Madrid stopover August 2016

[Nightsky]

This thread is about some photos I took on two stopovers, one night and one halft day spent in Madrid in August 2016. The flight was between Copenhagen and San José (Costa Rica), and San Salvador and Copenhagen. It was sunny, dry and hot like hell, about 37 degrees C!
I also visited Madrid more thoroughly in February 2011 (I recommend to visit Madrid in winter and spring to avoid the heat), the pictures from this trip is on this page:
http://www.worldtravelimages.net/Madrid.html
Madrid_2016_34b by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid skyscrapers seen from the airport.

FLIGHT BEFORE LANDING IN MADRID:
The flight was from Copenhagen. A stopover towards San Salvador via San José.
Madrid_2016_04 by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_02 by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_01 by Nightsky, on Flickr


BARAJAS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT:

Madrid_2016_35 by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_86 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_85 by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_34 by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_33 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_32 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_05 by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_06 by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_31 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Cathay Pacific Dreamliner.
Madrid_2016_30 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Our Iberia plane from San Salvador, a large Airbus.
Madrid_2016_84 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Iberia plane to Copenhagen, a small Airbus.

BARAJAS TOWN:

Madrid_2016_41 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_38 by Nightsky, on Flickr
NH Barajas, a simple 3-star hotel near the airport that does its job. Modern and comfortable, but nothing more.

Madrid_2016_40 by Nightsky, on Flickr
View of the residential area in Barajas.

[Nightsky]

CENTRAL MADRID:


PLAZA ESPAÑA:

Madrid_2016_55 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Plaza España

Madrid_2016_53 by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_52 by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_51 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_50 by Nightsky, on Flickr
http://www.worldtravelimages.net/Madrid.html


PUERTA DEL SOL:

Madrid_2016_29 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Early morning at the heart of Madrid. More from Puerta del Sol (by night) later on.
http://www.worldtravelimages.net/Mad...Mayor_Sol.html

[Nightsky]

GRAN VIA and its street life:

Madrid_2016_48 by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_47 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_81 by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_80 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_79 by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_78 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_77 by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_76 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_75 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_46 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_44 by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_73c by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_73b by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_43 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_81b by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_42 by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_07 by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_74 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_73 by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_69 by Nightsky, on Flickr
This building feels more like Tokyo then Madrid.
Madrid_2016_72 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_71 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Plaza Callao.

http://www.worldtravelimages.net/Madrid_Gran_Via.html

[EastSideHBG]

Cool pics, thanks for sharing! I enjoyed some of the girls too

[mhays]

It's been about 25 years, but I found Madrid to be like Paris but more user friendly. The metro and phone booths (*) had everything in four languages. Boulevards could be crossed every minute. My hotel had a radio and french doors to the street.

* A phone booth was an enclosed booth on the street (like those funny red things that used to be emblematic of London) that contained a telephone. You'd insert a coin then make your call. This was necessary in the pre-internet days when you were trying to arrange a get-together and weren't at home or at work.

[Nightsky]

Thanks. I also think Madrid is a more friendly city then Paris, and easier to navigate. Yes, phone booth existed about 15 years ago, in the 80s and early 90s there were many of them, at least here in Sweden, and I think one or two are still kept today. More pics will follow.

[pablosan]

Nice. I'll have to visit one day.

[Kingofthehill]

a surprisingly underrated capital, at least by (northern) european standards, and their idea of spain as a sun-and-fun, beach destination. great job!

[Nightsky]

PLAZA DE CIBELES:

Madrid_2016_83 by Nightsky, on Flickr
City Hall

Madrid_2016_82 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Metropolis building.

ROYAL PALACE (PALACIO REAL) AND PLAZA DE ORIENTE:

Madrid_2016_65 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Royal Palace. Some day I will go inside there.
Madrid_2016_59 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_58 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_57 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_56 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_63 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_62 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_64 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_61 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Opera
Madrid_2016_60 by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_65b by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_67 by Nightsky, on Flickr
The nice interior of the restaurant we visited near the Royal Palace.

[Nightsky]

Originally Posted by Kingofthehill

a surprisingly underrated capital, at least by (northern) european standards, and their idea of spain as a sun-and-fun, beach destination. great job!

Thanks alot! I made a more extensive trip in 2011, you can view it on my page:

http://www.worldtravelimages.net/Madrid.html

[Beedok]

Looks like the core kept building up, much taller than I expected.

