I know it is not ideal and no one would like to visit a place on a rainy day, but here some ideas on how to spend your time and get to love the place if you have the great "luck" of getting there on a rainy weekend.
Explore the Food scene in Madrid
Start with a coffee in a local bar
instead of heading to Starbucks or similar why not go to have coffee where the local people go? :)
Snack some Jamon :)
Get some Spanish tapas for lunch
we stopped at Fatigas del querer. the place looks nice and it seems to get very fast crowded, maybe because it is close to Sol. The baby calamari were delicious and the Corquetas de Jamon as well. I tried for the first time tortilla de camarones and was not impressed, not sure if in general is better but this one was definitely too oily.
Or why not try a menu of the day from the local restaurant
I love these places, as the food tastes more like home than at a regular restaurant.
for me usually the trick is the dessert, I am absolutely crazy about Natillas which is a sort of pudding. So when we choose a restaurant we ask if they have Natillas :).
Visit special places
Head to Lavapies and explore the streetart
if you get any moment with less rain, explore the wonderful street art around
by the way if you have time on Meson de Paredes street you can find some good Senegalese restaurants. Continue your trip till the intersection with Calle De Miguel Servet. There is a project where a lot of popular street artists brought their touch to Madrid
Discover secret places in Madrid
Around Calle del Doctor Fourquet you can find a community garden, which offers different activities including different workshops and relaxation space. It was closed when I arrived but I spotted a piece of ROA inside
and on the outside walls a clear message (for native speakers): Lavapies is not to be changed
Visit the turtles at Atocha station
in the biggest train station in Spain you can find a indoor botanical garden which is house for about 300 turtles. they got here from people that did not want to keep them anymore or moved away. they are very funny to watch
You must see Guernica if in Madrid
Picasso's famous painting can be found in room 206 of Reina Sofia. Is one of the few (if not the only) room where you can't take pictures. The painting is now synonym with Spain so as my friend told me, Guernica for Madrid is like the Eiffel Tower for Paris and the Manneken Pis for Brussels; a must! So after so many times in Madrid I finally got to see Picasso's masterpiece. Remember to check the opening hours as you have free entry slots ;)
Shopping adict? Check out Gran Via
Shopping in Spain can be great, just make sure you don't go when everyone else is there. Remember Inditex has 10% cheaper prices in Spain and Portugal so would be a pity to miss getting something new back home.
Go out in the evening
Have same Canas
It will strike you at first, but it is mostly typical in Madrid to throw napkins and some of the leftovers on the floor in restaurants, my friends from Madrid always tell me, don't enter a bar without napkins on the ground as that would mean the place is not good. Napkins are a good sign.
a small Madrid beer dictionary might be useful here
- cana is servred in a small glass from the tap (200ml)
- una doble is served in a bigger glass from the tap (350ml)
- una clara - beer with lemon sparkling juice
Paying for beer, getting food
In Madrid you rarely pay for tapas, unless you go of course in a tapas bar where you order specific things, but Madrid is known for giving small bites of food with your drink. If you know the right places you can almost have diner with the food you get along. One of these places is called Restaurante Petisqueira. I've been at the one on Mejia Lequerica 17. Not necessary the highest quality, but usually good enough to snack something with your beer
Party life
there are endless places to go out in Madrid, but I will not list them here, you can of course pick your style and go to a bar or a club.
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