Top ten tapas and free eats in Madrid

by Gadling Staff on

In Spain, the “tapa” is the traditional free snack that often accompanies a drink in a bar. There is something unusually delicious about free food, especially when presented alongside a glass of red wine or an ice-cold “caña” (small glass of beer). “Tapas” are sensible – no drinking on an empty stomach. They also serve to whet the taste buds before a meal. Some even call tapas an “alcoholic’s paradise!” Unfortunately, in modern Madrid, you will most often be served a small bowl of crisps, a saucer of olives, or if you’re lucky a piece of bread with a slice of ham or cheese. Any larger serving comes at a price. Free tapas are not easy to come by in Madrid, but if you know where to go you’ll find an abundance of bars where you can eat well for the price of what you drink.

  1. Pepa Tencha, Calle de Apodaca 3, Metro Bilbao (Lines 1,4) and Tribunal (Lines 1,10) – Every Wednesday and Saturday from 8.30pm, this Italian Café offers a free “aperitif” alongside their affordable wine collection. The name is slightly misleading – it refers to an all you can eat buffet of pasta, polenta, salads and various dishes. If you’re looking to eat nearly free in Madrid, this is the best place to come.
  2. El Tigre, Calle de Infantas 30, Metro Chueca (Line 5) and Gran Vía (Line 1 and 5) – El Tigre is the go to place in Madrid for free tapas. Buy a round of beers and get a plateful of delicious snacks to go with it, along with the lively ambience one comes to associate with this most Spanish of Spanish cities.
  3. La Paloma Blanca, Calle de Espiritu Santo 21, Metro Tribunal (Lines 1,10) – This small hole in the wall bar grants you a generous portion of food gratis with your beer. Expect bowls of tuna and pasta salad, accompanied by a fried egg and bread. Ideal for backpackers looking for a protein boost.
  1. Magister, Calle del Principe 18, Metro Sol (Lines 1,2,3) and Tirso de Molina (line 1) – More than just another generic Spanish bar, Magister brew their own beer and each glass comes with a tapa of your choice, from cheese, pork products, Spanish omelette and much more.
  2. A’Cañada, Calle de Fúcar 20, Metro Anton Martín (Line 1) – This small, but packed bar is located close to the Reina Sofia Museum runs in a similar vein to El Tigre, offering plates of food for free with each drink.
  3. Boñar de Leon, Calle de la Cruz Verde 16, Metro Noviciado (Line 2) – A friendly, family owned tavern that serves the best Tinto de Verano, a cocktail of wine, lemon and vermouth, in Madrid. Their free tapas is very generous: from a Spanish omelette to cheeses and meat from Leon.
  4. El Rincón de Abulanse, Calle Cabarello de Gracia 18, Metro Gran Vía (Lines 1 and 5) – Cheap drinks and generous tapas.
  5. Bar La Mina Café, Calle de Mauricio Legendre 5 post, Metro Plaza Castilla (Lines 1,9,10) and Charmartín (Lines 1, 10 and trains) – While this bar is away from the centre, its location near the northern train station makes it an excellent stopping point for an “aperitivo” after a day trip to Segovía or El Escorial, offering free “pinchos,” Spanish appetisers to accompany a drink, this can include Iberian Ham, mussels stuffed with béchamel sauce and breadcrumbs, cheese and Russian salad.
  6. Mercado de Maravillas, Calle de Bravo Murillo 122, Metro Cuatro Caminos (Lines 1,2,6) – A huge market hall where you can buy all kinds of vegetables, cheeses, meats and much more, but it also houses numerous bars which offer generous portions of free tapas, such as “paella,” a Spanish rice dish, or garlic potatoes. The prices for drinks and food here are incredibly cheap!
  7. Malaspina, Calle de Cadíz 9, Metro Sol (Lines 1,2,3) – Just round the corner from Sol, this bar offers small tapas with your drinks, from tuna and potato salad, to toasts topped with Iberian pork products.

[flickr image via Ruth L]

Drugs and travel don’t mix (in most places)

by Sean McLachlan on


Flying out of Madrid’s Barajas airport last week I spotted this curious poster. Sorry for the crappy photo, but there was a light right in front of it. The poster asks, “Do you seriously believe that being around drugs overseas would be fun?”

The message is one to think about. Most recreational drugs are illegal in most places, and going to jail isn’t fun anywhere, yet I have to wonder about the subtext of this poster. It seems to be saying, “Stay away from drugs, son, or scary dark people with bad teeth will beat you up, steal your right shoe, and use you like a woman.”

In reality, the main dangers of using drugs overseas are being ripped off by the dealer or getting framed. This is especially common in Morocco and India, where a friendly guy will offer you drugs and when you buy them, call the cops on you. He and the cops will then take you for everything you got, and you better hope you’re not a woman in this situation.

So kids, be sensible. Take the legal drugs. Drink real ale in England. Smoke dope in The Netherlands. Chew qat in Ethiopia and Somaliland. Drink coffee and smoke tobacco just about anywhere. If it’s legal, it couldn’t be bad for you!

Photo of the day – Plaza de Toros

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Millions of Americans are suffering through an almost intolerable heat wave. So why not add fuel to the fire this Friday with an image that speaks to a dry and unyielding summer heat?

