Introduction

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Madrid Recommendations

Bars:

  • Sala Equis: (Cinema bar- busy but definitely worth a visit)
  • Cuevas de Sesamo : Sangria in a basement with a piano.
  • La Venencia - "The one bar you must visit if you come to Madrid". A sherry bar. Looks like a working museum. No photos allowed.
  • Daaraji: Senegalese bar/textiles shop in Lavapiés. Hypnotic furnishings.
  • El Pavón: Bar attached to a theatre in Lavapiés with a beautiful wooden ceiling. Lot of artists and actors.
  • El Mercado San Fernando: Unlike the best-known mercados in Madrid this one isn't expensive. Very busy on weekends.
  • Barbieri : Parisian-looking bar in Lavapiés. Wrought iron columns, chequered floor, red velvet sofas. Great at any time of day/night. (Bar Manuela in Malasaña has a very similar vibe but with a big collection of boardgames).
Food:
  • Lamiak: Basque bar with two locales in Lavapiés and La Latina. Incredible pinchos (vegetarian and fish options available).
  • El Mercado San Fernando: (as mentioned above). Food from all over the world, reasonably priced and very good. If you're a  meat eater visit El Rincón De Manolo for Asturian steak/other delicacies.
  • Croqueta Solo: Croqueta-only restaurant in barrio de las letras. Relaxed, good place for a quick bite.
  • Canastaco:Brilliant Mexican taco restaurant in a mercado in Delicias (close to Madrid Río). Not well-known yet. Excellent meat options but very little for vegetarians here.
  • Bombay Blue: At the end of calle Miguel Servet in Lavapiés. Best curry restaurant in Madrid.
  • Los Tres Cerditos:Famously popular Chinese dumplings. One location in Delicias and the other in La Latina.
Parks:
  • El Retiro: Goes without saying. It is a must-see.
  • Templo De Debod: Slice of an egyptian temple given to Spain after an international UNESCO project. They mounted it facing the sunset and it's a good walk to combine with the palace and the cathedral. Lot of people visit at sundown, musicians etc.
  • Parque Madrid Río: A riverside walk/park that stretches for a few kilometres. Can be combined with a visit to La Capilla de Goya and El Mercado Puerta del Angel.
  • Parque El Oeste: By Moncloa at the end of Metro Line 3. Just as well landscaped as El Retiro but with half the visitors. Perfect for picnics. I actually have a friend who gives a brilliant historical walking tour of Madrid, focusing on this park and the surrounding area in the time of the Spanish Civil War. Link.
  • Casa De Campo: Former royal hunting grounds. Covers a gigantic area and shows you a more realistic example of the natural tree species of the area (a lot of quercus ilex, for example). Also has a lake and some (expensive) bars.
  • Parque Tierno Galván: Another favourite. A park in Delicias next to El Museo De Los Motores. Mix of industrial open spaces (train tracks, water towers, coliseums) and manicured lawns with fountains. Great for a medium sized walk. Keep an eye out for the abandoned imax cinema.
Galleries:
  • La Reina Sofia - Free every day for two hours, I think between 7 and 9pm.
  • El Prado - Free every day for two hours, I think between 6 and 8pm.
  • El Thyssen -  Free on Mondays between 12 and 4pm.
  • La Capilla Pintada de Goya - This isn't known anywhere near as much as it should be. It's a chapel painted by the artist Goya. It’s also where he is buried, and it's free to visit.
(Check the website for gallery opening times, they sometimes change.)

Travel Recommendations

Volunteering:

  • Workaway: is a database of hosts looking for volunteers to work for them in return for food and a place to stay. I used a similar scheme called WWOOF in Japan for a year. The advantage of Workaway over WWOOF is that membership is global and lasts two years (WWOOF membership is on a country-by-country basis and usually lasts a year).
  • Festivals: I’ve volunteered at a few festivals over the years, including Nowhere (Aragón), Traena and Karlsøy (both in Norway). Wherever I go, I keep an eye out for festivals looking for volunteers.
  • Sea Shepherd: I haven't used this myself but a friend of mine just came back from working as a chef on a boat in Antarctica.
Cheap or free transport:
  • Hitchhiking a boat: This is a fairly comprehensive guide to finding a spot on a boat (spoiler: difficult but not impossible), and covers different methods, networks and websites.
  • Ridesharing: Very popular way of getting around in Europe. Blablacar is probably the most well-known and reliably widespread rideshare company in Europe. But when in France I try to use Mobicoop since it is a co-operative system where passengers are not charged the VAT and service charge that Blablacar charges.
Hospitality exchange: Containering/Dumpsterdiving: Not something I’ve used much myself, but you might find it helpful.
  • Trashwiki:A crowd-sourced database of the world’s uneaten food, in varying states of availability. I recommend reading the preservation tips first.