Spain, The Netherlands, Belgium
Eurotrip - Spain, The Netherlands, Belgium - Feb 22 - Mar 14, 2023
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4 Days in Madrid: Perfect itinerary to discover the city
Getting from the airport to downtown.
We arrived in Madrid by flying with Ryan Air from Eindhoven. To get to our hotel we took the Metro train. To use any type of transportation in Madrid you need to buy first a Multi Public Transport Card which cost 2.5 Euro and load it with your preferred tickets. If two persons are travelling, both tickets can be loaded on the same Transport Card. We took line 8 to Nuevos Ministerios station and then transferred to line 10 which took us to Plaza de Espana and from there we only had to walk 600 meters to our hotel. The cost of a ticket is 5 Euro which includes the 3 Euro airport charge. We could have also used Line 203 Aerobus which connects the airport to the city center for the same price and has a 24-hour schedule.
We like to visit all our destinations by foot, this way we learn the cities and might discover nice spots that are not so popular. Our plans always include, first determining the location of each attraction and grouping them by area and then assigning them by day also taking into consideration the opening hours of each and the day when they are closed.
We did the same in Madrid where was even easier as most popular attractions are centrally located. With plenty of excellent art museums, large parks, numerous landmarks and a rich culture and architecture. Madrid is a beautiful capital and perhaps the most visited city in Spain.
Day 1 in Madrid
We had tickets bought in advance while in Canada, to visit Royal Palace at 10:00 am. Before that our itinerary included other attractions located along the way.
Plaza Mayor is a major public square of historical buildings in Madrid, surrounded by arcades which are homes to bars, restaurants, souvenir shops and outdoor seating areas. It is used for seasonal markets, public events and as a popular stop for locals and tourists. Some of the most buildings in the plaza are Casa de la Panaderia with its façade decorated with mythological figures frescos and on the opposite side, Casa de la Carniceria, a red building used to store the meat in the old times. In the morning the square was almost empty, it felt like we had it for ourselves but when we returned late in the afternoon it was alive with locals, tourists, street artists and performers.
Taking pictures is not allowed in any of the rooms, only at the entrance staircase and the hallways. But being the largest royal palace in Europe, during your visit you can see amazing paintings, tapestries, the royal crown and jewelry, collections of clocks and even a very rare collection of Stradivarius string instruments, unique in the world. Tickets cost 12 Euro per person and you can easily spend 1-2 hours inside.
Around the corner and below the Cathedral you can visit the Crypt. With over 400 impressive columns is the largest in Spain. We wanted to visit it but was closed and would have disrupted our schedule to wait for it to open in the afternoon.
Beside the Royal Palace we took a break on a bench in the Sabatini Garden. With a large pond surrounded by fountains, trees and white marble sculptures the Gardens are one of the best in Madrid. Next we strolled through Plaza de Oriente and Plaza de Espana, two very popular tourist destinations. In Plaza de Espana we did what all tourists do, posed for pictures with the monument to the Spanish novelist, Miquel de Cervantes. The monument includes a statue of Cervantes overlooking bronze sculptures of the famous Don Quijote and Sancho Panza.
Temple of Debod is 10 minutes walk from Plaza de Espana. Originally from Nubia, southern Egypt, the ancient temple was gifted by Egyptian government for the help in restoring the Abu Simbel temples. The entrance to the temple is free but number of visitors at a time and the time to spend inside is limited. There was a huge line so we did not go inside.
From the temple we walked down through the amazing rose garden in Parque del Oeste on our way to visit Ermita de San Antoniode la Florida. The royal chapel is known for its ceiling and dome frescoes painted by Francisco Goya and it also houses Goya tomb. Pictures inside the chapel were not allowed.
Day 2 in Madrid
On our schedule was a visit to Reina Sofia Museum and we had tickets for 10 am. We are early risers so usually around 8 in the morning we were already in the street. We had a lot of amazing attractions to see on our way to the museum. We started with a walk on Gran Via which was close to our hotel. One of the most famous streets in Madrid, this impressive boulevard is lined up with retail shops, hotels, neo-baroque buildings, theatres and cinemas, being often called Madrid’s Broadway.
