miss.

Madrid is dope, but the beach is the place to be in summertime.

Two words for you: Topless Chicas.

- MPM
The Guide to Getting More out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com

Post: #5

Hi Lumiere,
I live in Madrid, here are my favourite clubs:
Fortuny
Gabana
Moma
Real Cafe (inside the Santiago Bernabeu stadium)

Note that in August the city is half empty so maybe you'll see less ppl in clubs.
Regarding the bars, I can recommend you the district La Latina (metro la Latina) especially on sundays, it's full of bars. Try "El Viajero".

Other cool places: Penthouse (Hotel ME) in "Plaza Santa Ana", more generally try this place by night. Restaurant Lateral (you can find 4-5 in total). District Sol (most turistic area)

You can visit the south of Spain, if I were you I would go to places like Tarifa (amazing ambiant during the summer), Cadiz (for example a beach called Zahara de los atunes), Marbella (if you like bling bling lol), Alicante...
North of spain is also cool: San Sebastian, BCN, Asturias...

Enjoy your trip !

Post: #6

Alicante holds a special place in my heart.

I had an epiphany when I was 16 years old there with all the fly topless girls.


- MPM
The Guide to Getting More out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com

Post: #7

agreed about the beach being the place to be in august. a couple summers ago i met my ex in alicante and we spent about a week there. the best night of the trip was the night we spent in benidorm, which is about one hour by train from alicante. young people were getting drunk on the train and when we arrived the beach area was absolutely packed. there were definitely cute chicas out there, but also a shitload of other gringos. overall, i would recommend going there because the whole night i was wishing i was single and could hit on the sick hotties surrounding me.
if i were you i would hit up some places in the basque country. one of my biggest regrets is having never gone there. bilbao is the main city, but theres also asturias and san sebastian. spain is known for having excellent public transportation, as seemingly every city has its own metro and late-night buses. the ave train gets you from madrid-barcelona-sevilla in a couple hours. the only time you would need to fly would be if u want to go to ibiza, which ive heard is a lil snotty.
check out a map of spain to see how u can plan this out geographically.

(08-03-2009 11:55 AM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  Alicante holds a special place in my heart.

I had an epiphany when I was 16 years old there with all the fly topless girls.


- MPM
The Guide to Getting More out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com

Post: #8

Not to mention Northern Spain is widely considered to be producing the best food in the Western Hemisphere right now.

- MPM
The Guide to Getting More out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com

Post: #9

(08-03-2009 06:16 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  Not to mention Northern Spain is widely considered to be producing the best food in the Western Hemisphere right now.

- MPM
The Guide to Getting More out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com

What kind of food?

Post: #10

(08-04-2009 07:49 AM)Lumiere Wrote:  

(08-03-2009 06:16 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  Not to mention Northern Spain is widely considered to be producing the best food in the Western Hemisphere right now.

- MPM
The Guide to Getting More out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com

What kind of food?

Spanish food.

Just playing.

Seafood, Tapas etc.

Stuff like: http://www.tienda.com/cgi-bin/affiliates...sto&page=4

And: http://www.tienda.com/cgi-bin/affiliates...jm-12.html

Bourdain did a great show on Spain a while back. You should try to get your hands on it.

- MPM
The Guide to Getting More out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com

Post: #11

I made erasmus for 6 months in Madrid, around three years ago.
Madrid is one of the most populated cities in europe. If you look at the map you will notice that Madrid is exactly in the center of spain, wich is not an accident, it was built on purpose by a king to be there. Before the capital was Toledo, that is in the distance of one hour train ride.

There is only one airport in Madrid (Barajas) and it has metro till the center (station "Sol"). The taxi (if the metro is closed) is around 25 euros.

From what I remenber spanish chicks speak very litle english, like all of the south european people.
They are definitily not easy, but from south of europe, for me, they are the most feminine, sensual and more aprochable. They are also very outgoing.
Spanish are passionate and proud of their country, specially in Madrid and Andaluzia.
Madrid is considered one of the party capitals of europe. In summer I think a lot of madrilenos go to the coast, so I guess the city is half full.
Catching a ferry from Valencia to Ibiza or Mallorca is a good option. Or visit Lisbon the capital of Portugal.

It will be unbearably hot. Last week a game at night of Real Madrid was delayed 2 hours because of the heat.

Spanish, more in the south, normally close their stores from 14h00 to 17h00 to do "La siesta", some people think it´s because they are laizy, but it´s imposible to work on that hours due to the hot weather.

Madrilens say that in Madrid it´s: "seis meses de invierno y siete meses de infierno". Six months of winter and six months of hell.

I think the area around "calle huertas" is definitily worth seeing by night, I don´t remenber the names, but they have a dancing bar every corner.
My favourite club was Palacio Gaviria (but I heard it´s closed) there´s others like Pacha, etc.
My best advice on spanish girls is not to say you´re just passing, but let them think your planning on going studying or working to spain.

During the day I can recomend the usual tour I made every time somebody visited me:
Real Madrid Stadium;
Museum of Reina Sofia (I think it´s free on saturdays), don´t miss the painting of Guernica;
Museum of Prado (I think it´s free on sundays after 16h00);
El retiro (the big park);
El Rastro (big open air market, on sundays morning);
Plaza Mayor;
Presidential palace;
Bullfight arena;
Estacion Atocha, it´s a train station with an incredible garden inside, definitely worth seeing.
There was a bar runned by argentinians called "el caminito", near museo reina Sofia, that had a giant screen tv and a playstation. I don´t know if it´s still open. Good place to chill.
The students area where I lived was Arguelles and Gaztambide, with a lot of bars playing spanish punk rock like Ska-p, etc.
I always ate at home, for saving money for beer, but there´s one place I can recomend, a pizza bar near calle Gaztambide, where used to work some incredible brazilian girls, specially one called Fernanda. Other than that a girl that lived with me recomended a restaurant called "finca de Susana", but it was 3 years ago...
Madrilian people are more conservative than catalan. In weekends It´s hard to get into good clubs wearing zapatillas (snickers).
Madilenos speak fast spanish compared to south americans. "Guapa" means beautiful. One thing I always do when I´m in a foreign country is to know how to say to a girl "you´re beautiful" in her language. In spanish it´s "Qué guapa éres tia". If something is very cool they say: "De puta madre".
If you wanna call somebody you say "oye".
I had a girlfriend (now ex-girlfriend) when I´ve been in Madrid, and back then I was a faithfull idiot, and I regret it almost everyday.

