Madrid Layover for 7hrs

I am flying to Prague this summer and have a 7 hour layover in Madrid. As I have never been to Madrid, what are some "must see" sights I should make it to in this short time? Also, how long does it take to get from the airport (Barajas) to center city by public transportation? Train or bus more efficient? Thanks for all recommendations....Lastly, any foods local to Madrid that I should try?

Many Thanks!!!

--Vaganerdy

Which terminal? If you are arriving at T4 it could take over an hour just to get out. With a 7 hour layover you aren't going to have time for much, but you could manage a walk along the Gran Via for example, or a quick look at the Royal Palace. Puerta del Sol area is good for eating and soaking up a little local atmosphere.

Dave

Hopefully you don't have to collect bags on your layover. But, as WanderinWilco says, with security and customs it could over an hour to get out of the airport. After that you can grab the first taxi you see and have a couple hours downtown walking Gran Vía, Plaza Mayor, and Puerta del Sol and then leave the city for the airport 3 hours before your flight leaves again.

Depending on your terminal, it could take 20 minutes just getting TO the metro station at the airport, then waiting a few minutes for the metro train to arrive. But all totalled, it could take 30-40 minutes to get to, say, Puerta del Sol using the metro. And it's cheap too! The bus is not recommended as you can't get into the old city center by bus now. You have to get off the bus and then take the metro/taxi to the OLD city center.

Regarding typical foods, you could try the following:

There are few city-specific foods available in Spain anymore as everything is now available in just about every place in Spain. But the originally Madrid-typical foods might include - but not limited to - "Cocido Madrdileño" (a kind of garbanzo bean, beaf, potatoes, carrots stew), "Callos Madrileños" (I don't care for theses), but also VERY VERY popular in Madrid (and throughout Spain for the most part) are "Tortilla de patatas" (a.k.a. Tortilla Española), gambas al ajillo (olive oil and garlic boiled shrimp), bocadillo de calamares (fried squid sandwich. Mmmm.....). Apart from these, there are the good stand-bys like roasted suckling pig, lamb chops, and pulpo a la gallega (octopus) to name only a few.

Enjoy your few hours in Madrid. Hope it inspires you to want to return.

Saludos, MadridMan/BarcelonaMan

I'll take the metro as it avoids traffic jams. However, you don't see the urban landscape, and you shoudl do a few changes of lines. So, if budget is not a prblem, you may prefer to take a taxi. Time-wise will be about the same. Or take the metro to Nuevos Ministerios, get out and take a taxi there to the city centre. Have a look at metro madrid map

I'll suggest you to go around the old town, as said above, you can easily walk from Sol to Plaza mayor and to the Royal Palace.

Reg. typical food, you have good advice above too, but if you want to do something really "madrileño" you may have a "bocata de calamares" (deep fried battered squid rings on a bagette) with a "caña" (glass of beer), sitting on a terrace while seeing the world. The most famous place for this is "El Brillante" near Reina Sofia Museum, but in most bars around the old town you'll find these too. Or have some real "jamon ibérico" at the many specialised places like "Museo del Jamon" or similar (quite a few around).

In any case, and especially of you have a sweet teeth, you should not miss what is probably the most typical food of Madrid: "churros con chocolate" (sweet sticks of fried dough with thick melted chocolate) at San Gines near Plaza Mayor (at the same street than Joy Eslava disco, for your reference). San Gines is a real institution in Madrid, about 2 centuries old place.

enjoy your short visit... probably you'll want to return!

Thanks for the great responses, I am sure this taste of Madrid will inspire me to come back for seconds.... Best of luck!