COCOL

Only the best spots to shop, wine, dine and get hyped up in the Spanish capital - a modern city that honors its historical heritage. Passionate people from Madrid are all about getting together, enjoying life and art in all its forms. Regardless of the season, Madrid abounds in art venues, cultural manifestations and night life. However, a little bit of shopping won’t hurt either. 😉 Highlights: 🐻 El Oso y el Madroño (the Bear and the Strawberry Tree) - the symbol of the city, is a sculpture from the 2nd half of the 20th century, that represents the coat of arms of Madrid and is found on the east side of the Puerta del Sol, between Calle de Alcalá and Carrera de San Jerónimo, in the historical centre of the capital. 🐂 Corrida de toros - Spanish-style bullfighting, involves a physical contest with humans (and other animals) attempting to publicly subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull. The most common bull used is the Spanish Fighting Bull (Toro Bravo), a type of cattle native to the Iberian Peninsula. This style of bullfighting is seen to be both a sport and performance art. In a traditional corrida, three toreros (or matadores) each "fight" against two out of a total of six "fighting" bulls to death. 💃🏻Flamenco - is an art form (incorporating poetry, singing, guitar playing, dance, polyrhythmic hand-clapping and finger snapping) strongly influenced by the Gitanos, but which has its deeper roots in Moorish musical traditions. Flamenco culture originated in Andalusia, but has since become one of the icons of Spanish music and even Spanish culture in general. 🍖Jamón - is a kind of dry-cured ham that’s at the heart of Spanish culture and cuisine. There exist two great traditions of artisanal cured hams in Spain, both of which are a source of enjoyment and great pride among Spaniards: 1. Jamón Serrano - a cured country ham made from conventional pork. 2. Jamón Ibérico - produced from non-acorn fed pigs (Cerdo Ibérico) or acorn-fed variety which results in Jamón Ibérico de Bellota (considered the world's finest ham). 🥨 Churros - is a type of fried dough, made with choux pastry dough piped into hot oil with a piping bag and large closed star tip or similar shape. They can either be thin (and sometimes knotted) or long and thick, where they are known as porras or jeringos in some regions. Normally eaten for breakfast dipped in champurrado, hot chocolate, dulce de leche or café con leche. 🏟️ Football fans should be very excited about Madrid, as it hosts one of the best teams ever - Real Madrid. Visit Real Madrid’s home by taking a tour on their stadium, Santiago Bernabéu.

The best neighborhoods in Madrid, Spain. There are the best coffee shops, cafés, restaurants, bars, bakeries, small retail shops, and other things to do to make your experience in Madrid authentic and local. There are some reels of places on this list and I have added the links in the details and description area for you to view. @splendidmadrid on IG & TikTok for more Madrid content. I hope you ENJOY!

A two and a half week visit starting in Madrid and followed by a road-trip across northern Spain crossing the Aragon, Navara, Basque Country, Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia regions. This was an adult-only trip that focused on enjoying the best experiences and finest ingredients across the various regions. Hotels on this itinerary are high to very high end. There are some Bonvoy hotels included because loyalty programs work! Seeing the changes between regions was fascinating. The physical landscapes ranged from semi arid with huge sunflower fields dotting the highway, to mountain ranges that were mixed in the distance with clouds, to rolling green hills and banging coast line with surfers, families and friends enjoying the beautiful beaches all along the way. Galicia was the sleeper hit for us. The whole north coast of Spain is quieter than Malaga, Valencia etc. and Galicia is heavy on domestic tourism. Galicia is also a great add on for those visiting Portugal.