Madrid long weekend Sept 2022

After a 2 year delay my family holiday with my parents and sister and her husband to Madrid for a long weekend happened. The holiday started with an overnight stop at the Hampton By Hilton at Stansted then Ryanair flight to Madrid. I booked a private transfer from the airport to our centrally located hotel, The Pestana Plaza Mayor for 3 nights. Lovely hotel right on the square with a roof top pool and a basement spa. Rooms were small but worth it for the location. The hotel has a beautiful courtyard restaurant that is also the breakfast room. The breakfast was fantastic with an a la carte menu for eggs or special breakfast included in the price.

I booked a couple of excursions, the first one being a wine tasting tour. We met our guide and rest of the group, only 11 of us in total and boarded a mini bus. The journey was about 45 mins then we reached a small village. We had a short walk to the winery and then met the owner. He didn’t speak English but our guide did a great translation. We got to have 2 tasting in the cellar then back up to see the wine making process then a further 3 tastings in the main part of the winery. The owner and his wife were really friendly and gave us lots of nibbles to enjoy with our tasting. After the tasting the guide took us to the bullring where there were bars open and the opportunity to look around the bullring or visit the church. We returned home later than planned but after a great excursion.

The 2nd excursion on our 2nd full day was to visit the Royal Palace. We met our guide near the Opera House. She pointed out some interesting facts and statues on the way to the Palace then gave us all headsets in the Palace and talked us through the 35 rooms that we visited. The group was about 16 people which was a good size.

During our stay we sampled some local delicacies from roasted pig to tapas. We watched flamenco dancing and a band that played local Spanish music.

Some highlights for a trip to Madrid would be to stay local, have a tour either on a hop-on-hop-off bus or with a tuk-tuk to get your directions. Eat the local food and sample the tapas. Try Churros and hot chocolate. Visit the park and take a boat on the lake.

It’s a great city and lots to see.?