From the museum we walked to El Retiro Park, one of the largest parks in Madrid. You can easily spend a couple of hours to half a day here. You could rent a rowboat and spend some time on the artificial lake or visit Crystal Palace, also known as the Glass Palace which was originally built as a greenhouse but now is owned by Reina Sofia Museum and used for its temporary exhibitions. On the edge of the lake the Monument to King Alfonso XII is situated, designed as an arcade of columns surrounded the Kings ‘statue. You could also visit Velazquez Palace, a free entry art gallery also owned by Reina Sofia Museum, walk the Alley of Statues, an area lined with statues of Spain’s monarchs or relax on a bench and enjoy the peace and beauty of the park.
On our way back to hotel we stopped at Mercado de San Miquel, a very popular covered local market located near Plaza Mayor and tried some tapas, Spanish appetizers.
Day 3 in Madrid
Started our day with a stroll in Puerta del Sol, a famous and one of the busiest squares in Madrid. The place is known for its “kilometer 0”, the centre of a radial network of Spanish roads and also for the most famous symbol of Madrid, the bear eating fruits from a tree statue.
From here we continued through the Literary Quarter, a neighborhood named after the great writers who walked its streets in the old times, Cervantes, Lope de Vega. Passed through Plaza de Santa Ana, another nice spot filled with cafes, tapa bars and terraces.
At 10 am we had
tickets to Prado Museum. We
purchased them online well in advance because it is required to book the date
and the hour of your visit for some temporary exhibitions. The museum has 5
entrances but if you have pre booked tickets you will have to go to either
Puerta de Velazquez or Puerta de los Jeronimo's entrances. Being a very popular
museum there are always lines regardless if is not peak season and we did not
want to spend too much time waiting in line. The national art museum has
extensive collections of paintings by famous painters like Goya, El Greco,
Rubens but also sculptures, decorative arts and more. The museum also hosts some of the most important works of Hieronymus Bosch, one of our favorite painters but the paintings were guarded closely by "no photos" enforcers. A ticket costs 15 Euro
and you will need 2-3 hours to see it properly. Again, we strict "no photos" rule in most galleries
After visiting the museum, we walked to another corner of the downtown to see Puerta del Toledo, the most recently built of all the monumental gates in Madrid.
Close to the Basilica there is an important market, Cebada Market. We returned to the hotel by walking on Calle de CavaBaja, a street with character lined with bars, tavernas and known for its best tapas in Madrid.
Day 4 in Madrid
In the morning we spent a couple of hours visiting Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum. The museum has an impressive art collection of paintings of old and modern masters, spanning from 13th century to the 20th century. The permanent collection includes masterpieces of Rembrandt, Degas, Van Gogh, Rubens, Picasso and more. We had also access to very interesting temporary collections like Lucian Freud and Bulgari. The ticket cost is 13 Euro and same like we the other big museums is better if you buy the tickets in advance to avoid the big lines.
Next we walked to Lazaro Galdiano Museum. Housed in the former house of the entrepreneur Lazaro Galdiano, a two floors aristocratic mansion, the museum includes plenty of works of Spanish and Flemish masters like Velazquez, El Greco, Goya, Bosch. It is located farther away from the Madrid’s main tourist area meaning fewer crowds. The price of a ticket is 6 Euro.
Beside Plaza Colon on Calle de Serano we visited National Library of Spain and the NationalArchaeological Museum as they share the same building. The Archeological Museums displays large antique collections and artifacts and objects from diggings to various archaeological sites, dated from prehistory to the 19th century. With only 3 Euro a ticket and so much to offer, it is a great museum to visit.
To end our day on a good note we passed by Spain’s Good Luck Frog, frogs representing a symbolic fortune in many cultures around the world.
Malaga: Best things to do
We traveled from Madrid to Malaga by train. Spain has an excellent network of trains, Renfe, with connections between all major cities. Our tickets for the trip were purchased in advance, for the long-distance high speed train (it reached 270 km/h !), the ticket cost was 42.40 Euro for one person one way and the journey only took two and a half hours.
