While Madrid is a hugely popular tourist spot, there are many hotels and other such types of accommodation to benefit from. The places to stay in Madrid range from hotels, to apart-hotels, youth hostels, other hostels, and apartments.
Hostels and hostels are probably the cheapest. A youth hostel can cost around 15 Euros a night for a bed, and the opportunity to meet other travelers. In contrast, a hostel is accompanied by a bed and a bathroom, but still cheaper than a hotel. With a rating of 5 stars, the hotel Hesperia is probably the finest, with only two minutes of walking time to the metro
Many popular artists visit Madrid, as lifestyle is fun. Concerts, fiestas, and other such events are very common and somewhat traditional. Artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay, and R.E.M. have visited, and will visit the city again. There are dozens of fiesta each month at this point and sometimes the entire town will be involved. The lively atmosphere of the city makes it a great choice to hold a convention.
The city council generally organizes these lively events, and most of the time they are free to attend. In the summer, concerts and fiestas are held out doors or in open-air buildings and contain highlights such as dancing and photography. You can find all the dates listed in “En Madrid,” a tourist hand out.
In Spain, Madrid specifically, the Euro is used as the national currency since 1999, although they were not officially circulated until 2002. Coined Euro’s come in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 euro cents, while notes come in 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500.
The format of their money is unlike America, in that thousand can come before a point (3.450 = Three thousand, four hundred and fifty) and decimals come after a comma (85,12 = Eighty five Euros and twelve cents.) You can exchange currencies at the airports, or banks but credit cards are widely used and there are many ATM’s. Unfortunately, travelers checks are uncommonly cashed. As for taxes on items, you can pay anywhere from 7-16%.
Bull fighting is a very common activity in Madrid and in all of Spain. During fiestas and all different kinds of other celebrations, you can often find bull fighting going on for days. Especially in Madrid, the popularity of bull fighting is progressively more enjoyable. This is particularly a great activity to relax after a convention.
During the San Isidro festival, bull fighting occurs every Sunday from the middle of May all the way until October. The most important bull fighting arena, one of the two there in Madrid, holds 20,000 people. The greater part of the bull fighting happens here. Some of the best fighters come to town for Madrid’s’ feast days, where fighting goes on daily.
The people of Spain, unlike America, work so that they can live. In America, it is more and more likely to see someone who is living to work. There is a big difference between the two. Work is not something that comes before everything. Things such as family and friends are considered worth more than the value of a job.
Employers in Spain realize that such things come first, instead of penalizing the employee for missing a day for a family emergency. Although Spaniards work long hours with short lunch breaks, while at work they still socialize with their coworkers and liven up the environment. They are not socially defined by the type of work that they do.
