Backpacking in Madrid – free walking tours, 1-Euro menu’s & the best hostel
I recently spent 4 days in Madrid, and having already spent 6 weeks traveling in Spain I figured I knew what I was getting into. Barcelona was okay, Valencia was beautiful and Madrid was just AWESOME! So awesome that I have to share all my top tips about my now favourite Spanish City.
First off, if you’re backpacking or even just looking for a great room at under 50 Euro for a double private, great location and awesome staff I have the place for you. The name is Fabrizzio Guesthouse and it is location in the Plaza Major – our gorgeous room overlooked the square, which was simply stunning night and day. The staff are super friendly, and if you’re an Outrageous Fortune fan you may have to do a couple of double takes, as there is a Munta look-a-like! Also it is super clean, breakie is free and there are kitchen facilities.
My second tip is to do the Sandeman’s New Europe Madrid walking tour. The tour is 3-hours and takes you all over the main sites in town. The guides are super friendly and fun and hail from all parts of the world. They make the tour super interesting by not just telling you the facts but also some myths and folktales about certain sites in the city. The best thing about the tour is that it is FREE. Got to love the free stuff. Walking tours go everyday at 11am and 4pm outside the Tourist Office in the Plaza Major (right downstairs from the guesthouse!).
This tip also goes along the same lines as the above – if you’re a keen drinker the group also organizes a pub-crawl every night of the week, which starts at 10pm, and you meet at the same place as above. The crawl is 12 Euros and includes visits to 5 bars and clubs. However the best is yet to come – you start the night with the ‘power hour’, unlimited beer and Sangrias for 45 minutes. This is followed by 3 free shots at the following clubs and drink specials all night. I have to admit it was well worth the money for the drinks and socializing however be careful as sometimes the guides can loose the entire group! For more info, click here.
Lastly I have to mention my two favourite restaurants and their 1 Euro menus! The first is Museo de Jamón, which has a couple of shops around town. My favourite was a huge cheese and ham croissant and a beer for the tiny price of 2 Euro all up. The second is Cerveceria 100 Montaditos where you can get 0.5l of beer for 1Euro and here the sandwiches are a lot smaller than Jamón’s but you can also get salmon, chorizo and all sorts of delish ingredients. The best part is that both of these places are less than 5 minutes walk from Fabrizzio too!
All up it’s a fantastic city, with amazing history, awesome sites and great value all round – get there!