Madrid, Spain

Summary

Airport Rating *****
Reception of locals ****
​Cost: £££1/2

• Did not get singled out by airport security, and was able to carry my salai in my hand luggage 
• Prepare for a fair few looks and stares by locals but nothing too bad or unfriendly. Generally people seemed quite curious and open
• Quite a large city with some hidden gems down the many side streets but the core of the city is a little smaller than other European cities
• Cuisine is amazing, with food sourced from all over Spain
• Main Sights: Parliament building, Royal Palance, Plaza de Cibeles, Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor, Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid Cathedral

Madrid is a strange city in terms of large European cities. Unlike cities in the UK, Germany, Italy and France, and even another Spanish city like Barcelona, there is not  a large Sikh population in Madrid., this means when you walk around, you will find people looking at you. This is not all unfriendly, as I have found out during my travels, a lot of this is just curiosity. 

Madrid is a city with a lot of history, and every corner of the city seems to be teeming with historically important architecture or monuments, Some of the grandest buildings, including the parliament building and city hall are located by Plaza de Cibeles, with parts of the fountain being built in the late 18th century.

The city

Puerta del Sol is similar to a lot of squares in cities around the world with street performers and entertainers putting on shows in exchange for money. It's nothing you wouldn't see in any other European capital but the surrounding buildings are different. Many of the buildings were built during the era of the Spanish Empire, but there are also a number of building built during the Franco Era.

Built in 1778, Puerta del Acala is the traditional gateway to Madrid, and shows the perfect mix of new and old Spain as the gate is surrounded by a large roundabout, packed full of cars whether its the night or the day. The arch still looks impressive and grand and is well worth the trip.

One thing I really enjoyed in Madrid was the food, and down almost every side street you can find the small cafes selling different types of tapas or full meals from all over Spain.

There are numerous squares, or plazas, across the city, of which Plaza Mayor is the most important. The large square is surrounded by quintessentially Madrista style buildings. Every neighbourhood seems to have a plaza with nearby neighbourhoods like Sol, Chuecam and Colon having particularly impressive ones (Plaza de Colon also has the largest Spanish flag in the city).

The city is dripping in opulence, and certainly the Royal Palaces are among the most extravagant buildings in the city, with lawned English style gardens. Unlike Buckingham Palace, which is surrounded by a gated perimeter, you can get much closer to the Royal Palace in Madrid.

Nearby is the Temple of Debod, an Egyptian temple that is over 2000 years old and was dismantled and moved to Spain in the 1960s in order to save it from the impact of the construction of the Aswan Dam in Egypt which would have resulted in the temple being flooded and lost to history. The temple was dismantled and rebuilt in the Parque del Oeste where it sits today on a small hill. It's easy to visit but looks massively out of place in the city centre. That being said, unlike monuments in western museums that are often stolen, this was an example of a western country responding to a request by the origin country to save one of its monuments. 

Nightlife

The Market of San Miguel is a nice indoor market, near the centre of the city. The stalls sell everything Spanish, and there is a nice friendly atmosphere around the place. It was open relatively late when I went, and was still very busy. In the winter there are little stands with heaters where you can rest and get some food.

I decided to stay with an old flatmate of mine, who lives just outside of Madrid, and local knowledge definitely helped me understand the city and culture a little more, however, if you are travelling alone or with non-Spanish friends, a lot of people do speak some English, especially the younger ones and the Metro system links all the major sights as well as the airport, so getting around shouldn't be too much of a problem. The only time someone specifically approached me about my appearance was when I was asked if I was a Muslim. Its a difficult question to answer, because while I'm obviously not, saying it in such a straight forward manner makes it seem as though I am justifying that it is okay to be prejudiced against Muslims. I replied that I am a Sikh, and asked whether it would be an issue if I was a Muslim, to which the response was no.

The city also has a thriving nightlife (although not quite a big as the one in Barcelona). people are generally friendly and you can get tapas pretty much anywhere in the city late into the night, something quite unique about Madrid. We went into one of the larger clubs in Madrid, Kapital, on one night. Spread over what felt like 5/6 floors, its one of the largest clubs I have been to and played different music in different rooms, from Latin to hiphop and house in the main room downstairs. On the second night we went to a smaller club frequented by students which was no less fun, although with a more relaxed feel.

The food in Madrid is reasonably priced for a large European city but it can be a little difficult to find food if you are a vegetarian. If you eat meat, options are plentiful so this would be one thing to bare in mind for non meat-eaters.

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Santiago Bernabeu

As a football fan who has visited stadiums across Europe, seeing the Santiago Bernabeu, one of Spain's largest football stadiums was high on my list. I managed to visit during a Real Madrid v Sporting Gijon match. There has been many instances of Sikhs being barred from large sporting events in North America, but there were no issues with security in getting into the match. The stadium itself is large, although not initially as breath taking as the Nou Camp. The fans were friendly, with the ultra's sitting behind one of the goal stands, singing throughout the game. The game was pretty much an exhibition with goals from Ronaldo, Bale and Benzema giving Real a 5-1 victory. 20 minutes into the game I felt a warm heat against my head, looking up I saw there were heaters all around the stadium roof, something I haven't seen before.

The city has something special about it, and there is a lot to do, whether its a short weekend or a longer week, there is enough to do and see to keep you busy. As a Sikh, other than a few curious stares and one question, there wasn't a time during my time in Madrid that I ever felt unsafe or uncomfortable.

Gurdwara

Madrid doesn't have any city centre Gurdwaras anymore after the closing of Gurdwara Singh Sabha, but I visited the Nanaksar Gurdwara a short journey south of the city in Villaverde. Using either the metro or the national rail service, the journey is a fairly straightforward one and takes about 30 minutes.

The area surrounding the Gurdwara is shocking. During my visit there were people injecting drugs openly, the whole area is incredibly rundown with rubble everywhere. The Gurdwara is about a 5- or 6-minute walk from the station and slightly hidden. It looks much like the surrounding buildings in the industrial estate that it is located in but inside the community is large and the Gurdwara was fairly busy during my visit. A large langar hall sits underneath a relatively small darbar sahib, which is wider than it is longer giving it a slightly unique look.