Spoken languages in Spain

Ok.. it's been enough talk about Madrid. Let's move arround.

Did you know that Spain has more than one official language? Actually there are at least 5 official languages in Spain which are: Spanish obviously; Basque language (also known as Euskera) spoken in the Basque Country and Navarre; Galician language in Galicia and Catalan language spoken in Catalonia, with its own variants in Valencia and Balears.

[Photograph courtesy of WaveCult (luis.m.justino) licensed under Creative Commons]

Spoken languages in Spain:
Although Spanish is by far the most prominent language in Spain you might find yourself in a bus surrounded by people speaking a language you have no clue. Don't panic. The spanish course you've learned before travelling to Spain wasn't a swindle. Relax. It's just that people in some spanish Communities feel more comfortable speaking their own local community language than spanish. They'd for sure understand you if you speak to them in spanish, and most likely will respond in spanish as well especially if they notice you're a tourist, however, if you prefer to immerse yourself in local customs, languages, traditions, etc. then here's a list that'll help you saying some basic simple sentences that could help you with that.

English	Galician	Basque	Catalan	Valencian	Spanish
Hello	Ola	Kaiko	Hola	Hola	Hola
Good morning	Bos días	Egunon	Bon dia	Bon dia	Buenos días
Good afternoon	Bos seráns	Arratsaldeon	Bona tarda	Bona vesprada	Buenas tardes
Good evening	Boas noites	Gabon	Bona nit	Bona nit	Buenas noches
Bye	Adeus	Agur	Adéu	Adéu	Adiós
Thank you	Moitas gracias	Eskerrik asko	Moltes gràcies	Moltes gràcies	Muchas gracias
You're welcome	De nada	Ez dago zergatik	De res	De res	De nada
Yes	Si	Bai	Sí	Sí	Sí
No	Non	Ez	No	No	No
Please	Por favor	Mesedez	Si us plau	Per favor	Por favor

So that's it. Of course you don't need to maintain the whole conversation in the local language.. but a simple "Thank you" or "Hello" will give a great impression.

Good luck!

Nice places to visit in Madrid (I)

If I had to build a list of the top places every tourist needs to visit in Madrid I'd make it in 2 parts. Today I'll bring you the first part covering places and points of interest that have to jot down on your must-see list. To be honest these are going to be common places that ALL kind of tourists have to visit at least once in their stay in Madrid.

Retiro's Park (Parque Retiro): Situated in a very centric point of Madrid, easy to access (Metro station Retiro) and very famous by its lack.

[Retiro Park - Courtesy of marcp dmoz under Creative Common License]

Cibeles Square (Plaza de Cibeles): This is where Real Madrid goes everytime they win the Liga. Also located in a very centric and accessible area, it brings together several monuments and buildings built between the late eighteenth and early twentieth centuries like the Buenavista Palace, the army headquarters, the Communication's Palace, etc.

[Cibeles Square in the heart of Madrid - Courtesy of frado76 under Creative Common License]

Escorial town and the Valle de los Caídos Monument (El Escorial y el Valle de los Caídos): The Valle de los Caídos (its translation would be the "Valley of the Fallen" monument has been for many years (and is still) a political and ideological symbol for the right-wing political movements in Spain. I personally don't like it but I have to admit that the monument conserves within its walls valuable key elements that lead to a better understanding of a major part of the spanish modern history.

[Valle de los Caídos - Courtesy of Soulo Alvarado under Creative Common License]

Santiago Bernabeu Stadium: Only if you're really into soccer, you shouldn't miss the Santiago Bernabeu football stadium belonging to Real Madrid.

[Santiago Bernabeu Stadium -Courtesy of marcp dmoz under Creative Common License]

Alcalá de Henares town: This is where Cervantes, the most worldwide famous exponent of the Spanish literature, was born. A very historical town full of medieval aspects.

Capricho Park (Parque El Capricho): This is my favourite park in Madrid, near to the airport in the middle of Alameda de Osuna quartier. It's open only saturdays and sundays,

Prado Museum (Mudeo El Prado). Apart from the big green areas it exhibits a set of fascinating buildings.

[Capricho Park, Madrid -Courtesy of jmiguel.rodriguez under Creative Common License]

Prado Museum (Museo del Prado): With interesting artworks from Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, France, etc. You'll find Goya, Velázquez, Antonio Allegri, Paul Baudry, Thomas Gainsborough, etc. Near to Atocha.

