Fodor's Madrid & Barcelona, 15th Edition: The Complete Guide with Walking Tours and Trips to Toledo and Segovia (Travel Guide)

Gives practical advice about shopping, sightseeing, accommodations, and dining in Madrid and Barcelona and includes information about Spanish culture and daily life.

Destination: Madrid and Barcelona

Madrid

Madrid, smack in the middle of Spain, is one of Europe's most vibrant cities.  Madrileños are a vigorous, joyful lot, famous for their apparent ability to defy the need for sleep; they embrace their city's cultural offerings and make enthusiastic use of their cafés and bars.  If you can match this energy, you'll take in Madrid's museum mile, with more masterpieces per yard than anywhere else in the world; the palaces and boutiques of regal Madrid; the dark, narrow lanes of medieval Madrid; and Madrid post-midnight, where today's action is.
Around Madrid

Castilla (Castile), the area surrounding Madrid, is a vast, windswept plateau with clear skies and endless vistas.  An outstanding Roman aqueduct and a fairy-tale castle and cathedral make Segovia one of the most popular excursions from Madrid.  The walled city of Ávila was the home of St. Teresa, Spain's female patron saint, and the university town of Salamanca is a flourish of golden sandstone. Aranjuez tempts with the French-style elegance of a Boubon palace, while enigmatic Toledo is dramatic and austere, with rich legacies from three religions.
Barcelona

Barcelona is one of Europe's most dynamic and artistic cities.  From the medieval atmosphere of the Gothic Quarter's narrow alleys to the elegance of the Moderniste Example or the action-packed modern Olympic Village, Barcelona is on the move.  Picasso, Miró, and Dalí have links to this vibrant city with its ever-stronger Catalan identity.  After 40 years of repression through post-civil-war Franco dictatorship, Catalan language and culture have flourished since home rule was granted in 1975.  Now this ancient romance language is heard in every street and is, along with Castilian Spanish, Barcelona's co-official language.
Pleasures and Pastimes

Bullfighting

Bullfighting is a form of ritualized slaughter: The bull never wins, and gorings are unusual. Those who can conceive of the bull as a symbol rather than as an animal, who can remain undisturbed by the blood, and who can appreciate the drama and the fanfare will get the most out of a bullfight. For Spaniards, it's an art form and a national passion.

Bullfights start with a procession of banderilleros, picadors, and matadors.  First, the matador waves capes to encourage the bull's charges. Then a picador, on horseback, stabs the bull's neck and shoulder area.  Next, banderilleros plant darts in the bull's back.  After more cape taunting, the matador kills the bull with a sword.  He or she (some matadors are female) may receive the bull's ears and/or tail for a job well done.  Six bulls are killed per day, by several different matadors.

Corridas (bullfights), are normally held around 5 PM on Sundays, from April to early November. Hemingway made famous Pamplona's running of the bulls and bullfighting during the feast of San Fermín, in the second week of July, but nowhere is bullfighting better than at Madrid's Las Ventas, where three weeks of daily corridas in May mark the festival of San Isidro.
Dining

Seafood and roast meats are Spain's national specialties.  Foods are lightly seasoned, although garlic is considered a basic ingredient.  Salads are delicious and fundamental, especially in the heat of summer.  Ensalada mixta includes canned tuna, asparagus, olives, tomatoes, onions and egg. Ensalada verder is simpler, usually limited to lettuce, tomato, and onion.

Breakfast in Spain is usually coffee and a roll; in Madrid, it might be churros (strips of fried dough) and chocolate (thick hot cocoa).  Spanish coffee is strong espresso taken straight (café solo) or with hot milk (café con leche).  If you prefer weaker coffee, ask for café americano.

Spaniards generally eat paella, the delicious seafood and saffron-spiced rice dish, at midday, preferably at a beachside restaurant or around a campfire at a country picnic.

Lunch usually consists of a first plate, which is a salad, soup, vegetable or smoked fish or cured meat; a second plate, almost always meat or fish; and dessert, which can be icecream, yogurt, or flan but is more often a piece of fresh fruit, which natives peel deftly with a knife and fork.  All this is accompanied by bread (no butter) and washed down with a bottle of wine.  In big cities, some workers now grab a quick sandwich instead of stopping for the traditional three-course lunch.
Shopping

Clothing is expensive in Spain: World-famous Spanish leather jackets and shoes are beautiful, if pricey.  Madrid has the best selection of leather clothing, purses, and shoes; shoes are generally made in Alicante and the Balearic Islands.  Distinctive country-style ceramics are in ready supply throughout the country; most are made in Talavera, Puente del Arzobispo (Toledo), and Seville.

Other shopping in Spain will probably have something to do with alcohol.  Each region produces its own wine, with the sherries of Jerez, the Riojas of the north, and the sparkling wines (cavas) of Catalonia famous around the world.
Sports

Sailing, boating, and other water sports are popular among the Mediterranean coast and in the Balearic Islands.  The golf course at El Saler, south of Valencia, is considered one of the best in Continental Europe.  Marbella has 14 excellent courses, and the Costa Brava and Costa Blanca also have commendable courses.  Hiking is excellent in the interior of Spain, and the numerous national parks, from the marshy Donana to the mountainous Picos de Europa.  Spain has excellent skiing and winter sports facilities, with major resorts including Navacerrada, Valcoto, and Valdesqui, near Madrid.  Spain is renowned for its horses: polo is played at the magnificent Puerta de Hierro Country Club, in Madrid, and the Royal Polo Club, in Barcelona. Thousands of pedal-pushers turn out in early summer, when the roads are closed off for Madrid's annual bicycle day.  Otherwise, bicycling is impossible in crowded cities, but many coastal resorts rent bikes.