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Madrid  Travel Tips

Customs and visas
Madrid travel health
Money matters
Crime & security in Madrid
Madrid tourist information
Madrid airport arrivals
Useful numbers

Customs
Vis­i­tors can bring reasonable quan­ti­ties of cigarettes (300 cig­a­rettes for EU residents, 200 for the rest of Europe and 400 for non-Eu­ro­peans), and limited amounts of al­co­hol­ic bev­er­ag­es, perfumes, coffee and tea. If your camera, computer or whatever is new and you do not have the pur­chase receipt, it is wise to ask a cus­toms official to certify that you brought it into the country with you.

Pets may be brought with you if you have a health certificate for the animal signed by an of­fi­cial­ly recognised vet from the coun­try of origin and indicating the dates of the last vaccines, most importantly an anti-rabies shot. Animals are not allowed in res­tau­rants, cafés and food shops.

Visas
Vis­i­tors from the EU require only a valid national identity card from their home state to enter Spain. Cit­i­zens of Andorra, Austria, Liech­ten­stein, Mo­na­co and Switzerland enjoy a similar privilege. As British citizens have no identity cards, they need a passport.

Cit­i­zens of the United States, Aus­tral­ians and New Zealanders require a valid passport and are au­to­mat­i­cal­ly authorised for a three-month stay. Visitors from elsewhere must obtain a visa from the Spanish con­su­late in their own country before setting off.

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Madrid travel health
No inoculations are re­quired for entering Spain, unless you are coming from an area where there has been a recent outbreak of smallpox, cholera or yellow fever.

The phrase "Spanish tummy" can still be applicable, though food hygiene has improved enormously in recent years - just be a little cautious. In modest establishments avoid seafood on Sun­days and Mondays and be wary of dishes containing raw egg, such as fresh mayonnaise. Tap water is safe to drink, but bottled water is available in every bar, restaurant and hotel.

In summer bring a sun hat and protective sun creams if you plan to be out in the open air a lot.

Chemists: bring any prescription med­i­cine you require. Span­ish pharmacies are amply stocked and many can be pur­chased over the counter without pre­scrip­tion, but your particular medication may not be available. Chemists in Spain do not honour foreign pre­scrip­tions.

Money Matters
The currency of Spain is the euro, which comes in coins valued 1 euro, 2 euros, plus 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 cents. Bills are worth 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 euros.

Traveller's cheques remain one of the safest ways of transporting your cash. Travel agencies and hotels as well as banks will change currency, but it is worth checking the rates and commissions charged. You may often find that the savings banks (cajas de ahorros) offer a better deal than the big commercial banks. To get the most favourable rate, avoid changing small amounts at a time.

Unless you are importing very large sums of money, avoid transferring cash via banks. Many tourists have been left stranded, waiting for cash that gets delayed in the pipeline. Even telexed cash can take days or week to arrive.

Credit cards are widely used in Spain and most towns have cashpoint facilities, where you can use your bank card. The most widely used and accepted card is Visa. Smaller establishments may be unwilling to take your Diner's or Amex card.

Sales tax in Spain is called IVA and varies from 7 percent in cafés and restaurants to 16 percent in shops, though the latter varies and can be as low as 7 percent or even 4 percent. Generally these prices are included in the advertised total, though in some cafés and eating spots it is not, so best to peruse the menu carefully beforehand. Some of the newer wine bars will even add IVA to your glass of Rioja. If shops display a "Tax Free Shopping" sign then EU residents can get a refund on the tax if they make a big purchase.

Service is presumed to be in­clud­ed in restaurants and hotels, but it is cus­tom­ary to leave the spare change in the dish when eating at a modest restaurant and a few centimes at a bar. When dining at an av­er­age­ly-smart restaurant, 10 percent of the bill is appropriate. A euro tip is fine for an average taxi ride. Bathroom attendants and movie-ush­ers will expect at least 20 centimes per person.

Madrid banks
Most banks are open from 9am (sometimes 8.30am) to 2pm week­days and 9am-12.30pm or 1pm on Saturdays, except from May to Sep­tem­ber when there is no Saturday open­ing. All are closed on Sun­days and hol­i­days. Major branch­es in the busi­ness dis­tricts stay open until 4.30pm

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Crime & security in Madrid
Ma­drid is no more dan­ger­ous than any other cosmopolitan com­mu­ni­ty, but it is no longer the ha­ven of peace and safety it used to be, so it makes sense to take a few basic pre­cau­tions. Bag-snatching and pick-pocketing are probably the worst problems, so don't allow yourself to be distracted and take care in crowds and busy tour­ist areas. Avoid flashing large amounts of money in public places. Keep val­u­a­bles in the hotel safe and don't car­ry large sums of money or your passport (take a photocopy instead), unless you are going to exchange money.

If you are robbed, contact the local police sta­tion or telephone 091 - Po­lice Emergency (national police) or 092 (municipal police).

Madrid tourist information
Tour­ist information for all of Spain is avail­a­ble at the Madrid community tour­ist offices in the Mercado Puerta de Toledo, Tel: 91-364 1876, open: 10am-7pm; Barajas air­port, Tel: 91-305 8656; Duque de Medinaceli, 2, Tel: 91-429 4951; and Chamartín Sta­tion, Door 14, in the Main Hall, Tel: 91-315 9976.