Always wanted to visit the south of Spain as we heard so much about it. We planned to use Malaga as a base and make few day trips to other destinations. Our hotel was centrally located and had breakfast included which helped saving time early in the morning to catch either the train or bus.
Malaga is a port city on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, situated on Costa del Sol, in the community of Andalusia. The best time to visit is in the spring or fall, to avoid the crowds, we visited beginning of spring and the temperatures were pleasant and had sunny days. With a rich culture, history, stunning beaches, Roman and Moorish ruins and plenty of sunshine, Malaga has a lot of offer and we wish we stayed longer.
Here are some of the attractions we enjoyed a lot and highly recommend:
Alcazaba of Malaga is an ancient Moorish fortification built in the 10th century and located on Mount Gibralfaro as a strategic defence point of the city. With two enclosures, each surrounded by a wall fortified with towers and five gates to Taifa palace area, walking through this well preserved fortress gives you a feeling of going back in time. To visit you can use one of the two entrances, the main entrance on Calle Alcazabilla, close to the tourist info point and the back entrance from the lift, behind City Hall. A tickets costs 3.5 Euro but we purchased a combined ticket for Alcazaba and Gibralfaro and paid 5.5 Euro.
Castillo de Gibralfaro sits on top of the hill and getting there will require a stop or two to catch your breath. The castle was built in 929 AD by the Caliph of Cordoba on a former Phoenician enclosure and lighthouse. Inside the fortress you can see buildings and courtyards similar to Alhambra and you can also walk all the way on the remaining parapets that offer good views of the city.
Roman Theatre of Malaga is located at the base of Alcazaba fortress and is considered the oldest monument in Malaga, being built by Augustus, the first roman emperor. The theatre is free to visit.
Close to the Malaga Park next to Tourist Information Center, in Plaza Marina, we passed by El Cenachero or the Fish Vendor bronze statue, a monument to the fishmongers of Malaga, one of the city’s oldest trades and considered a symbol of Malaga.
Day trip to Benalmadena
To get to
Benalmadena from Malaga is very easy. We took Malaga – Fuengirola Renfe local commuter train and stopped in Benalmadena – Arroyo de la Miel train station.
Benalmadena is only 24 km away from Malaga so it was a 30 minutes’ journey and
the trains run every 20 minutes. One-way ticket costs only 1.80 Euro per person
and you can purchase it at ticket offices or at self service machines.
First thing on
our itinerary was taking the gondola up to Mount Calamorro but the opening hour
was 11 am. So we headed to Paloma Park
which was about 1 km walking from the train station. The park has walking
paths, an artificial pond, an impressive cactus garden and you can also enjoy
some wildlife roaming through the park like rabbits, green parrots, ducks,
chickens.
From the park we
walked back towards Teleferico Benalmadena which is very close to the train station. The ticket price was
18.90 Euro for a return ticket. To get to Mount Calamorro is a 3 km, 15 minutes’
journey with the cable car that offers spectacular panoramic views of the city
and each car is equipped with an audio guide giving information about what you
are seeing on your way up or down. Mount Calamorro is located at an altitude of
almost 800 meters. There are hiking trails leading to various viewpoints and to
the summit where you can enjoy wonderful views of Costa del Sol, Sierra Nevada
Mountains and on clear days even Gibraltar.
The main goal of
our day trip was to walk the promenade along the coastline from Benalmadena to
Torremolinos and take the train back to Malaga from there. So after getting
back to the city we walked to the beach side and started our stroll with a
visit to Bil Bil Castle built in the
Moorish architectural style and free to visit.
Day trip with best attractions in Granada
How to get from Malaga to Granada
If not driving
there are two ways to get to Granada, either by Renfe train or by bus. Granada
is 126 km from Malaga. Train tickets can be purchased from Malaga Maria Zambrano train station, the cost is about 37 Euro for
a return ticket and the journey takes 1 hour and 10 minutes. We chose to go by
ALSA bus because the buses had earlier departures than the train and we needed
to arrive early in Granada to visit Alhambra. The cost for a return bus ticket was
24.42 Euro, even cheaper than the train and the journey is 1 hour and 45
minutes. ALSA bus tickets can be purchased from Malaga Bus Station, located on Paseo de los Tilos, across the
street from the train station, either from the ticket office or from ALSA
ticket machine.