[Prado Museum, Madrid -Courtesy of van Ort under Creative Common License]

Well, this is for me what you shouldn't miss if you ever come to visit Madrid. In the next post I'm going to cover nice places in Madrid but from an alternative point of view. In other words places that are not so crowded by tourists but they are still worth it and can give you an idea of the other face of Madrid.

Public transport in Madrid

While the spanish public transport network has one of the best infrastructure you can ever find, Madrid has an outstanding transport network that perfectly combines Metro, Bus and Train. In today's post I'm going to explain a little bit more about this amazing transport network of Madrid, its setup and its particularities, in order to make it easy for you to get the most of it.

Metro Madrid:
For me this is by far the best way you can move around. You'll most likely get surprised when you'll notice how clean, organized and secure the Metro Madrid is. It also has all the accessibility elements like escalators, lifts, etc.

In Madrid the Metro works non-stop from 6:30 am til 1:30 am. After that, special Bus lines will cover the same routes (you can identify these buses with the letter "L" before the bus number, example L213).

You can buy one single Metro Madrid ticket for 1 euro, or if you forsee frequent trips then get for 9 euros a 10 Metrobus journeys that will serve you not only for the Metro but also for all the Municipal Bus network.

There are automatic ticket machines in the entrance halls of all the Metro stations in Madrid.
Resources: Map of Metro Madrid | Customer Services Hotline: 902 444 403 | Website Metro Madrid.

P.D.: In case you're going to the airport by Metro, take into account the special airport ticket price of 2 euros. The reason is because the Airport terminals have special Metro access ticket.


Trains in Madrid:
Probably the second best choice. The trains used to cover short-duration trips (up to 1 hour) are called locally Cercanías or Trenes de Cercanías. Madrid has also a wide trains network distributed throughout the major points of interest in Madrid. In many cases Metro and Train share the same station, so that you can take one and once you're in that station you switch to the other one (getting a new ticket since it's considered a new/different trip).

The time schedule for the trains in Madrid depends on the line itself, but a general rule is that trains are available from 6 am til 23 pm. Some lines might be still working after that time, but not all.

The ticket price depends on the departure and destination stations, and might vary from 1,10 euros to 6 euros. Generally you'll always find a ticket machine and a Customer Service representative in case you have issues or just want to buy a ticket.

Resources: Map of Trains Cercanías de Madrid | Customer Services Hotline: 902 320 320 | Website Trains Cercanías de Madrid (only in Spanish, but try with Google Translator).


Buses in Madrid:
Real tourists only use bus. It allows you to keep an eye on the city, observing its streets, its monuments, and its people. So if you're not in a hurry, you'd better take a bus and enjoy the incredible "vistas" of Madrid.
The bus tickets' price in Madrid depends on the destination, but since they usually cover short routes the price rarely exceeds 1,50 euros.
You won't find any tickets machines but you just pay once you get onboard, to the driver directly.

Note: The buses you need to take within Madrid city are called "EMT Buses". These are the buses that cover Madrid's municipality. There are another kind of buses in Madrid, usually green, and they connect Madrid to its surrounding small towns (Alcalá de Henares, Alcorcón, Sebastian de los Reyes, etc) so they're different.

The best deal:
Don't get fooled. If you think you'll have to combine different transport ways and going to stay in Madrid for some days, the best thing you can do is to buy a Tourist Ticket that will cost you between 5,20 and 47,20 euros depending on the number of days and the zone you want (Zones A and T). In exchange you'll get unlimited trips during its validity time and access to the three transport networks: Metro; Train and Bus. This ticket can be purchased in the Metro entrance hall (machines or Customer Service).

Madrid by night (pubs; bars; taverns and people)

When it comes to Nightlife Madrid is considered the capital center of Europe. Many factors help it to get this title: its bars and pubs, its streets, its people, its cañas (beer) and tapas (food).

Bars, pubs, taverns: Madrid by night:
If you get to Madrid (for tourism or business) don't ever miss its:

Terrazas (terraces): Madrid's summer night terraces are unique, lots of spanish people hanging around and having drinks and discussions. Even if you're alone you can just sit and have a drink in one of those Madrid terraces and simply watch people, observe them and enjoy the mood.