[Nightsky]

MADRID BY NIGHT:

Madrid_2016_28 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_27 by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_22 by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_21 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_20 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_19 by Nightsky, on Flickr

http://www.worldtravelimages.net/Madrid_by_night.html

[Nightsky]

Originally Posted by Beedok

Looks like the core kept building up, much taller than I expected.

There are the two historic skyscrapers at Plaza Espana, Puerta de Europa (leaning towers), the AZCA business district and the Cuatro Torres, 4 futuristic skyscrapers from 2008, in the outskirts, if that's what you mean.

http://www.worldtravelimages.net/Mad...ro_Torres.html

http://www.worldtravelimages.net/Madrid_Azca.html

http://www.worldtravelimages.net/Mad..._Castilla.html

[Nightsky]

PLAZA DEL ANGEL:

Madrid_2016_18 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_17 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_68 by Nightsky, on Flickr

TYPICAL SPANISH DISHES – PAELLA, SANGRIA AND TAPAS:
Madrid_2016_16 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_15 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_14 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_13 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_12 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_66 by Nightsky, on Flickr

[Nightsky]

RANDOM MADRID:

Madrid_2016_11 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_10 by Nightsky, on Flickr
J&C Rooms. An extremely cheap, spartan place to stay, near Puerta del Sol. We stayed there at the first stopover. Not recommended despite the price! The AC didn’t work in the extremely hot Madrid summer, had to sleep with a wet towel and when we opened the window there was an extremely loud noise from the nearby pub all night so we got almost no sleep at all. The room had a really bad planning, where you have to pass through the bathroom to be able to enter the bedroom! The interior is prison like.
At check in in the reception, it took extremely long time, since they didn’t hava a computer! The only pros was that it is centrally located, but because of the noise even that was a con.

Madrid_2016_09 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Ok, the view from the room was nice.

Madrid_2016_08 by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_70 by Nightsky, on Flickr

http://www.worldtravelimages.net/Madrid.html

[LAsam]

I was in Madrid in September of 2016 so we nearly overlapped! It was a little cooler in September, and I hear August is when the Madrilenos go on holiday so the city is a bit quieter. I found Madrid to be a very friendly, vibrant city, with lots to offer. I actually preferred it to Barcelona, which surprised me. It's quite a bit less touristy which I think appealed to me. Thanks for the memories! Hopefully you got some good jamon iberico whilst there.

[Nightsky]

PUERTA DEL SOL BY NIGHT:

Madrid_2016_26 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_25 by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_24 by Nightsky, on Flickr

Madrid_2016_23 by Nightsky, on Flickr
I also visited Madrid more thoroughly in February 2011 (I recommend to visit Madrid in winter and spring to avoid the heat), the pictures from this trip is on this page:
http://www.worldtravelimages.net/Madrid.html

Originally Posted by LAsam

I was in Madrid in September of 2016 so we nearly overlapped! It was a little cooler in September, and I hear August is when the Madrilenos go on holiday so the city is a bit quieter. I found Madrid to be a very friendly, vibrant city, with lots to offer. I actually preferred it to Barcelona, which surprised me. It's quite a bit less touristy which I think appealed to me. Thanks for the memories! Hopefully you got some good jamon iberico whilst there.

Thanks a lot for the comment. I didn't have much time, only two stopovers (one night and half an afternoon) but I was there for a week in 2011 and then had time to try jamon iberico, and see more then just the most touristic parts. Madrid and Barcelona are probably my favourite cities in Europe! You're right, it was less hectic then usual since I think many stay indoors because of the heat (with ac hopefully), and madrilenos are on vacation this month.

[Nightsky]

FLIGHT TO COPENHAGEN:

Madrid_2016_89 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_88 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Madrid_2016_87 by Nightsky, on Flickr

[Nightsky]

BONUS: LYON FROM ABOVE:

These pictures of Lyon, France’s 3rd largest city (2nd largest metro area), was taken from the plane. During the flight I didn’t now what city it was, I knew it was some big city in France and it wasn’t big enough to be Paris, but too big to be another city (and Marseille is situated by the sea) so I guessed Lyon, and with help of Google Maps I found out I was right. Looks pretty big, doesn’t it?
Lyon_from_above_03 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Lyon_from_above_02 by Nightsky, on Flickr
Lyon_from_above_01 by Nightsky, on Flickr