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photo of the day
Madrid Neighborhoods: La Latina
La Latina is affordable, artistic and fun. By day it's a lovely barrio for a stroll, in the evenings a great place for nightlife, and on Sunday it erupts in to the "Rastro" one of the biggest flea markets in all of Europe. Photo by Quico López.
Travel in Spain: The Feria de Sevilla (Seville)
Travel in Spain: The Feria de Sevilla (Seville)
by Sean McNamara
The six-hour southbound bus ride passed quickly, as my anticipation for Sevilla’s famous spring Feria (Fair) grew and the monumental silhouettes of Andalusian bulls floated over the hills. Socibus, the company that shuttles travelers...
Photo of the Day
Preparing for the Feria
Preparing for La Feria de Sevilla - dance, drink, food, horses and more. See for more article info. Photo and story by Sean McNamara.
Photo of the Day
Argumosa, the Street of Many Cafés
Calle Argumosa is lined with terrazas cafes serving juice, coffee, beer, wine and sangria. A couple of hours on this magical street will cure whatever ails you.
Shopping and Food: Intercultural Spring Market in Madrid
Shopping and Food: Intercultural Spring Market in Madrid
If jostling through the crowds on Gran Via has lost its charm and you are feeling a bit on edge, before you do something drastic, take a “time out”. Just behind this tourist trodden avenue is a little secret, Plaza Luna, a square that has...
photo of the Day
The Intercultural Spring Market in Madrid
Roberto Wonka and the Chocolate Facory? Yes, that is a fountain of chocolate you are looking at. If you're seeking a quick lunchtime or evening escape in Madrid, try the current market in the Plaza de la Luna just off Gran Via. Roberto and his molten chocolate are waiting for you. For more information on Roberto's company, Chocolate Fondue (weddings, parties, conferences...), call 619 928 242.
Tapas and Raciones - Spain's Little Dishes
Tapas and Raciones: La Poza
When you're roaming the streets of Madrid late at night and looking for some cheap bar food, kebabs are often your only option. Well, not anymore, my fellow MAPistas! A drunken staple of the...
Bars - beer, tapas and raciones
Palentino - In U2 & Manu Chao's Favorite Madrid Barrio - Cheap Food and Drink
“You’re in for another type of experience,” says Ana. These were the last words I heard before I entered the mythic Bar El Palentino . Ana is...
photo of the day
The Cheapest Tapas in Town at Casa Tortilla
Casa Tortilla, with it's unlimited food and alcohol, is a magnet for merry-makers like those pictured. After sufficient sangria, you too might be inspired to reappropriate that checked table cloth and use it as a fashionable headband. See review.
food - Cheap Tapas in Madrid
Another Madrid Secret: Casa Tortilla, Unlimited tapas and drinks for 12 Euros!!!
by Andrew Poole
Believe it or not, tackiness is actually an admirable quality at Casa Tortilla. In a world...
Spanish Fusion
Basque-ing in the Glory of Spanish Cuisine
by Ben Dornan
Sometimes Madrid can get you down a little. Sometimes you think what the hell am I doing in this locura of a city where the stress and the daily grind seem so familiar from back home but being an expat and dealing with it all is just that little bit more...
Photo of the Day
Salamanca by Night
Salamanca is a city that boasts a world-famous 13th-century university, Cathedrals, and Roman architecture - not to mention huge tapas and great discos. How can you resist? See review. Photo by Andre Nakazawa.
cafes in Madrid
Cafe Estrella - One Star that Keeps it Real
El Café de las Estrellas Calle Martín De Los Heros, 5. Don’t let the name fool ya. El Café de las Estellas (Café of the Stars) isn’t the place of Hollywood pomp. It does happen to be located in Banco de España, the cinema neighborhood, but, in spite of this, it maintains a humble presence: relaxed and arty. This small café sits beneath the street level, and, with “not-too-dark-not-too-bright”...
Gay - cheap bars!