[Daniela's Tavern - Di_Ber's Photography's under Creative Commons' Licence ]

Old-style traditional Madrid cafes: You can find these cafes mainly in the downtown (Arenal street, Paseo de las Delicias street, etc.) and they recreate a nice retro old style period. In these old style Madrid cafes you can of course enjoy all kinds of drinks, but a coffee seems to be the most appropiate beverage.

Malasaña area: This is where you'll find the biggest young people concentrations.. Maybe too noisy for some of you, but if you're looking for some fun and drinks with really cheap prices Malasaña is your quartier. If you want to go there the Bilbao Metro Station is in the heart of Malasaña.

Huertas Street and Plaza de Santa Ana: Really close to the Sol Metro Station. In Huertas you'll find lots of pubs and taverns (my favorite one's name is "Café del Soul"). Due to the big number of bars in Huertas you won't have any difficulty at all in case you want to change the bar. There are just a lot.

The best Parks and Gardens in Madrid

As I announced earlier our first destination is Madrid. Today I'd like to share with you some parks and gardens in Madrid considered a must-see because of their importance or their historical value. If you're reading this because you're preparing your next trip to Madrid PLEASE don't miss any of the following parks recommendations.

Parks and gardens in Madrid:
So here is my selection. A sort of top 4 Madrid's parks and gardens. I'm putting them in order so the first one is my most preferred one, but the 4 of them are really worth it.

Parque El Capricho: Built in 1783 and inspired by the Petit Trianon at Versailles but with a British style, with an architecture that includes maze, parterre, a pong and creek and a set of beautiful buildings.

[Parque El Capricho - Courtesy of eduo under Creative Common License]

TRANSPORT:
Bus: 101, 105 and 115

TIMETABLE:
October-March: Saturday, sunday and from 9am to 6pm.
April-September: Saturday, sunday and from 9am to 9pm.


Parque de Juan Carlos I: Close to the IFEMA Fairs Center. This park has gardens, sculptures of the twentieth century, tracks for bikes, canoeing club, etc. Known also as the Garden of the Three Cultures: Jewish, Muslim and Christian cultures that have marked the history of Spain.

TIMETABLE:
June-September: From 7am till 0am.
October-May: From 7am till 10pm.
More Info: (+34) 91 721 00 79


Parque El Buen Retiro: One of the most important monuments of Madrid. Buit in the XVII century originally as a royal palace. Called also "Retiro". In the center of Madrid.

TRANSPORT:
Metro: Línea 2; Retiro - RENFE: Atocha
Bus: 1, 2, 9, 15, 19, 20, 28, 51, 52, 74 and 146

TIMETABLE:
October: from 6am till 11pm
November-March: from 7pm till 11pm
April-September: from 6am till 0am


Parque del Oeste: With a variety of memorials like the Pottery School, the Temple of Music and the Debod Temple which is an Egyptian monument from the fourth-century before Christ.

TRANSPORT:
Metro: Línea 3 and 6: Moncloa
Autobus: 46, 84, A, 82, 83, 132, 133 and G

TIMETABLE:

From 8am till 8pm

P.D.: Parque in Spanish means Park. Simply ;)

Hello everyone: IBERIANPLACES.COM is born

I'm Mario Pérez and this is my first "hello to everyone". With this post I'm kicking-off this project called IBERIANPLACES.COM. I hope it'll be useful and will last at least for some years ;) I hate blogs that last only 2 months and then, suddenly, disappear or stop publishing stuff, just because, for example, the blogger has broken with his girlfriend or is looking for a new flat. Come on, dude.. be serious!

What can you expect from IBERIANPLACES.COM?
Travel advise to Spain and Portugal. I'll take the opportunity of being here in Madrid and traveling from time to time to share with you some travel tips, advices, recommendations and orientations, etc. We'll cover the most importante cities in Spain and Portugal. My plan is to focus, first, on the most important cities in Spain, then Portugal. On a later stage, I'd like to touch non-tourist cities, unknown places where you can still perceive the hispanic and iberian feeling, away from the crowded commercial destinations.

The starting point...
I'll make our starting point very obvious, the city I'm sitting in: Madrid. The next (and really first) post will be dedicated to the spanish capital. Madrid's got many attractions which I'd like to share with you all..

So stay tuned.