The-MNF-Weekend-Guide.Pdf

Welcome to Madrid – a bustling international metropolis with the soul of a Mediterranean village.

This compact guide to a wonderfully no-frills weekend in Madrid was written by me, Leah, for you, the thoughtful explorer. I suspect you stumbled across my corner of the internet because you really want to get to know Madrid, but then a weekend doesn’t give you much time at all.

In these 30 pages, I share my personal perspectives on the city, my favourite hidden gems, and my knowledge of the city’s darkest days both past and present. You’ll also find stories from Madrid’s people, who’ll tell you more than any monument or museum ever could.

Whether you’re a visitor, a new arrival, or a lifelong resident of Madrid, this printable collection of treasures will show you places you’ve never discovered. They could be in a new neighbourhood, or even in one you’ve explored a hundred times before. One thing is for certain: it’ll tell you things that no other guide book will.

It’s Friday night in the city, and the lights are fluorescent…

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FRIDAY NIGHT

Dive straight into Madrid’s legendary market scene.

Make a beeline for the very no-frills Bar San Fernando – it’s one of the market’s oldest bars and does a great tortilla. Feel free to take your drink for a ramble around the market, sampling various foodie delights. Just be sure to bring your glass back later as each stall has their own.

On your way out, pick up an old map or Madrid guidebook from La Casquería. This little bookshop tucked into a quiet corner of the market sells all of its books by weight – a fun gimmick that harks back to its days as an offal shop (casquería in Spanish).

Mercado San Fernando Calle de Embajadores, 41

Do a spot of people-watching over some home-cooked Senegalese food and watch modern history in the making.

Grab a table by the window and order a €6 plate of Tiebuyen. As you enjoy some people-watching on the square in front, see if you can spot the entrance to the old convent that stood there until just ten years ago. The stone portal now lies flat, disguised as an alcove of seating.

In more recent history, this square became the flashpoint for a huge, unplanned protest triggered by the death of a Senegalese street vendor. In March this year, Mame Mbaye died of a heart attack outside his Lavapiés home at just 35 years of age.

Alarming rumours of police involvement spread quickly, sparking off violent riots through the streets of Lavapiés that very night. Vehicles were burned, windows were smashed, and the sound of low-flying helicopters echoed through the barrio.

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Morning broke as the helicopters were still hovering, watching from above as a powerful protest unfolded right here on the square. Furious over persistent persecution of the area’s immigrant population, thousands of people gathered and chanted:

“Ningún ser humano / es ilegal” (“No human being is illegal”)

The dust has settled for now, and locals have begun hanging out on Plaza de Nelson Mandela again while the police keep an uncomfortably close watch from parked patrol cars.

Perhaps some of the people dining alongside you tonight were there that night. If you get chatting, they’ll certainly have some interesting stories to tell.

Mandela 100 Calle del Mesón de Paredes, 50

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Watch live jazz till the small hours.

Time for some post-dinner jazz! Don’t let those hermetic netted curtains deter you – they’re there partly to preserve the club’s atmosphere, but mostly to deter the naïve walk-in customer, which you’re definitely not.

Order a drink at the splendid marble bar and take your time to admire the antique fixtures around you. Then, drink in hand, make your way to the pink marble tables at the back and enjoy the show.

Entry costs €5–6.

Café El Despertar Calle de la Torrecilla del Leal, 18

Take a late-night stroll through the city that never sleeps.

1. Start at the world-famous Plaza Mayor – a debatably Venetian square in the heart of Madrid that’s seen a lot of change. Once a leafy park dissected by tramlines, it then became a carpark – until that was (thankfully) buried under the cobblestones. At around the same time, its iconic arcades were packed with sandbags to protect shops from bombing during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39).

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The best part of a century later, Plaza Mayor is full to the brim with wistful tourists enjoying the beauty of the square, many of whom will never even notice its darker side.

Every night, up to 100 homeless people bed down inside the arcades. Since the crisis hit in 2008, homelessness in Madrid has soared. Many seek refuge on Plaza Mayor because of its relatively safety – it’s well lit, has cameras covering every square inch, and offers comfort in numbers.