In addition to suggesting extreme warmth, this image of the Plaza de Toros (properly the Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla) in Seville, Spain by Flickr user magnusvk is gorgeous. The image is simple and beautifully composed. Bullfighting fans will already know that the Plaza de Toros is the oldest bullring in all of Spain.

Got an image you’d like to share with a wide audience? Upload said image to the Flickr Gadling Group pool. If we like your photo we might choose it as a future Photo of the Day.

Madrid day trip: Romanesque churches and a Gothic cathedral in Segovia

by Sean McLachlan on

Segovia is an easy day trip from Madrid and has plenty of medieval and Renaissance buildings to capture the imagination. Yesterday I talked about the Alcázar, the city’s castle, and today I’m looking at Segovia’s many churches.

Most of the churches are Romanesque in style, like Iglesia de la Veracruz, which was actually built outside the city walls in 1208. The signage says this church was owned by the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, but local legend says it’s a Templar church. Who knows? The round floor plan imitates the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, something common in Templar churches, so the legend may be correct. Then again, the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem would want to imitate that church too. Somebody call Dan Brown.

Romanesque architecture was hugely popular in Spain and many other parts of Europe from the 8th to the 12th centuries. In Spain it took the form of square towers punctured by arches like this one, and arched doorways filled with carvings of angels, devils, saints, and even signs of the zodiac.

The circular floor plan of Iglesia de la Veracruz is unusual. Most Romanesque churches had a rectangular nave like we’re familiar with in later churches. This gives plenty of room for stained glass windows, religious paintings, and other decoration. Many of Segovia’s churches are like art galleries!

%Gallery-128543%One actually is. San Juan de los Caballeros, which was founded by the Visigoths in the 5th century and later turned into a Romanesque church, became in the 20th century the workshop of the famous ceramicist Daniel Zuloaga. A museum highlights his work and there are interesting elements to the church itself, like rare remnants of early frescoes and well-preserved carvings on the facade.

Another fine church is Iglesia de San Martín, seen best from the Plazuela de San Martín. It dates to the 12th century and has a distinctive peaked tower visible from many parts of the city–a good landmark when you get lost in the maze of medieval streets! There’s a wonderful portico where every column capital is carved with a different scene. Weather has given the figures a kind of melted look, but you can still figure out what’s going on if you’ve read your Bible.

Next to the Plaza Mayor is the cathedral. Unlike most churches in Segovia, this one is in the later Gothic style. In fact, it may be the youngest Gothic church in the world, being started in 1525 and consecrated in 1768. It’s a bit chunkier than the soaring Gothic churches of France and Germany and so isn’t my favorite example of the style, but there are some nice touches like the main tower that turns golden at dusk and dawn, the intricate finials (those spiky things) at each corner and turret, and the many gargoyles and coats of arms adorning the exterior walls.

Most churches are free, but the cathedral charges a small fee. The churches are generally open all day except during masses. The times for those are posted on or near the front door.

Madrid day trip: the Alcázar castle in Segovia

by Sean McLachlan on


As I mentioned yesterday, Segovia makes a great day trip from Madrid. One of the highlights of any visit is the Alcázar, or castle. Rising from the highest point on the promontory on which Segovia is built, it dominates the town and looks impossible to attack. The architects cut away part of the bedrock to make a dry moat cutting off the castle from the rest of the town, so to get in you have to cross a drawbridge over a deep drop. Don’t look down if you’re afraid of heights!

There may have been a fort here in Roman times, and there certainly was one when the Moors controlled this part of Spain. The present castle was built in the early 12th century and was added to and remodeled several times. Several Castilian monarchs used the castle as their palace. Isabella was living here when she was crowned in 1474, and she married King Ferdinand II here. In 1492 they reconquered Granada, the last Muslim holdout on the Iberian peninsula. They also sponsored some crazy explorer named Columbus to sail across the Atlantic to find India that year, but the big news was capturing Granada.

Several rooms are decorated with suits of armor, including knights on horseback. Even the horses have armor, which was called barding. The walls are adorned with medieval and Renaissance paintings showing courtly and battle scenes. Check out the ceilings to see some intricate painting and relief work that shows Muslim influence. When the Spanish and Moors weren’t fighting, they were trading ideas and Spain was a melting pot of different cultures. The throne room and the chapel are the most impressive rooms and have been restored to their original splendor.

%Gallery-128521%Starting in 1896 and for much of the twentieth century, the Alcázar housed the Artillery Academy. There’s a large artillery museum here showing the development of artillery and the daily life of the cadets. Unfortunately the signage is all in Spanish, but a lot of the displays are self-explanatory.

Military aficionados will love the Armory, a long vaulted room filled with medieval arms and armor. There are numerous examples of early cannon from the 15th century. The first depiction of a cannon dates to 1326, and by 1375 they were being used in sieges to knock down walls. The days of castles were numbered. These cannons are pretty crude, made of long strips of iron welded together with loops around them like barrels (hence the name) to strengthen them.

If medieval warfare isn’t your thing, you’ll still appreciate the views you can get from the many windows and battlements. If you’re feeling fit, ascend the steep, winding staircase up to the top of the tower for sweeping views of Segovia and the surrounding countryside. This is an excellent spot to take pictures.

Love castles? Check out our posts on the ten toughest castles in the world and the ten best castles in Europe!