Madrid’s magic
A busy city centre scene
(main picture)
With a bounty of wonderful art galleries, a non-stop nightlife and a population
renowned for being loud and chatty, Madrid promises language travellers a lively
experience, as GILLIAN EVANS finds out.
adrid is a big vibrant city like
London or Paris and students
choose to study here because
it is the capital of Spain,” states Mercedes
Guerrero from Tandem Escuela Internacional.
“It is a city where people of any age can find
things to do, see and enjoy.”
Indeed, the capital city of Spain is a lively
energetic city with world class museums
and art galleries, beautiful parks and an
unstoppable nightlife, as well as a population
renowned for talking. All this makes it an
ideal language travel destination for those
wanting to learn Spanish and get to know the
Spanish people.
Juan Manuel Sampere from Estudio
Sampere agrees that Madrid appeals to
students of all ages. “We welcome more
M
Palacio de Cristal,
Parque del Buen Retiro
Located in the city
centre park, this
recently restored
glasshouse was inspired
by the Crystal Palace in
London and designed
in 1887 by Ricardo
Velázquez Bosco
42 February 2006
2005
than 1,800 students per year to our school in Madrid and the age
group is very wide as well as their reasons for coming to Madrid,” he
relates. “Madrid is a very open city with many foreigners and many
people from other areas of Spain and visitors feel welcomed. Not to
mention Real Madrid [football team], which is a big attraction.”
Madrid has a population of around three million and, although
predominantly a modern city, its heart is made up of attractive
medieval buildings, winding alleys and 18th-century squares,
including the breathtaking Plaza Mayor, which boasts 114 arches and
337 balconies. Scattered all around the city are bars and restaurants
with outdoor terraces, ideal for watching the world go by, and despite
being a fair distance from Andalusia, the home of flamenco dancing,
Madrid is, according to Sampere, “a capital city for Flamenco, like
Chicago is for Jazz”, and many schools introduce students to this and
other facets of Madrid life in their activity programmes.
Domenico Oppizzio at Enforex says they encourage students
to get the most out of their stay in Madrid by organising “as many
activities as possible such as walking tours, Flamenco and culture
lessons, nights out and weekend trips”.
There are certainly plenty of cultural attractions in Madrid, too.
The Palacio Real boasts more rooms than any other European palace;
an armoury housing a collection of weapons dating from the 15th
century; and a library with one of the biggest collections of books
and manuscripts in the world. The city also has three important art
galleries: El Prado, Madrid’s biggest tourist attraction, which boasts
one of the world’s oldest and greatest collections of art; the Centro
Nacional de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid’s leading modern art gallery and
PHOTOGRAPHS: ROGER HARRIS
city focus
most famous for housing Picasso’s
huge masterpiece, Guernica; and
Coleccion Thyssen-Bornemisza,
home to what many believe to be the
world’s finest private art collection.
These three, according to Oppizzio,
are high on the list of things to do
for students, although he adds that
one of the highlights for many is to
see Goya’s colourful fresco on Ermita
de San Antonio de la Florida. This
small church was built by an Italian,
Santiago Bernabeu
Felipe Fontana, between 1792 and 1798,
Stadium
and decorated by Goya.
Home to the Real
Madrid football team,
The San Antonio hermitage itself is the
this stadium is easy to
centre
of an odd tradition: as San Antonio
reach and impressive to
visit. A tour takes in the
is the patron saint of sweethearts, on June
pitch, dressing rooms,
13 each year, local girls go there to pray
players tunnel and the
for a boyfriend for the year ahead. The
presidential box
girls put their hands into the font, where
13 pins have been placed, and the number of pins that stick to them
indicates how many boyfriends they will have that year.
Putting Madrid’s many cultural attractions aside, there are plenty
of other pastimes to entertain students while in Madrid. Guerrero
says, “In their free time, during the day, students like to go to the
parks for a walk or to go shopping. There are also a lot of terraces
where they can sit and drink something with friends.” And Sampere
notes, “Students are very surprised by the number of parks and trees
in the city.”
Madrid’s
most central and popular park is Parque
del Buen Retiro, known as El Retiro, a mix
of formal gardens and wide-open spaces.
Guerrero mentions a trip to El Rastro flea
market as being a worthwhile experience for
students, as well as going to a Real Madrid
football match.
Madrid is a city that never sleeps, and
the streets remain busy with people of all
ages and street entertainers throughout the
night. “What often happens is that people in
the streets or even in the metro play music.
Once, two musicians were on the Place
Santa Anna and a group of about 100 people
Language Travel Magazine 43
Agent viewpoint
“Madrid is known as a very cosmopolitan city,
with a wide variety of places to visit and things
to enjoy. There really is something for everyone,
from the famous El Prado art gallery to the
Bernabeu football stadium, beautiful parks,
trendy bars and restaurants, and fashionable
boutiques. Madrid is a very affordable city, despite the fact that it is the capital. Students are
very impressed by the friendliness of the local
people and their cosmopolitan outlook. They
feel welcome in the city, and also comment on
how safe they feel, even when they are out and
about late at night.”
Victoria Jones, Apple Languages, UK
“Our clients who choose Madrid do so because
they want to study in the capital of Spain. They
want to live in a big city with lots of restaurants,
clubs, culture, shopping, etc. Students enjoy
visiting the museums, shopping, eating good
food and going out at night. They like to eat
tapas and drink sangria and good red wine. In
general, they like the people and the fact that
the Spanish people tend to be more talkative
than the Swedes. On the negative side, quite
a lot of students have been robbed because
they are not used to the threat of pickpockets.”
Sofia Henningsson, SI-Sprakresor, Sweden
“Madrid is a lovely city with lots to see and do.
Our students always enjoy visiting the Museo
del Prado, Museo de Reina Sofia and Parque
del Buen Retiro. The local tapas bars are often
a highlight for students, although there are also
some trendy restaurants in Chueca square.
Students generally find the people to be really
helpful and friendly.”
Sarah Gooding, Cactus Language, UK
listened to them and
enjoyed their music,”
recounts Guerrero,
adding, “I like the
atmosphere in the
streets in the nights
... [especially] with a
glass of Rioja.”
There are plenty
of evening activities for students to consider, aside from the many
bars and nightclubs that can be found throughout the city. “At night,
Madrid offers a lot of possibilities like the cinema, restaurants, bars,
theatre, opera [and concerts],” says Guerrero. The culinary range of
Madrid’s eateries is also expansive. They offer every regional style
of Spanish cooking as well as international cuisine. “You can go out
for dinner in the famous Restaurant ‘Bazaar’ in the Calle de Libertad
or a pizza in the Restaurant/Trattoria ‘La Pulcinella’. There is a street
(Huertas) full of bars where students go,” says Guerrero, adding that
there are also some good vegetarian restaurants in the city.
For a truly madrileño experience, there are the discobares, which
start filling up from about 11pm and stay open until 2am, followed
by the discotecas, which get lively at around 1am. According to
Sampere, one of the most popular nightclubs for their students is
Palacio de Gaviria, which holds parties on Thursday nights - “a must
for our students”, he says.
To round off a night out in Madrid, Guerrero suggests heading
for one of the city’s chocolaterías, the most famous of which is San
Ginés, which was established in 1894 and serves delicious chocolate
con churros until 7.30am.
Plaza Puerta del Sol
This central square is a
popular meeting place
and busy throughout
the night. It marks the
heart of historic Madrid
and journey distances
are measured from
here. Three statues also
adorn the square