Post: #12

Hey guys,
I just arrived in Puerto Benus / Marbella, Spain.
I havn't been here in 6 years.
Any info?

Post: #13

Buying a stamp in Spain, cashing travelers checks, making international phone calls all the practical advice you need to make our time in Spain a whole lot easier.Normal social courtesies should be observed when visiting someone's home, and a small gift is always appreciated. In bars and restaurants,one person normally pays for each round or meal.

Post: #14

All the Spanish people I've met blame the Latin Americans for ruining their language, so don't speak LA Spanish there, lol.

Post: #15

I did an erasmus exchange with the university of granada while back and spent a year down there - awesome times!!

it's a university town and has tons and tons of nightlife; especially check out the bars along Pedro Antonio de Alarcon in the south of the city; is one long-ass street of nothing but bars and clubs

granada was the last strong-hold of the moors in spain and you can tell that has affected the locals; many are darker than you would find in madrid or other parts, almost south american looking

also tons of exchange students from US, sweden, other european countries

the locals speak virtually no english though so try to work on your espanol

Post: #16

zanetti,

Which coastal Spanish towns did you hit up?

Post: #17

(10-12-2010 11:40 AM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  zanetti,

Which coastal Spanish towns did you hit up?

been to Malaga a couple of times - nice beaches but always felt the nightlife was very lame and absolutately nothing compared to Granada

Barcelona obviously rocks

i always liked Santander in the north; had a nice chilled out vibe, not a lot of dumb tourists, and some serious topless honeys on the beach

Post: #18

(10-13-2010 02:56 AM)zanetti Wrote:  

(10-12-2010 11:40 AM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  zanetti,

Which coastal Spanish towns did you hit up?

been to Malaga a couple of times - nice beaches but always felt the nightlife was very lame and absolutately nothing compared to Granada

Barcelona obviously rocks

i always liked Santander in the north; had a nice chilled out vibe, not a lot of dumb tourists, and some serious topless honeys on the beach

Smooth. I have always wanted to hit up Santander. Decent waves as well.

Can you break Santander down with a good Data Sheet?

Post: #19

(10-13-2010 11:54 AM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

(10-13-2010 02:56 AM)zanetti Wrote:  

(10-12-2010 11:40 AM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  zanetti,

Which coastal Spanish towns did you hit up?

been to Malaga a couple of times - nice beaches but always felt the nightlife was very lame and absolutately nothing compared to Granada

Barcelona obviously rocks

i always liked Santander in the north; had a nice chilled out vibe, not a lot of dumb tourists, and some serious topless honeys on the beach

Smooth. I have always wanted to hit up Santander. Decent waves as well.

Can you break Santander down with a good Data Sheet?

i was there on a work do and we were chauffeured around - don't remember any names...

Post: #20

Hello Mojodrew & Pepini...!!!

Thanks for your wonderful tips for Spain....These tips are up-to the mark and really help me now in my December Spain trip.....Will you please tell me one thing that,December is the right time to visit there or not....If yes then also list some National parks plus ancient places to visit.....Thanks in advance!!!

With Regards,
Tom Ruderr.

Post: #21

(10-27-2010 11:04 PM)tomruderr Wrote:  Hello Mojodrew & Pepini...!!!

Thanks for your wonderful tips for Spain....These tips are up-to the mark and really help me now in my December Spain trip.....Will you please tell me one thing that,December is the right time to visit there or not....If yes then also list some National parks plus ancient places to visit.....Thanks in advance!!!

With Regards,
Tom Ruderr.

december is definitely the best time of the year to visit the alhambra in grenada since it wont be scorching hot
also you might want to check out spots in the bosque country like asturias and its blue colored mountains
sevilla is also a great place

Post: #22

A bit late, but someone might benefit from the info:

Definitely hit Barcelona. there is a club/bar called Carpe Diem down by Port Olympico. All the way on the beach. It's definitely a high class joint and the talent there is unbelievable. There are also a couple of restaurant/bars next to it that were packed with Barcelona's finest. The tough thing is trying to pick up in my broken ass Spanish. Most of the girls I encountered in Spain, did not speak English. I still did ok and ended up hooking up with some chick~7. My buddy who I was with played college basketball (6' 6'') and I'm sure that certainly helped as soon the girls found we were american and thought he played professionally. He landed an absolute 10 and his Spanish is worse than mine. As much as I hate doing the douchbag bottle service scene (sorry too much of it here in NYC), it might play well here if you're looking to arouse curiosity, set the bait, and capitalize.

On a Sunday in Barcelona, we were dying to find a bar that had NFL games. There's an Irish pub called George Payne's Irish Bar and found quite mostly easy irish girls, but a sprinkling of Spanish girls as well looking for Americans. Btw, I'm 33, a mix of eastern indian and portguese. I basically look latin and always get classified as a local, especially in south america.

Puerto Banus is a playground for the ultra rich. I was only there one night and had no luck. I guess I'm not exactly high value in my rental car when everyone is rolling in italian automobiles or boats for that matter.