Cigar-lovers rejoice! by surferob
Okay, I know this tip won't interest the vast majority of you....but. If you enjoy the art of a good cigar, and especially if you're American, you'll no doubt want to indulge in the opportunity experience the finest vitolas around, the cigars of Cuba. It's a bizarre feeling to have them available for purchase, nothing illegal, no taboos, just pay and smoke. It's alot like a pot smoker going to Amsterdam for the first time. In fact, it's almost exactly like that.To find a good selection, you can start at the El Corte Ingles in Puerto del Sol. The shop is on the basement level. For a REAL tobacconist experience, I recommend the shop on Magallanes street (calle or avenida, I don't recall). Take the red metro line to "Quevedo", go west a half a block to Magallanes, turn right (north) and it's right there on your right. It is the perfect cigar shop.
Oh, and don't worry that you'll pay inflated prices by going there, the prices are the same everywhere because they're controlled by the government.....the kind of thing I normally despise politically, but you didn't hear me complaining at the time.