San Isidro Festivity in Madrid, Spain

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June 12th 2011

Published: June 12th 2011

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Milliecious

Bear, symbol of Madrid

Located at Puerta del Sol. Metro station Sol.

Madrid, the capital city of Spain caught my attention when I read from Haagsche Courant newspaper on May 2010 that the city celebrates San Isidro Festival yearly from May 11-15 in honor of the patron saint San Isidro and his wife Sta. Maria dela Caveza.
Sariaya, a small town where I grew up in the Philippiness also celebrates San Isidro as patron saint on May 15. I became very curious and suggested to my husband that should we have the opportunity to go to Madrid, it should fall in May to witness the festivity and experience the city's culture and tradition. If you are practical people like us who do not want to spend more than what is necessary likewise want to explore the city instead of shoppping, then this blog is worth reading.

PHOTO ALBUM
Videos are at the end of this page.

PREPARATION AND FLIGHT

We booked our flight tickets 2 months in advance via Easyjet.com. An advanced reservation means an advantageous price in a budget airline like this. It amounted to 100 euro per person including taxes and credit card costs. A four-day city trip is good enough to explore most spots of the city for

Parade of traditional clothes

the first time. Using booking.com, we made a hotel reservation for 45 euro per night for two people without breakfast. Before we boarded the flight, we bought cakes as snacks in a supermarket. Tip: should you be flying from Schiphol airport, look for Albert Heijn or Hema for affordable prices of breads, sandwiches and cakes which you can take with you because buying in the plane is quite expensive. We flew on May 14, 2011 from Schiphol airport at 10 am. We bought drinks in the airplane which are priced starting from 2-3.50 euro. While browsing a shopping catalogue in the plane, I read that the plane sells a 3-day Madrid travel card for 13 euro. It is an unlimited transportation within zone A. The steward told us that we should go to Terminal 2, present the receipt to the customer desk service center to claim our travel cards. It is near the entrance of T1, T2 and T3 metro stations. We landed in Barajas airport, Madrid at 12:40 early afternoon. The easiest manner to go to the city square is by riding a metro. Line 8 going to Nuevos Ministerios is the only metro leaving from the airport. From

Puerta de Alcala (back side)

city gate

there, you can transfer to other metro lines in going to different destinations.

SAN ISIDRO FESTIVITY:
There are a lot of program of activities during the San Isidro Festival. It is mostly for free. Plan the activities you want to attend by surfing san isidrofestival website for programs.
We were in Madrid to witness the San Isidro Festival so we opted for the traditional clothes parade and procession of the patron saint from Real Collegiata church located at Calle Toledo 37 instead of concerts, zarzuela and street theaters. If you want to witness the parade with colorful giant heads (cabeza), you should be there on May 11, the start of the festivity. After checking in the hotel, we went to Sol station to witness a parade of Spaniards in traditional costumes in participation of Federacion Grupos de Tradicionales.
The highlight of San Isidro festival is May 15. Go to Pradera de San Isidro, a park where Madrileños gather together to celebrate and honor the patron saint. Take metro line 5 in the direction of Casa de Ocampo. Get off at Marqués de Vadillo and follow the flow of people. There are a lot of stalls selling dry goods, delicacies,

Pradera de San Isidro

A father carrying his little daughter in traditional costume.

etc. Most people are dressed in traditional clothes.They come in groups bringing their own foods for picknicking. Groups wearing traditional costumes dance the chotis spontaneously. There are program of activities such as folkdances and traditional music on stage.

Spanish folkdances
If you want to see bullfighting, you should head off to Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas. Ride metro line 2 Las Rosas and get off at Ventas. During the festival, there is a bullfight everyday. It has a museum called Taurino, which is open everyday except on Monday.

TRANSPORTATION:
Metro stations are steep and sometimes difficult to climb up and down. It is better to walk if the distance is only one stop.
Zoning in Madrid is divided into A, B1, B2 and B3. MOst tourist spots lie within zone A.
Types of tickets:
Single ticket (sencillo) within zone A costs 2 euro.
Travel card (abono turistico) for 3 days cost 13 euro. Also for 2,5 and 7 days vary in prices. You can travel on all forms of public transportation. We found travel card more practical. For our last day, we just strolled and bought single tickets.
10 journey tickets (bono) cost 9.30 euro, journey in

Pradera de San Isidro

May 15, highlight of San Isidro where they gather in the park. One activity is dancing chotis.

all metro line within zone A and EMT buses. It can be used by travel companions. Once ticket passed into a machine, it is counted as one trip.
If your ticket is damaged, you can get a new one in a ticket desk of any metro station.
In going back to the airport, get off at Aeropuerto T1, T2 and T3. Then you MUST buy a supplement ticket (suplemento aeropuerto) for 1 euro to enter the airport.

