So in my other posts I've already covered museums, nightlife, food, shopping and sights but I'm going to add a couple other various things I feel like would help you on your trip to Madrid that I haven't already covered!
Using the Metro
The metro in Madrid is probably one of the best public transportation systems I have ever experienced. You can get literally everywhere and it is very reasonably priced. Depending on how long you're there you can get all kinds of tickets, like single trip, 10 trips, or a monthly card, which you need to set up an appointment for. I recommend downloading the Official Metro de Madrid app to figure out which lines to take. All you need to do is put in the stop you are closest to and the stop you want to get to and it will give you the route to take! The metro closes at 2 and starts again at 6 am. But beware, for some stations the last exit is at 1:30 am so make sure to check your stop.
Speaking Spanish
Overview
So when I first got to Spain I knew basically zero Spanish. I took French in high school and no language classes in college so I was pretty useless. However, I did take a Spanish class while living in Madrid and made a lot of effort to practice out in the city which is how I feel I learned most of my Spanish. By the end of my 5 months there I felt like I could understand and communicate everything I needed to. If you aren't going to be here very long and don't have time to really learn the language, then no worries, it is still very easy to get around without knowing any Spanish. The people here do not as commonly speak English as in Barcelona since its less touristy, but most of the younger population speaks it well enough. And even if you do speak Spanish, if you have an American accent, sometimes they will just reply in English, which honestly kind of annoyed me because I was trying to practice. But for someone who just wants to communicate this may actually work out for you!
Not a lot of restaurants actually have English translated menus (at least a lot of the good ones), but if you are familiar with all the standard tapas then its pretty easy to order. However, I do recommend you learning at least some of basic words for different foods so you can understand other dishes.
"The people here do not as commonly speak English as in Barcelona since its less touristy, but most of the younger population speaks it well enough"
Warnings
My only warning is to not speak English loudly in taxis or on public transportation. In taxis they will realize you are a tourist and screw you over by taking you on an extra long route and on public transportation you will be more targeted for pickpocketing (another topic I will cover).
Conclusion
So to all my non Spanish speakers, you will be fine, it is not too hard to get by here, but I do recommend at least putting some effort into learning basic Spanish words so you will be familiar with menus and signs etc. The people here are not as bad as the French in Paris (sorry Parisians) but they are also not always the most friendly and willing to help non Spanish speaking tourists in my experience as compared to other parts of Spain.
Pickpocketing
I've had a ton of people ask me about pickpocketing in Madrid. I never got pick pocketed in my time there but I was very conscientious of my belongings and was pretty paranoid about it. I think you just need to use your common sense and not get too drunk and leave your stuff out in the open and you will be fine. I made sure to never leave my backpack on in crowded areas or public transportation, always had a tightly zipped purse and never put my purse down in clubs even if there were couches available. I also wouldn't leave my phone out on a table in a crowded bar or restaurant. I always had my phone in my hand or in my purse, and never in my pocket. And like I said above, don't be a super loud English tourist in taxis or on public transportation! I did all this and never had a problem so do the same and I'm sure you will be fine!
Cash
I didn't feel like I needed to have a lot of cash on me at all times but I definitely needed it more than I do in San Francisco. I of course used it for outdoor markets, cool street vendors and all the other things you would expect to use cash for, but I also felt like I used it a lot more for food than I do here at home. Like I think every time I got some sort of food that wasn't a sit down restaurant I used cash and also taxis mostly only take cash as well but I think it is becoming more common to take card. So I definitely don't think you need to use cash for everything, I still used my credit card for most things, like restaurants, grocery store, touristy purchases and shopping, but I would definitely keep some on hand. Also make sure when using your card to always choose Euros as the currency! Always pay in local currency. Travel rule. Your home bank basically always provides a better conversion rate than whatever conversion rate the place you are buying from is going to use.
Other things to do
Soccer game
Go to a soccer game! This is obviously a huge thing in Madrid. Buy tickets online ahead of time. People get lit before, during and after games so even if you just go out to a bar during a game you may be entertained. I don't know much about soccer but I was thoroughly entertained by how committed and enthusiastic the Spanish population is about their soccer teams.
Day trips
I think I may eventually write a whole separate post on this but if you have time do some day/weekend trips outside of Madrid! There are plenty of other cool places to check out! I went to Segovia, Salamanca and Toledo from Madrid for day trips and I went to Valencia for a couple days. I would recommend going to any or all of them! You can easily take a bus or use BlaBlaCar, a really easy to use and safe carpooling service. Stay tuned for when I make a post on these places :)
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