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3 Stars - 31 Opinions
Puerto del Sol, Madrid
At the south gates - that is a close as we got
Las meninas
A great dinner in great company (with Ursula)
Hi
My train from Santander arrives at 18.30 and I need to catch the 18.40 to Valencia. Is there enough time to do this as I do not know the station or platforms. I need to know this before I book online from the U.K.
Any advice will be gratefully received
Thanks
I think you need a lot more time than 10 minutes as you'll need to line up for security even though you are transiting. Suggest lots of extra time and grab a coffee.
I would blow off the train to Valencia and take a low cost airline like Vueling. When I compared the train v. plane it made no sense to train it. Take your train to Atocha, then then metro to Barajas. Karl
to yoru question, 10 minutes is not going to be enough. You will be needed to have your luggage in hand as the train comes to a stop, rush out down the platform, figure out which your target platform is, and make it over there. The trains don't wait. It will start pulling out at 18:40 unless you tie your wife to the tracks in front of it. Karl
Very important: Do you kow if both trains use the same station? There are two in Madrid: Atocha and Chamartin.
In many European countries 10 minutes would be fine. However aparently not in Spain. The train planner on the Renfe will not give you solutions involving a connection if there is a direct train, even when there is only one direct train per day and there would be more possibilities involving connections.
You have to specifically ask for trains schedules involving connections, and even there you get a warning if the transfer time is less than 90 minutes.
For someone used to the Swiss railways this all looks extremely weird.
How does it work with Renfe? I see there is also a train to Valencia at 20:00. If one were to miss the 18:40 one, could one take the 20:00 one?
Yes the are both Chamartin. Having looked at the timetable on RENFE there seems to be only one train that leaves after my train from Santander arrives,going to Valencia.I was surprised there were not more.
My trip is to avoid flying which is why I am coming by boat from Plymouth.
Thank you for all your replies
Oh, I didn't see a 20.00 on the Renfe site. That would definitely suit me and give me plenty of time. Would I be able to buy the ticket at the station or do I have to buy it online?
Thank you for your reply
The train from Santander arrives to Chamartin. I suppose the train to Valencia also departs from that station. I'm not familiar with Chamartin as I usually use Atocha station, cannot say if there is time enough.
You have another possibility: there is a train from Santander to Alicante via Madrid, 04072 ALVIA, departing from Santander at 7.05. It arrives to Chamartin at 11.38, leaves at 12.03, then stops at Atocha at 12.16. Then you can take the 01144 ALARIS at 13.40 from Chamartin or at 14.00 from Atocha, arriving at Valencia at 17:25.
This train is not displayed if you search schedules from Santander to Madrid, but if you enter directly to purchase you will see it, also if you search schedules Santander-Alicante.
You'll find free wireless internet connections ("internet inalambrico" or "wifi") in every El Corte Ingles cafetaria.
There are no indications, and the waiters may not know about it (they pointed me to the ladies room last time I asked). But it's there. Just turn on your laptop or handheld.
It's the only place in Madrid where I've found Wifi so far. Don't even try VIP's or Starbucks, where you would normally expect to find it...
A good place to go for a siesta or just people watch is Retiro Park. I stayed for about an hour people watching and hearing a musician play his acoustic guitar If the weather is nice people can rent rowboats.
At noon on Easter Sunday, there is a Tamborrada (Drum parade) in the centre of Madrid: Plaza Mayor and surrounding area.
Since 2.005, it's organized by the Cofradía de la Entrada de Jesús en Jerusalén, from Zaragoza. It's composed by more than 110 members using their "timbales, bombos, tambores and carracas" (percussion instruments).
Regarding the website, look for Semana Santa (Spanish version) or Easter (English version).
I can't think of a better example of what Madrid exactly is than the avoided by the tourist district of Malasaña. By day, its little streets didn't bring to your mind the idea of a bustling metropolis, but the placid tranquility of a small village where everybody knows your name. The small and old shops, the animated chats of lifetime neighbors in the middle of the streets, the "feeling" that nothing really important happen outside the limits of the district.
But during the weekends, when the night falls and the neighbors go to bed, the streets suddenly becomes the kingdom of hordes of teens or post-teens (depending of the hour), in the constant pursuit of squeezing out Madrid night life. One could expend years in Madrid touristy areas and never learn anything about the city. A single night in Malasaña is usually much more illustrative ;-)
A nice bar to go to in Madrid is the Cafeeke. Not really your typial Spanish bar, though! Here you will be able to taste many Belgian beers such as Leffe, Duvel, Kwack, Bush (this one is 12% alcohol, so be careful!), or Palm. They also have a menu of Belgian snacks, when I was there we had the mussels and they were very nice! The people are great (the owner is very nice), and the atmosphere is quite relaxed! The downstairs is for smokers and the upstairs for non-smokers. Also for all of you dog lovers, our furry friends are very welcome inside the bar! All of this makes Cafeeke a very nice option to do something different in Madrid.
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Address: Nunez de Balboa 112, Madrid, Madrid, 28006, Spain
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