2. Carry on towards the opera house, wending your way through some of the oldest streets in Madrid to join fellow crowd-dodging explorers as they admire the royal palace by moonlight. From here, walk up the hill to the Temple of Debod for a view over the twinkling city lights – and get ready for a fascinating history lesson.

This Egyptian temple to the goddess Isis was built around 2,100 years ago, but by the 1960s it stood abandoned and in a state of ruin. Destined for a watery grave due to the construction of the Aswan Dam, it was gifted to Spain by Egypt in 1968. Now, the temple stands on land once occupied by a military barracks – and one of the highest points of the city.

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It’s hard to imagine it now, but scores of people were slaughtered here during the Civil War. Although no traces remain of the old military barracks, a memorial to those lost in the fighting clings to the north face of the hill.

3. From here, head across Plaza de España to Gran Vía (5) for a glimpse of the livelier side of Madrid’s nightlife and – sadly – many trafficked women who are trapped in the sex industry.

These women are typically brought over from Eastern Europe and sub-Saharan Africa on the false promise of a career as models, singers or actors. Watched closely by their pimps, they often stand alone on busy streets, where they meet their clients before taking them back to nearby apartments or secret rooms at the back of late-night corner shops.

4. Walk back down Calle del Carmen, passing a grand church on your left, and stop for a moment at Puerta del Sol – as Ernest Hemingway did on many a night – to watch the veteran buskers as they perform through the night.

You can easily loop back to Plaza Mayor from here, weaving through the beautiful old streets that surround it. On the way, you might just spot where I’m taking you for breakfast in the morning.

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SATURDAY

Rev up for a day of exploring with a hearty breakfast of chocolate con churros.

Unlike tourist hotspot San Ginés, where you often queue to be served, you never have to wait more than a few seconds at my favourite chocolate and churro place, Los Pinchitos.

I recommend you sit at the bar to enjoy your sweet, stodgy breakfast: it’s cheaper here than at the tables, and you get to watch the waiters running their ship with impressive efficiency.

Los Pinchitos Calle de Esparteros, 9

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Spend the rest of the morning exploring Retiro Park.

Every guide book will send you to Retiro Park, but few will tell you about the darker moments in its history. The story centres around a stunning monument whose past has been buried so well that people are only now starting to talk about it again.

1. Welcome to the Crystal Palace – a beautiful glass building with a year- round tropical climate, originally built to house exotic plant life from the farthest corners of the Spanish empire. It adjoins a small lake that was once the destination of ancient tribes brought over from these faraway lands to hunt for fish in the traditional Philippine way.

Indeed, an entire village was built to exhibit these unfamiliar people in their ‘natural habitat’, with thousands of curious spectators paying for a glimpse of their exotic world. This is the site of Madrid’s forgotten ‘human zoo’.

2. Not far from the Crystal Palace is a tiny book-swapping kiosk, where books of all sorts are brought to embark on a second life. Feel free to bring a book to swap and take a no-frills souvenir home with you.

3. Veer north towards another former zoo, although this time lions and polar bears were the ones on display. Can you see the two crumbling caves made of fossilised coral sitting opposite one other? Those tiny, cramped cages were where the polar bears were kept, and the lions lived next door in what is now a library. You can still see a sculpture of a lion’s head above the windows at the back of the library.

Madrid is full of unexplained objects that, on closer examination, offer clues about a bygone world. But some of these clues can be much harder to find, such as the secret underground bunker…

4. Continue north again for five minutes until you reach the chic venue Florida Retiro. Don’t go in – instead, head around the back, step over the rope barriers, and scan the grass for three metal panels. Go ahead and stand on top of them: beneath your feet is an eight-metre-deep, two-storey bunker providing space for 200 people. Built during the Spanish Civil War, it’s apparently still in good condition should it ever need to be used again – which we hope it doesn’t.

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Enjoy a cool horchata: the taste of the Valencian coast.

