My Recommended Place to Stay: 

Hotel Monaco, Calle Barbieri (tel 0034 91 522 4630). 

The area feels a bit iffy but it is a smart little place, just off Gran Via - marble bathrooms, 

mirrored walls, faded grandeur with more than  a bit of seediness thrown in. About £40 a night.

MUST DO EXPERIENCE: Go to the Plaza Mayor - the main square - and drink draught 

Vermouth at lunchtime. This is SO Madrid!

Must Do Tapas Bars: 

Museo de Jamon (The Museum of Ham) 

Meson de championes - House of Mushrooms. 

Bravas - Bravas bars - Identifiable by their gaudy orange decor. 

Bullfighters bar in the middle of Plaza Mayor. 

Sherry and Olive bar - lovely old dark wood place with Roquefort to die for. 

Cod bar near the department store, El Corte Ingles.

The centre of the city is Puerta del Sol. Everyone tends to congregate 

here, and the tube brings you right to it. There's a statue there of a bear standing

against a tree. Use this as your orientation point for this guide. 

With the statue behind you and the main road in front of you cross over the road

and walk to the right. Turn left at the Mcdonalds and bear right following the

crowds. You'll come to the Museo de Jamon on your right. Nip in for some jamon

(dried cured ham) and a beer. A cured ham sandwich is a Bocadillor de jamon

(bockadeeyo dee hammon). A beer is una cerveza (oona serbetha) or una cana (oona

canya). If you want a small portion of jamon, or tortilla ask for una tapa. 

OK, past the Museo de Jamon is Plaza Mayor itself. Walk into the centre of the

square and look to your right. There's a predominantly green bar with black iron

gates. I only discovered it on my last visit. It has bulls heads in there and it

serves great seafood. If you order a beer (una cana) you get a lovely plate of

paella (pa-yay-ya). It did close at 3pm on the afternoon that I was there, so it

may be open only during the day. I call it the Bullfighter's Bar - No idea of the real

name!

Back to the centre of the square. Go south east to another exit, take a left

down a ramp and you'll come to a bar which says: Ernest Hemmingway never drank

here. Walk past it. Beyond here is a marvellous bar called Meson de Champinones

- House of Mushrooms. Ask for una tapa and you'll get a plate of mushrooms

cooked in lemon juice and olive oil with a piece of chorizo (sausage) plonked in

the middle. Also ask for Sangria. The bar has the worst music in the world -

it's usually played by people who have some kind of disability - no kidding.

That's the bar they play in, and it's such a Madrid highlight. 

Back to Puerta del sol. Again, with the statue behind you, cross over the road

and walk left. You'll walk past another Museo de Jamon or if you're smart,

you'll go in and have some more ham and another beer. Walk for another ten

minutes and you'll come to a small roundabout. Keep going straight. you'll come

to a music shop. Turn right just after the shop and the Sherry and Olive bar is

about 50 yards on the left opposite the Hotel Ingles. It's a dark and dingy old

bar with loads of sherry barrels. Ask for una fino (oon feeno) - a bone dry

sherry and una tapa de roquefort, or if you're feeling really brave, una tapa de

mojama (moe-hamma). This is a dried, cured tuna - a VERY acquired taste.

Leave this bar and turn left. At the top of this street, you're in the heart of

Plaza Santa Ana where all the bars are. Just take your pick and suss out the

cool ones. If you head back from this square back to sol you'll come across the

bravas bars serving Patatas Bravas - wonderful spicy potatoes.

Back to the statue of the bear. This time, have the bear in front of you. Up

ahead is a pedestrianised street. To your left is the main entrance to the

department store, El Corte Ingles. Take a left in front of there and you'll come

to a Cod Bar, which if you go at the right time of night - about 9pm - will have

loads of people outside it. Ask for una vermouth (Oona vermoot) at the bar -

this is draught vermouth. To the right of the bar there's usually an old guy

sitting at a till: go to him and ask for some bacalao (back-allow). This is

bascially battered cod. Ask for una tapa. It's a great place to hang out on a

Saturday night at about 8 or 9, when everyone's in the middle of shopping, and all

the classy old Spanish dears and standing around in their furs.