We loved our two months living in Galicia, Spain. The sights, sounds, and peerless countryside made it one of our more memorable destinations.
But since our 90-day Schengen zone visa runs out in 1 month, we need to continue onward to our final Airbnb for this Western European trip – in Madrid, the capital of Spain!
Madrid has a population of approximately 3.4 million inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the European Union. The city is a major economic hub, with a strong focus on services, industry, and tourism.
Madrid is a city steeped in history and culture, with a rich heritage that dates back to the 9th century. It is home to many world-renowned museums, such as the Prado, Reina Sofía, and Thyssen, which house an impressive collection of art and artifacts from around the world. Madrid also has many historic landmarks and buildings, such as the Royal Palace, the Plaza Mayor, and the Almudena Cathedral. The city is also home to many modern architectural styles, including Art Nouveau and Art Deco.
As the capital of Spain, Madrid is the seat of the Spanish government and the residence of the Spanish monarch. The city is also home to the Spanish Congress of Deputies and the Senate, making it a hub of political activity.
Madrid is known for its vibrant nightlife, with a wide range of bars, restaurants, and clubs to choose from. The city also has a rich cultural scene, with many festivals and events throughout the year, such as the Madrid Pride and the Madrid Jazz Festival.
In other words, there is tons to do for anyone with even a minor interest in art, history, or culture.
And thankfully, we were able to score high-speed rail tickets at a much better price than last time, at €49.20 ($53.55 USD) per ticket.
Once we arrived at Estación de Madrid-Chamartín-Clara Campoamor in Madrid at 4:30 pm, we took a mix of commuter trains and metro lines to our new apartment in the Peñagrande neighborhood in the northwestern part of the city.
The Peñagrande neighborhood is a nice residential area, and we know it will be perfect for our needs.
Our Airbnb is away from the main streets, so road noise isn’t bad at all.
And there are lots of cafes, supermarkets, restaurants, and small parks in easy walking distance. There is even a mall (Centro Comercial La Vaguada) with a MASSIVE department store close by.
Basically, anything we would ever need is within just a few blocks.
But if we want to go further afield, that won’t be a problem as the Madrid Metro system is easy to use and will be inexpensive for us during our stay. And the closest Metro station is only 100 feet away!
While in Galicia, we applied for online and had mailed to us two Personal Public Transport Cards (at €4 each). These cards are important, because it is only on them that we could load 30-day “Abono” plans that cover public transportation for ALL of the Madrid Metro zones (A – E2).
Personal Public Transport Cards are NOT the same as Tourist Travel Pass Cards.
Each “Abono” plan cost us €52.70 ($56.36 USD), which includes a 60% discount offered by the government. Sadly this discount will no longer be offered for 2025 onward.
Having this “Abono” plan means we can ride ALL subways, ALL metro buses, ALL commuter trains, and ALL city trams within zones A – E2 an unlimited number of times for 30 days.
Awesome.
We can go to any of these places an unlimited number of times for the one-time price of a 30-day E2 “Abono” metro plan. Day trips won’t be a financial burden!
These cards/plans are normally not practical for fast-travel tourists, because they must be sent to a Spain address (like to our Galicia Workaway location), it takes time to process them, and the “Abono” plans are a waste if you are only in Madrid for a week.
But for us, they were the perfect, inexpensive, slow-travel solution to our Madrid transportation needs.
You can find the instructions for getting these cards HERE, but it will require some planning on the part of the applicant. This link also explains the differences between the tourist Metro plans/cards, and those usually used by longer-term residents.
When we arrived in Madrid we started getting immediate value out of our shiny new Personal Public Transport Cards to get us to our Airbnb.
Our apartment is on the second floor of a secure apartment building.
Walking into the apartment you first enter a hallway with wardrobe coat storage, and seating areas to remove your shoes.
At the entrance end of the hall is the kitchen, with a clothes washer (yay!), dishwasher (yay!), big refrigerator, 4 burner stove, oven, microwave, multiple coffee makers, air fryer, and place settings for about a dozen people it seems.
A well-equipped kitchen is always nice.
The 4 burner stovetop is beneath the fruity glass plates.
Needless to say, Rhonda is quite pleased.
At the other end of the hall is a big living room – dining room – sitting room area, with sectional couch, love seat, and table for 4. There is also a big wall-mounted TV (with HDMI inputs for our Chromecast), ceiling fans, and AC.
Lots of good space here.
View from the opposite corner.
There is also a half-bathroom connected to the hall at the dining room end.
Small but functional.
Connected to the living room is a spare bedroom with a double bed, nightstand, bureau for clothes, and ceiling fan.
Also attached to the living room is the master bedroom with a double bed, nightstands, ceiling fan, and a large wardrobe.
And connected to the master bedroom is a full bathroom with a shower and all the usual amenities, including a bidet for extra spice.
As a general observation, the Airbnb is PERFECT for up to four people, which is good because we will be entertaining guests for almost the entire month! It will be fun to explore Madrid with old friends over the next 28 days.
We can’t say enough about our Airbnb’s location and connectivity to the Metro system. All of our daily needs, as well as our more tourist ones, will be well served by its position within the city.
So for all of this, including utilities and 400 Mbps download speed internet, we are paying $77.70 USD USD/night (including a 40% long-stay discount).
Normally this place would be too big for our needs, as well as too expensive. But we are only responsible for covering half of the cost during our time here.
We are super excited about what the next month will bring!
Until next time…
Thanks for reading!
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