Travel & Attractions – Madrid
Airport
COMPSAC attendees will likely fly into the Barajas International Airport in Madrid. Just 12 km from the city center, attendees have a number of options for traveling from the airport to the conference venue and various hotels nearby, including taxis, Madrid Metro, train, bus and car rentals. Visit the Madrid Barajas International airport website to explore all of these options. Instructions for obtaining a metro ticket to/from the airport is available here.
Madrid Metro & Train System
Metro and Metro Ligero system map
Madrid has an extensive subway and light rail train system that offers convenient transportation all around the city. Trains circulate from 6:00am to 2:00am daily. The Metro Ligero is a light rail train line with locations convenient to the subway network. COMPSAC attendees can purchase a tourist travel pass allowing for unlimited metro rides for the duration of the conference.
Hotels
Hotels close to the Universidad Politécnica di Madrid include the following:
Hotel Exe Moncloa
Leonardo Boutique Hotel Madrid
Hotel T3 Tirol
Aparto Suites Muralto
Leonardo Hotel City Center
Suites Viena
Tourism
Visit the official Madrid tourism website
List of tourist attractions (updated Nov 2019)
Madrid is a wonderful tourist city, with some of the best museums in Europe. The Museo Nacional del Prado museum is a must-see. The permanent collection features a variety of styles and genres, including works by Velázquez, El Greco and Hieronymus Bosch. Check their website for featured exhibitions. Additional hot spots include:
- Patrimonio Nacional. Visit the Royal Palace of Madrid, along with its extensive art collections, the Royal Armoury, and the Royal Kitchen. Also popular among tourists, the Changing of the Guard ceremony takes place on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Thyssen Bornemisza Mueum. Housed in the Villahermosa Palace, the Thyssen museum features work from Van Eyck, Ghirlandaio, Dürer, Titian, El Greco, Caravaggio, Rubens, Rembrandt, Canaletto, Friedrich, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Morisot, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Picasso, Kandinsky, O’Keeffe, Dalí, Hopper, and Rothko.
Foodies won’t be disappointed. Madrid is home to the world’s oldest restaurant, the Sobrino de Botín. Also check out:
- San Miguel Market. Located in the old city of Madrid, next to Plaza Mayor, San Miguel Market describes itself as “the temple of fresh produce where the protagonist is not the chef, but the food”. The building where it is located has been declared a national Monument of Cultural Interest.
- Platea Madrid. the jewel of Europe. This cutting edge complex opened in 2014 in the premises formerly occupied by a movie theater, it is the largest gastronomic leisure space in Europe. It offers not only avant-garde cuisine, but also a great variety of shows to entertain the visiting public (music, films, performing arts, magic, cabaret or micro-theatre) and hands-on activities such as workshops or tastings on the stage.