The main
attraction we wanted to visit in Granada was Alhambra. From the Granada bus station was a 4.5 km walk to Alhambra’s main entrance. From the city
center starts to be an uphill walk of about 20 minutes. We had tickets purchased
online before our trip to Europe to ensure we can visit on the date we wanted
and choose the time slot we wanted. The ticket cost was 19.09 Euro per person
for Alhambra General which is the complete visit and includes all the areas:
Nasrid Palace, Partal, Alcazaba, Generalife and the Gardens. While there you
can visit also Charles V Palace, Alhambra Museum and the Mosque Baths which
have free entry. Once inside you can visit the attractions in any order and
spend as much time as you want with the exception of Nasrid Palace which you
must access it at the selected time, written on the ticket. Many times
throughout the visit we had to present the tickets and the identification documents
used when booking the tickets, in our case, the passports.
Once inside we started
our visit with Generalife area, a
group of two simple, undecorated buildings connected by Patio of the Irrigation
Ditch. Here was where the kings of Granada spent their time when not conducting
the royal affairs of the Palace.
Alcazaba of Granada is one of the oldest parts of Alhambra. It was
built by Mohamed I and was used as a royal residence by him and his son until
the palaces were finished and used only as a military fortress after. This imposing
fortification complex protected by layers of walls, has towers on each side and
in the middle is what used to be a residential area. During the visit you can
walk along the walls and in each of the towers and be rewarded with very nice
views of Granada.
The entire visit
took us about 4 hours. Next we walked to Mirador de San Nicolas, an 800 meters
walk uphill from Plaza Nueva. Mirador de San Nicolas is one of the best
viewpoints of Alhambra and Sierra Nevada mountains in the background. The
square is always busy with locals, tourists, musicians and vendors.
Before heading
back to the bus station we wandered Granada’s historic downtown, admired the
Cathedral of Granada and walked the quaint narrow streets with hundreds to
shops selling mainly Arab souvenirs in the Albaicin, Granada’s former Muslim
quarter.
Day trip with best attractions in Ronda
You can get from
Malaga to Ronda with the train or by bus. We chose to go by bus because the
return train was too late. We went very early in the morning to the bus station
but being Sunday all the ticket offices were closed. The only bus going to
Ronda was Damas and their ticket office was closed on Sundays. We asked at the Information desk how to get tickets and were told we will have to buy them
directly from the driver. Not being sure if the driver sells also return
tickets, we waited for the bus to arrive and talked to the driver. He was able
to sell us return tickets as well and they looked like a copy of the one way
tickets and they were open tickets meaning we could return at any time we wanted.
On our way back the driver exchanged those copies for one way tickets back to
Malaga. It is a two hours trip and the cost of a return ticket is 21 Euro per person.
Top things to do in Ronda
Ronda is a one
of the most picturesque small towns in Andalusia, set on top of a rocky cliff. A
gorge separates the old town from the new town with Puente Nuevo stone bridge
connecting the two parts of the city.
Plaza de Torros Bullring and Museum was the first thing we visited after we
arrived. Considered the oldest bullring in Spain built entirely of stone, it is
part of the Royal School of Cavalry founded by king Phillip II of Spain and
still being used as an equestrian training facility. Plaza de Torros no longer
hosts bullfights with the exception of the Feria de Pedro Romana festival in
September. Taurino Museum is included in the 9 Euro ticket price and displays
many of the outfits and bullfighting costumes from the past and collections of
weapons used during the wars in Spain.
To get there we walked
first to Puerta de Almocabar, one of
the city gates from 13th century giving entry to the old town
surrounded by the fortress walls. We continued on Calle de Prado all the way to Miradour de Viento and then on a stony path to the Arch of Christ and Walls of Albacara. From here you can have an amazing view of the bridge above, the canyon
below and of the entire escarpment. After enjoying the views, we climbed down
to parking lot close to the road which is another lookout point and from here
we returned to the city on Calle de Prado. People who are not afraid of heights
can also try Via Ferrata, a vertical and horizontal route along the rock wall.
