In the morning of Madrid, you may want to start a beautiful day at the century-old Chocolatería de San Ginés. Since 1894, this restaurant has been a favorite breakfast destination for Madrid people. When you walk into the store, the waiter will greet you enthusiastically in Spanish. Order a thick and thin fried dough stick, and pair it with a cup of hot chocolate and a cup of coffee. Both kinds of fried dough sticks are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The thick fried dough sticks are similar to those in China, while the thin fried dough sticks are a specialty of Spain. The hot chocolate here is very thick, like directly melted chocolate. It is recommended that two people order one cup, otherwise it will be too sweet. Here, taste the special hot chocolate and fried dough sticks and feel the traditional breakfast culture of Madrid.
After leaving the hot chocolate shop, go to Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor. There are various performing artists in the square, bringing wonderful performances to tourists. However, tourists need to be reminded that there may be thieves here. According to the Spanish newspaper Europa, there are many thieves waiting for opportunities in the restaurants and shops around Plaza de España in Madrid alone. In Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor, tourists’ belongings and documents are stolen almost every day while taking photos, shopping or waiting. Therefore, while enjoying the beautiful scenery and watching the performances, tourists must keep their belongings safe, keep valuables properly, and carry their backpacks on their chests as much as possible with the zipper tight.
The Royal Palace of Madrid is a must-visit place. Tickets can be booked online or purchased on site. Online booking can avoid queuing on site, and it is recommended to book online in advance. The validity period of the ticket begins after activation, and you can get on and off at any station. Tickets can be booked on the official website without registration, just click to buy. You can also book on domestic travel platforms such as Mafengwo, which is convenient and fast. The opening hours of the Royal Palace are 10:00-18:00 (Monday to Saturday) and 10:00-15:00 (Sunday). The adult ticket price is 12 euros, and the full-price ticket will increase to 14 euros from 2024. Seniors over 65 years old or students under 25 years old can buy half-price tickets with valid ID. Children under 5 years old are free. There are some precautions when visiting the Royal Palace of Madrid. No food or drinks are allowed inside, and taking photos is prohibited inside the palace. The palace has more than 2,000 rooms, but only about 50 are open to visitors. The collection of 5 violins made by the Stradivari family is a must-see. The Pharmacy Museum next to the Plaza de Almería is a must-see place, showing the original appearance of the medical research laboratory and medicine preparation utensils in the past. The Sabatini Gardens behind the Royal Palace are a great place to take a walk in the summer sunset.
The Sabatini Gardens are a quiet place behind the Royal Palace of Madrid. It is particularly beautiful in the summer sunset. The garden is shaded by trees and lush flowers and plants, making it a great place to relax. Strolling in the garden, feeling the tranquility and beauty, it seems that time has slowed down.
The Temple of Debod is a great place to watch the sunset in Madrid. It was originally an ancient temple in Egypt with a history of more than 2,000 years. Because the Egyptian government was unable to protect this precious historical relic, it was donated by Egypt to Spain for off-site protection and rebuilt in the riverside park in the center of Madrid. The temple is located on a small hill northwest of the Plaza de España. Walking up, you can see this ancient Egyptian building built on a pool of clear water. When I arrived at the temple, there were already many people in the square. Tourists were either couples whispering, or talking with three or five friends, or laughing with their families. All of this was covered with a layer of gold by the afterglow of the sunset. The Temple of Debod not only has the ground part, but also an exhibition hall underground. Due to the high terrain, this is a good place to watch the sunset in Madrid. It is also beautiful to take pictures of the royal palace there. There are few tourists and the photo effect is very good. There are also open-air coffee shops around, and the atmosphere is very good. Here, you can enjoy coffee while enjoying the beautiful sunset and feel the fusion of history and modernity.
If you are a Real Madrid fan, you must not miss the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Watching a Real Madrid match live is a very exciting experience. There are many ways to buy tickets, such as the official website, second-hand ticket websites, on-site queues and domestic channels. When buying tickets on the official website, you need to pay attention to the time of sale. Generally, you have to wait until two or three weeks before the game to start selling tickets, and it will be two days earlier for members. Members can buy tickets for 30 euros. You can buy tickets for general matches on the official website, but the official website login in China is unstable and the payment page cannot be displayed. I have tried many times to use domestic credit cards, but they cannot be paid. Hong Kong or EU credit cards can be used. You can ask a friend to buy it for you, but you need to use the credit card you paid for it when you exchange it for a paper ticket on site. Second-hand ticket websites include the largest foreign scalper website viagogo or the second-hand seatwave under ticketmaster. There are a small number of electronic tickets, so you don’t need to find a hotel to receive paper tickets. But there are also reports on the Internet that there are fake tickets or mailing problems. The price of national derby tickets is two or three times the face value, and the website service fee is about 200 euros. If you buy it, the better seats will cost more than 7,000 or 8,000 yuan. You can buy it on the spot by queuing up on site, and domestic credit cards are accepted. There are many scalpers at the Bernabeu, so it is generally not necessary to buy through them, and it is impossible to verify whether it is genuine. Domestic channels generally add a handling fee of several hundred yuan on the basis of second-hand ticket websites, but the advantage is that it is easy to communicate. At the Bernabeu Stadium, feeling the enthusiasm of Real Madrid fans and cheering for your favorite team will definitely be an unforgettable experience.