Want to try the best horchata in your life? You’ll find it right next to Retiro park, where it’s been every summer for 74 years, in a little roadside kiosk run by the fourth generation of the same family. Cousins Miguel and José own the last of Madrid’s horchata kiosks, which once numbered around 300, and proudly prepare their horchata according a family recipe dating back to the early 20th century.

Kiosko de Horchata de Miguel y José Calle de Narváez, 8 (open April to October)

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Eat no-frills seafood in the aisles of Madrid’s very own Moroccan souk.

Madrid’s extremely retro Mercado de la Cebada is like something straight out of Tangier. Every Saturday, the seafood stalls group together and transform the market aisles into electric avenues of seafood bars. Find one of the aproned fishmongers nestled amongst the crowd and place your order of seafood by weight (a ración de pulpo is great for sharing).

Don’t forget to grab your iced bottle of white wine from the bucket on the floor – it comes free if you order a few things – and then search for a quiet corner to eat in.

Mercado de la Cebada Plaza de la Cebada

Now let’s head a little outside of the city centre, to Madrid’s Chinatown, which is also where the old, traditional Spain still thrives…

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Get a glimpse of the old Spain in the back of an Usera bodega.

Walk five minutes from metro Usera and travel back in time at Casa Ciri. Your destination is at the very back of the bodega. On your way in, pick up a wine and a tapa before heading to the salón to watch – or even play – a tense game of cards. Don’t forget to admire the wall tiles, which are a tribute to why I’ve brought you here.

Casa Ciri Calle del Amor Hermoso, 21

Tuck into a bowl of fish-head soup in a former no-frills bar.

Just a five-minute walk from Casa Ciri takes you to a faraway land: China. The long-established Restaurante Lao Tou is popular with the local Chinese community and Spaniards alike, who will all have a bowl of hot fish-head soup on their table – which is also why I’ve brought you here!

Don’t be startled: the graphic appearance of this authentic Wenzhounese dish is part of its appeal, and the menu is veggie-friendly too with its delicious tofu, noodle and vegetable dishes.

Restaurante Lao Tou Calle de Nicolás Sánchez, 35

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SUNDAY

Have a lie-in. Breakfast can wait!

Plan for a late breakfast at Bar En Ca’ Kiko, an El Rastro institution that’ll serve you up a café con leche and virtually anything on toast. Just bear in mind that, any time after 10 am, you may be tempted to join your fellow punters for a beer or wine.

Bar En Ca’ Kiko Calle de Carlos Arniches, 2

You’re now at the perfect starting point for a stroll through Europe’s largest flea market, once described as the last border with Africa.

Meander through the hidden gems of El Rastro.

1. Every inch of this cobbled square is packed with antiques and second-hand clothes, and you can sometimes spot a retro find for as little as €2. This is the oldest part of El Rastro, Plaza del General Vara de Rey.

2. Rummage through thousands of vintage photographs and feel just a few degrees of separation from the people in them. Calle de Mira el Río Baja, 8.

3. Imagine yourself in a Pedro Almodóvar film set in this grand warehouse of kitsch old furniture at Calle de Arganzuela, 18.

4. An invitation to Franco’s funeral is hiding somewhere inside this living museum of (mostly) fascist military collectables at Calle de Arganzuela, 29. Ask the owner: I’d be surprised if he’s sold it.

5. Next door, recoil at the sight of 400 vintage telephones, many of them adorned with swastikas – it’s just bizarre.

6. On Plaza del Campillo del Mundo Nuevo, look out for the eccentric Rastro Cowboy and the legendary ‘Muslim perfume seller’ as you sift through yet more old books, antiques and collectable football cards.

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7. Walk back up the hill towards the main stretch of El Rastro, on Calle de la Ribera de Curtidores. At number 12, you’ll find a stunning courtyard packed with antique shops. Wander around the raised gallery and through to the front of the building for a view of the bustling crowd below.