In­for­ma­tion on Madrid is avail­a­ble at Plaza Mayor, 3, Tel: 91-588 1636. The Patronato Municipal de Turismo (Mu­nic­i­pal Tourism Board) is at Calle May­or, 69 (near the City Hall on the Plaza de la Villa). The Patronato or­gan­is­es tours of the city and the province, and is open to the public: 8.30am-2.30pm, Tel: 91-588 2900.

For information on tourist facilities and practical matters, Tel: 010 for the Mu­nic­i­pal Information Office, 012 for in­for­ma­tion on Madrid prov­ince.

Tourist offices abroad
New York: 666 Fifth Avenue, floor 35, New York, NY 10103, Tel: (1-212) 265 8822.
Chi­ca­go: 845 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 915, Chicago, Illinois 60611, Tel: (1-312) 944 0215/6.
Los Angeles: 8383 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 960, 90211 Beverly Hills, Cal­i­for­nia, Tel: (1-213) 658 7188/93.
Hou­ston: 5085 Westheimer, Suite 4800, 77056 Houston, Texas, Tel: (1-713) 840 7412/3.
To­ron­to: 2 Bloor Street West, 34th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M4W3E2, Tel: (1-416) 961 3131.
Lon­don: 22-3 Manchester Square, London W1M 5AP, Tel: (44-020) 7486 8077, Fax: 7486 8034.

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Madrid airport arrivals
The quickest and cheapest way into town is by direct metro line 8 (opened in 2002) which runs to Nuevos Ministerios in the heart of the city's business area in just 12 minutes. From here a change to the No 10 line takes you to Plaza España at the end of the Gran Vía in 15 minutes.

In addition, a regular bus service runs every 12-20 minutes (de­pend­ing on the time of day) to the un­der­ground bus ter­mi­nal at the Plaza Colón. The Aeropuerto-Colón bus op­er­ates from 4.45am through the day until 1.50am. (For bus information, Tel: 91 4068810 or 91-431 6192.) There is no left luggage service at the bus ter­mi­nal. Connections can be made at Colón to the Madrid Metro (or Under­ground), and to a variety of bus lines and taxis. The bus fare is currently €2.50.

Taxi from the airport
If you take a taxi from Madrid's main airport into the city, avoid unofficial cab driv­ers. Official Ma­drid taxis are white with red stripes paint­ed transversally across the doors. An airport surcharge will be added to the fare shown on the meter together with an extra charge for each large piece of luggage. On Sun­days, holidays and after 11pm, there is a further surcharge.

Car rental at Madrid airport
Cars can be rented at the Atesa, Avis, Europcar and Hertz agencies, with service counters in both the arrivals ter­mi­nals.

Useful Numbers

Embassies & Consulates
Aus­tral­ia: Plaza del Descubridor, 3, tel: 91-441 6025.
Can­a­da: Núñez de Balboa, 35, tel: 91-423 3250.
Ire­land: Paseo de la Castellana 46, Tel: 91-436 4093.
New Zealand: Plaza de la Lealtad 2, Tel: 91-523 0226.
Unit­ed Kingdom: Fernando el Santo, 16, Tel: 91-308 0618/700 8200.
Unit­ed States: Calle Serrano, 75, Tel: 91-587 2200.

Emergencies
Emergency Medical Care: Tel: 061.
Am­bu­lance: Tel: 061/092 or Tel: 91-913 354545.
City Police: Tel: 092
Fire Service (Madrid): Tel: 080.
Emer­gen­cy Hospitals:
North Madrid: La Paz, Tel: 358 2600; Ramón y Cajal, Tel: 91-336 8000.
South Madrid: Doce de Octubre, tel: 91-390 8000
City centre: Gregorio Marañón , Calle Dr Esquerdo, tel: 91-586 8524.
Dental Service Cisne Clinica, Calle Magallanes 18. Tel: 91 446 3221. Staff includes a British dentist.

Lost Property
Municipal Lost Property, Plaza de Legazpi, 7. Tel: 91-588 4346.
Ar­ti­cles left on buses: Alcántara, 26, Tel: 91 406 8850.
Articles left in taxis: Calle Santa Engracia, 120. Tel: 91-588 4344.
Ar­ti­cles left on the metro: the Cuatro Caminos metro station.
Articles left on RENFE trains: Tel: 902 240202.
Lost or stolen cards should be reported immediately:
American Express: freephone, Tel: 900 99 44 26
Diners' Club: Tel: 91-701 5900
Eurocard/Mastercard:
Tel: 900 97 12 31
Tarjeta 4B: Tel: 91 362 6200
Visa: Tel: 91 519 6000, freephone 900 99 12 16

Telephone services
11818 Addresses and phone numbers (Spain)
025 Tel­e­phone information (Interna­tion­al)
1008 Op­er­a­tor assistance for interna­tion­al calls
096 Wake-up service
1002 Technical as­sist­ance

Websites
www.paginas-amarillas.es - Yellow Pages: hotels and restaurants, com­pa­nies, stores
www.tourspain.es - national tour­ism information
www.munimadrid.es - mu­nic­i­pal information

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