• You can catch a taxi from the airport to city central for about 25 euros. After a long flight, it is worth it. Some hotels offer a shuttle service from the airport.

• If you are only using Madrid for a jet lag recoup stop over, go to the tourist office in the Plaza Mayor. You can get a free map and learn about short tours offered. A good one is a day tour bus pass. You can ride a tour bus and jump on and off at the historic sites as you wish. Get an info book and have at it. It is less than 20 euros a day.

• One hotel I would avoid is Hotel Madrid on Carretas. It is right around the corner from the Ramirez shop, so we stayed there last time. A little pricey for what we got, and the service was on the edge of rude.

• As always, Rick Steves is a good source for lots of info and deals on clean hotels.
• Eating in Madrid can get costly. The further you walk away from the Plaza Mayor, the better the prices are. We usually take a glass of over priced mediocre wine in the Plaza , so we can enjoy the evening of activity in the Plaza. We eat our main meal a few blocks away.

• Last visit we took a walking tour with Walks of Madrid. This is more of a wine food adventure and light on the history. Even so, we found ourselves in a small group of 4 people and went places that we would have never found without Andres. He provided a killer 4 course meal with wines and a great explanation as to what wine to take with which food.

• There is lots of history in Madrid. If you are going to be there for a few days it might be worth joining the Wellington Society and take advantage of his excellent excursions.

• I have heard that the Hostel Macarena is a good place to stay, near the Plaza Mayor, and a good deal.