Explore Madrid on a classic Vespa!

Fancy doing this when in Madrid?

If you want to see Madrid in a more unconventional way, why not see it whizzing around on a classic Vespa, just like Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck? Trip Chic is a new company which rents out vintage Vespas in Madrid for very reasonable prices and they'll bring it to your hotel complete with helmet, gloves and anti-theft device. They also run custom-made Vespa tours, so you can take in all the city's sights (with plenty of stops for tapas along the way!) in style and just like in the old movies! For more details email: info@tripchic.es

Have you ever wondered what's inside the Palacio de Cibeles?

For those of you who have ever wondered what it's like inside, the Palacio de Cibeles (that's the very ornate white building by the Cibeles fountain), it will opening its doors to the public until 27th July. Visitors will have access to 8 floors of cultural space, totalling some 45,000 square metres, as well being able to climb up to the roof terrace to enjoy panoramic views of the city. The building, previously used for telecommunications, has just undergone major refurbishment lasting six years and costing 125 million euros, and in September a cafeteria and restaurant will open on the upper floors.

The building is open from Tuesday to Sunday 10am-8pm until 27th July. Entry is free. It's located on the Cibeles roundabout where Paseo del Prado and Calle Alcalá meet (metro: Banco de España L2).

New Madrid tourist bus info now online!

The EMT has just launched its new website in English containing details of the new open-top sightseeing bus service in Madrid. It has information about routes, ticket prices and downloadable maps.


Click here to buy tickets for the Madrid tourist bus!

Open-top sightseeing buses return to Madrid

From next Monday 31st January, the open top tourist buses will be making a return to the streets of Madrid after being suspended for a month due to the withdrawal of MadridVision's licence. However for the moment it will be run by the EMT (the public tranpsort consortium for Madrid) until another operating company can be found to run it on a long term basis.

The relaunched service will run every day from 10am until 7pm at frequencies of every twenty minutes, and tourists have a choice of two routes: Historic Madrid and Modern Madrid. These routes will be the same as those of the old service. The point of departure for both routes is the Neptune Fountain on Plaza Cánovas del Castillo (opposite the Prado Museum on Paseo del Prado), although there are numerous stops around the city. New to this service is the addition of a team of multilingual stewards who will be on hand to help tourists out. Tickets costs 17.50€ for adults and 9€ for children between 6-16 years and over 65s, you can buy the tickets on the bus or to save hassle, you can buy them online here. For more details check the EMT website.