8. Keep climbing the steep streets until you reach the back entrance of a furniture shop, which seems to be in a permanent state of liquidation (El Rastro Emaus, Calle de San Cayetano, 8). Stop for a browse if you like – there are always some gems inside – before discovering what lies beyond…

9. You might feel like you’re trespassing, but you’re alright until 2 pm, when the gates close to non-residents. Continue through the passage until you find a patio surrounded by beautiful interior galleries. These buildings, known as corralas, were built for Spanish workers who abandoned their agricultural way of life and headed to the big city centuries ago.

10. Each of the apartments inside the corralas is very small – typically just 30 m2 – and bathrooms were only installed in the last few decades. Before that, people would go and shower a few times a week in the local bathhouse at the bottom of the hill in Lavapiés. Two of these bathhouses still exist today, but they are now mainly provided for homeless people. Calle de Miguel Servet, 2.

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Attend a duck mass.

Mass begins at 1 pm, but get there early to secure yourself a space on a red velvet pew with a good view of the Duck Priest and his epic shoulder pads.

The miniature church of the rubber duck was founded by Leo Bassi – a classically trained, seventh-generation clown who’s about to perform the most eccentric sermon you’ve ever seen, including the oldest magic trick in the book: turning water into a glass of wine, which Bassi then proceeds to down in one.

Iglesia Patólica Travesía de la Primavera

After 45 incredible, unholy minutes, it’s time for lunch.

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Sit down for a hearty menú del día.

Just a stone’s throw from the Duck Church, you’ll spot Bar El Jamón easily by its colourful retro signage. Sit yourself down at one of the paper-covered tables – either at the front or in the hidden dining room at the back – and order from the set daily menu.

If you’re here in summer, order the gazpacho; in winter, the cocido madrileño.

Bar El Jamón Calle de Lavapiés, 47

Pick up some baklava from the Syrian confectioner.

If you can squeeze in a second dessert, treat yourself to some baklava from Pastelería Salamat, the little Syrian patisserie around the corner, and take it to the hidden urban garden a few minutes’ walk away.

Pastelería Salamat Calle del Tribulete, 10

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Explore the hidden urban garden.

You could easily forget you’re in Madrid as you step inside this oasis of bamboo, cacti, and fruit and nut trees. Wander in past the plant nursery and weave through the vegetable patches until you reach the rockery at the back. Climb through the narrow, dusty paths, taking a closer look at the menagerie of thriving succulents, until you reach a crescent-shaped theatre made of wooden crates. Take a seat and contemplate the garden’s history…

You’re on the site of a very old building, the first-floor walls of which you can still see from inside. It was optimistically demolished just before the financial crisis, and the plot stood abandoned for years. Around ten years ago, residents slowly began cleaning the site and planting trees, and it’s now one of the most idyllic picnic spots in Madrid.

Esta es una Plaza Calle del Dr. Fourquet, 27

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Decode the secret messages inside the disused cigarette factory.

Not far from the urban garden stands a 226-year-old living museum known as La Tabacalera. After closing in 1998, this old cigarette factory was left abandoned for several years before becoming the creative community space it is today.

Walk through the large steel doors, up the steps, and into the central hall. Don’t worry if there’s an event on – it’s always an open house. Walk through the plastic curtains behind the stage and descend the fire-escape steps into an urban jungle with an impressive collection of cacti. Follow the bassy reggae echoing through the underground tunnels – don’t be afraid to get lost – and see if you can decode the powerful messages hidden within the murals.

La Tabacalera Calle de Embajadores, 53

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Get ready for a night that Ernest Hemingway would have loved.

Just a few of Madrid’s old literary haunts remain, and tonight might be one of your last chances to see them, because they’re disappearing by the month.

The neighbourhoods of Chueca and Malasaña were once famed for smoky, curtained-off bars, where revolutionaries would gather to thrash out some pretty radical ideas. These clandestine haunts thrived during and even well beyond General Franco’s death in 1975 – indeed, some pockets of this Madrid still exist today…

Drink wine and debate ideas in an old-world Chueca bodega.

El Comunista (pictured on the front cover) continues to sport a ruby-red façade, harking back to the days when this was the only way for illiterate customers to identify it as a wine bar.