Bar Nike - Where to Start Your Night
Like so many gems Bar Nike is encrusted in a crude and craggy geode-like shell. Walking by, nothing would catch your eye except possibly the hordes of cute gay boys on the curb. Inside the décor is about as charming as your high school cafeteria – industrial tiles cover the floor, florescent lighting seems intent on destroying the ambiance...
La Latina - bars
Dragons in La Latina Bar?
Recently MAP Magazine discovered a rather awkward looking animal in a place where it was least expected. Apparently, a green dragon has managed to set up its home in a tiny, La Latina bar that’s already a contestant for the ”smallest place to drink your caña” prize. Experts are now investigating how the beast succeeded in wiggling...
Our Suggestions
Let the (MAP) Force Guide You!
The following will read like a crash course in Madrid culture. No matter what your concerns, questions or proclivities, we think you’ll be able to find something to suit your lifestyle in our medley of suggestions. As you read through the items, if you don't find what you need, check the search box at the right. If you still can't find what you are looking for, go ahead and drop us a line and we’ll try to help you out.
Cafes - Historical Teterias
La Teteria de Tu Abuela: The Teahouse of Your (Revolutionary) Grandmother
Here is reason 5,212 to fear the Starbuck’s revolution – beautifully authentic and genuinely historic cafes like this one could easily be driven to extinction. La Teteria de tu Abuela, started in the 1950s...
Bars - Old Madrid and the Jerez (Sherry) experience
La Venencia Bar - Jerez (Sherry), the Old-School Way!
A Spanish living room, 70 years ago. There is no beer, no cappuccino, no hip minimalist interior, no music, and the bartenders are middle aged brothers. The first layer of presumably white paint, which was applied more than 80 years ago, was also the last. And yet there’s every reason to include La Venencia, on Calle de Echegaray, on your list of favourite hang-outs. Life in this memorable Spanish bar, where time has apparently stood still, is all about sherry. This is also the only drink you’ll be able to get - apart from the odd glass of water...
Hole in the Wall Bar
Aguja Taberna - Hole in the Wall Bar
Here is a prime example of "Hole in the wall". Rushing here and there, I’ve passed the Aguja on several occasions – I ‘ve always noted, almost subconsciously, that it seems to bustle just a little more crowded than other places on the block; however, I was always in too much of a hurry to stop by and check it out...
From our former site
Feria de la Tapa 2007 - Really cheap Tapas!
Feria de Tapa, 2007 Thurs, May 31 to Sunday, June 3 noon to 16:30 and from 19h to 23h Avenida de Felipe II (no number) or Jorge Juan, 99 Expand Your Cultural Horizons! Hyper-Extend Your Stomach! Drink Lots of Little Beers! All While Saving Money! ...
From our former site
Restaurante Boñar de Leon - CHEAP tapas!
Restaurante Boñar de Leon Cruz Verde, 16 Metro: San Bernardo T. 91 531 00 30 or 91 521 26 02 Daily 9 AM – 2AM The Hallowed ground of Humungous Tapas Just when you thought tapas couldn’t get any bigger, any cheaper or any yummier… We bring you – Re...
Bes Tostas in Madrid
Taberna Casa de Las Tostas
I won’t even post this as a review, it’s a downright challenge: if you can find a better tostas bar than Taberna La Casa de Las Tostas, send us the address...
Tapas bars in Madrid: El Tigre, young international crowd and great tapas!
El Tigre - Tapas Bar
El Tigre Calle Infantas, 30 Metro: Gran Via Everybody knows that budgets can get rather tight at the end of a Madrid month. This predicament could send you down one of two paths: you could get more in touch with your spiritual side and fast for ...
Food - Indian Tapas
Darbar: Tapa Transcendence
Are you tired of the humdrum world of tapas? At the terraza, do you find yourself weeding out the bruised and waterlogged olives as you dolefully sip your caña desperately thinking "there must be more to this existence"? If you are seeking "tapa transcendence" then Dar Bar is the place for you. Yes, you guessed it: Indian tapas - it had to happen sooner or later...