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From Malaga we
flew back to the Netherlands with Transavia, to Eindhoven airport. Flying in
Europe with low-cost air carriers is easy and cheap, we paid only 65 Euro per
person and the flight took less than an hour. Our Dutch friend picked us up at
the airport.
A weekend in Maastricht
We went to Maastricht by car with our good friends who also graciously hosted us during our time in the Netherlands. Checked in first to Hotel Brull located in Mechelen, a small town in the Dutch province of Limburg. The hotel had large cozy rooms, a beautiful courtyard and a nice sitting area where we spent the evening. In the morning, after having the tasty buffet breakfast and our coffees and teas, we drove to Maastricht, which was 20 km away.
After visiting
the museum, we took a walk to discover the downtown. Maastricht is the capital
of the province of Limburg in the south of Netherlands. It is a charming old
town, with cobbled streets, medieval architecture and old churches full of
history. St. John’s Church and Basilica de Saint Servatius located in
Maastricht’s most famous square, Vrijthof Square, are a proof of that. This is also the square where the famous Dutch
violinist and conductor Andre Rieu, performs its annual open-air concerts.
A must try while
in Maastricht is “vlai” their famous freshly baked pie, sold in a variety of
fruit fillings.
Day in Utrecht
We spent the following
couple of days with another good friend who picked us up in Vught and had
planned surprise activities for us. On our way there we stopped for a visit to Hoge Veluwe National Park. The park is
the largest nature reserve in the country with forests, wildlife, walking and
cycling trails. The rainy weather was not ideal for exploring the park but we
spent a couple of hours visiting the museum located inside the park.
Kroller-Muller is a national art museum and sculpture garden which
displays a big collection of paintings by master painters and the
second-largest collection in the world of Van Gogh paintings. As a nice
surprise, we were able to admire also two sculptures of the famous Romanian
artist Brancusi, one being “The Beginning of the World” nicknamed “Brancusi’s
egg”. The forest park surrounding the museum houses also one of the largest
sculpture gardens in Europe, over 160 sculptures, some Rodin works among them.
Day visit to Den Hague
We drove from
Utrecht to Den Hague with the intent to explore the downtown area and visit one
or two of the city’s attractions. One that we really wanted to visit in Den Hague, after we found out about its existence, was Escher Museum. The museum is housed in Lange Voorhout Palace, a former
royal residence on three levels and with many rooms decorated with stunning, unique crystal chandeliers designed by the artist Hans van Bentem. The museum
features an impressive collection of prints, woodcuts and lithographs of
M.C.Escher, one of the most famous graphic artist.
From here we
walked about 2 km to Madurodam, a
miniature park and a major tourist attraction of Den Hague, where we felt like
in Jonathan Swift’s story when Gulliver travelled in Lilliput. The park has
hundreds of scale models of bridges, windmills, canals and national landmarks
from different places across the country.
After returning
to Vught we spent the evening watching our friend performing with his band, Rimpelrock, at a pub in town.
The next morning,
we were picked up by another good friend from Belgium and spent the last couple
of days in company of lifetime friends and visiting the small towns of Lier and
Turnhout.
Lier is a quaint medieval town in the province of Antwerp, in Belgium. In the centre of the town is the Market Square surrounded by Flemish buildings full of history. Most notable being the 14th century Town Hall and the 13th century St. James’s Chapel or the imposing Saint Gummarus Church. In walking distance from the centre we were able to admire the Zimmer Tower with its famous clock created by Louis Zimmer, an astronomer and clockmaker to the king of Belgium. This old clock displays a large dial in the centre showing the exact time, surrounded by other 12 dials showing other information like the solar cycle, the months, the seasons, the zodiac or the tides. In the pavilion next to the tower is Zimmer Museum but it was closed on Mondays.
In Turnhout we strolled through the Grote Markt, the central square of the city. We spent little time here on an afternoon, but enough to appreciate St.Peter’s Church that dominates the square.
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