The bodega thrived under Franco’s dictatorship, becoming an infamous hang- out for lowbrow and intellectual lefties alike in their search for a safe space to discuss controversial topics and maybe the odd plot to oust Franco from power.

Today, El Comunista is run by the great-grandson of its founder, and its kitchen by his formidable grandmother. This Chueca hideout is a genuine portal to 19th century Madrid – including its food – and a beautiful and inspiring place to while away a few hours.

Tienda de Vinos (El Comunista) Calle de Augusto Figueroa, 35

Room for dessert? Head to Malasaña’s best-kept secret.

Café Ajenjo has already seen its heyday, and its clientele has dwindled from hundreds a day to just a handful of ageing regulars. Like Café El Despertar, Café Ajenjo is not interested in passing footfall – this whimsical watering hole is a living museum reserved for those with the determination to discover it.

And about that dessert: the cake is made fresh every day by the owner’s wife and goes very well with a late-night gin.

Café Ajenjo Calle de la Galería de Robles, 4

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MONDAY

Enjoy your last breakfast in Madrid Spanish-style.

What you’re looking at on the previous page is a tostada con tomate. Place your order while sitting on the terrace of Cerveceria La Carpa – an archetypal family-run, no-frills bar. They serve freshly squeezed orange juice and an array of typical Spanish breakfasts, but the fresh tomato on toast is my personal favourite.

Cervecería La Carpa Plaza de Tirso de Molina, 20

Visit the stunning local olive grove run by two young farmers.

Let’s end the weekend with a journey back in time to an ancient Spanish way of life.

Take the bus an hour south to this family olive grove for a walking tour through century-old trees, where Guille and Laura will teach you all about the process of creating olive oil, from planting and harvesting to filtering and bottling.

Afterwards, gather at shady table nestled idyllically among the gnarled old trees as your hosts guide you through a professional olive oil tasting session. Before tucking into a plethora of local foodie treats, raise a cold glass of Spanish red to an unforgettably no-frills weekend in Madrid.

Proyecto Los Aires Calle Visitación, 12, Arcicóllar, Toledo

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I also came to Madrid for a weekend, 12 years ago, when I saw my first rubbish- strewn bar floor, drank my first tiny beer, and watched the sunset turn the whole city purple three days in a row.

That no-frills weekend had been going around in my head ever since, until I finally bought a one-way ticket here in 2013 and never looked back.

If you decide to return too, whether you bring an overnight bag or your life packed into a suitcase, I’ve got you covered: I’ve been busy creating an archive of places for you to explore, so rummage around my website and start compiling your personalised guide – in case, like me, you end up staying a little longer than expected.

Oh, and I have one last special surprise for you. Write me a message with the top-secret codewords:

“Send me the coordinates!”

…and one more no-frills tip awaits you.

Until then, have a wonderful no-frills weekend in Madrid.

Leah :)

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INDEX

B K Bar El Jamón 22 Kiosko de Horchata de Miguel y Bar En Ca’ Kiko 17 José 13 book-swapping kiosk 11 bunker 11 L

C La Tabacalera 24 Los Pinchitos 10 Café Ajenjo 25 Café El Despertar 6 Casa Ciri 16 M Cervecería La Carpa 27 Mandela 100 4 corrala 19 Mercado de la Cebada 14 Mercado San Fernando 3 E

El Rastro 17 P Esta es una Plaza 23 Pastelería Salamat 22 Plaza de España 9 F Plaza Mayor 6 Proyecto Los Aires olive grove 27 former zoo 11 Puerta del Sol 9 G R Gran Vía 9 Restaurante Lao Tou 16 H Retiro Park 11 human zoo 11 T

I Temple of Debod 7 Tienda de Vinos (El Comunista) 25 Iglesia Patólica (duck church) 21

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A huge thank you to…

Contributing artists

This is a free guide and shall not be used for profit-making purposes.

For additional information, contact Leah at [email protected].

Follow @madridnofrills