Rob's Description:

Santander to Madrid by train is a pretty nice ride. The trains were much nicer than I expected and at around 5 hours the journey was just long enough not to be too long. As per usual in Spain, everyone from the staff to the other passengers were friendly and gave our daughter plenty of attention (and sweets!, Spanish people always gave her lots of sweets!).

Madrid Hotel

I booked the hotel online at Lastminute.com using their “secret hotels” – it was pretty easy to figure out which hotel it was since they gave away so much in the description. We stayed at the Husa Chamartin, chiefly because it was at the main train station where I knew we would be arriving. In hindsight I think it would have been better off getting something more central, but the location is still good because it’s a transport hub, it’s just the surrounding area is a bit boring / concrete jungle. The hotel was fine – the room was large but rather tired and charmless, the breakfast expensive – had a much better time at a local cafe down the road.

Madrid Overall

Like when I went to Berlin, and even though the Euro was at an all time high against the Pound, I came away being impressed with how, for a capital Madrid offers some great value for money so long as you avoid the obvious tourist pitfalls. There are some great monuments, tapas and big city life to be experienced in Madrid and I would love to go back.

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