SPAIN - Europe by Eurail 2015: Touring Europe by Train - page 497

1000-1900 Sunday, with free admission after 1800, and Sunday after 1700)
houses more than 3,000 of the world's most precious works of art, including
fine collections of the Spanish masters—Goya, Velazquez, El Greco, Murillo, and
Zurbaran. General entry fee: €14. Metro stops: Banco de España and Atocha Sta-
tions; bus Nos. 9, 10, 14, 19, 27, 34, 37, and 45.
The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, in the Villahermosa Palace, features one
of the world's most extensive private art collections. Tel: [phone];
www.museothyssen.org ; Hours: Open Monday-Sunday 1000-1900. The Reina
Sofia National Art Museum has a fantastic collection of 20th-century Spanish art,
and the National Chalcography Institute includes 221 original copper and brass
engraved plates by Goya.
If you plan to attend a bullfight in Madrid, remember what Ernest Hemingway
wrote: “It is a tragedy; the death of the bull, which is played, more or less well by
the bull and the man involved and in which there is danger for the man but certain
death for the bull.”
For people-watching visit several of Madrid's chiringuitos , a combination
German-style beer garden and discotheque, and cafes that line the Paseo de la
Castellana (which becomes Paseo del Prado as it nears the Prado Museum).
In the cuisine category, Madrid has some very old and very famous restaurants.
The Casa Botin at 17 Calle Cuchilleros ( Tel: [phone]; www.botin.es ) is in
the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest continuously operated restaurant and
Hemingway's favorite for suckling pig and lamb. The Zalacain at Alvarez de Baena
4 ( Tel: [phone]; www.restaurantezalacain.com ) features Basque seafood and
game.
Day Excursions
Aranjuez, Avila, El Escorial, and Toledo are four very different Spanish destina-
tions easily accessed by train from Madrid.
Aranjuez and El Escorial are particularly picturesque. Aranjuez, on the fertile
banks of the Tagus River, is set in a forested valley less than one hour's train jour-
ney south of Madrid. El Escorial is a village at the base of the Sierra de Guadar-
rama, one hour north of Madrid. Favorites of the royalty for centuries, they are now
popular retreats for Madrilenos.
Avila and Toledo are cities with such different styles that they exemplify the di-
versity of this ancient land. Both are worth more than a day's visit to thoroughly
explore and enjoy.
Burgos, home of El Cid, is about three hours' journey time from Madrid.