PRACTICAL TIPS:
Four days is enough to explore most tourist spots in Madrid for the first time.
Every Wednesday, tourists with EU passport can enter musea for free.
Every Sunday, you can enter Prado museum for free from 5 pm to 8 pm.
On Monday, most musea are closed. Some musea have free entrances.
There are a lot of churches which are open everyday which you can easily explore.
Tapas bars and restaurants are in abundance. In a local tapas bar, a tapas serving costs 3.50 euro. Four tapas servings are already filling for 2 persons as dinner.
Supermarkets are open until 10 pm at least in the vicinity of Calle Mayor. Siesta is around 2:30-5 pm.
Alimentacion is a small grocery

Pradera de San Isidro

Folkdance on stage.

store.
If you want a budget travel, you can buy sandwiches known as bocadillos for lunch which costs 2.30 euro.
Tart/pie is expensive but delicious. It costs from 4.50-5.10 euro per piece.

INTERESTING PLACES WHICH SHOULD NOT BE MISSED IN MADRID
Using metro lines:
Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, metro line nr. 1, 2 en 3, get off at Sol.
Next to Plaza Mayor is Mecado San Miguel, a market with lots of tapas.
Templo de Debod (an Egyptian temple) metro line nr. 3 or 10, get off at Plaza de España.
Plaza de España, metro line nr. 3 and 10, where you find the statue of Don Quichot. Then along the way you can see the Senado, Palacio Real, Plaza de Oriente, Catedral de la Almudena church, Plaza de la Villa, Plaza de Oriente, Palacio Real, Teatro Real.
Basilica de Sa Francisco el Grande, metro line nr. 5, get off at Opera.
Plaza Cibeles and Puerta de Alcala, metro line nr. 2, get off at Banco de España.
Parque del Buen Retiro, metro line nr. 2, get off at Retiro.
Puerto de Toledo, metro line nr. 5.
La Latina, a 10-min. walk from Puerto Toledo, follow the long

Pradera de San Isidro

Folkdance on stage.

street of Calle Toledo.
Once you reach La Latina area, there is a tapas bar on the left side with big tile decors which are like posters, beautiful for posing.
Rastro authentic flea market every Sunday, metro line 5, get off at La Latina. Head for Plaza de Cascorro and look for Calle Ribera de Cortidores. Beware of pickpockets.
Edificio Metropolis, an imposing beautiful building in-between Calle de Alcala and Calle Gran Via. Opposite the Metropolis building is a church.
Museo del Prado (entrance fee is 7 euro), metro line nr. 2 (get of at Baco de España) or
nr. 1 (get off at Atocha). You can also pass by Plaza Independencia and Ritz hotel.
Museo Nacional Centro Arte Reina Sofia ( entrance fee is 6 euro), metro line nr. 1, get off at Atocha.
For adventure seekers, ride Teleferico, a cable transportation from Paseo de Pintor Rosales to the park Casa del Ocampo (metro line nr. 5). It is almost a 2.5 km trip, 11 minutes ride at 40 meters above the ground. Round trip: 5.35 euro. Metro lines nr. 3, 4 and 6, get off at Argüelles.

STROLLING:
For those who like walking, if you follow Calle

Patron Saint San Isidro

de Alcala, you can see a lot of architectural style and tourist spots along the way.
Begin from metro station Banco de España. Go to the direction of Plaza de la Cibeles until you reach Puerta de Alcala. Opposite the city gate is a bakery and pastries restaurant called (H)arina with delicious breads for affordable prices. We had our hearty breakfast here. Around 100 meters from Puerto de Alcala, you'll reach Parque del Buen Retiro to your right. There are coffee bars inside the park with restrooms. Spots to see inside the park: monument of Alfolnso XII, Palacio de Velasquez and Palacio de Cristal (glass palace). Left side of the park is San Manuel y San Benito church which is worth a visit.
If you decide not to go to Retiro park yet, go back to the direction of Banco de España. Beside Plaza de Cibeles, turn left to Paseo del Prado street to reach Museo del Prado. Along the way, you see Ritz hotel and fountain of Neptune statue. After your visit to the museum, go back to the direction of Banco de España, pass it by until you reach the intersection of Gran Via and Calle de Alcala.

San Isidro procession

You will see an imposing Metropolitan building. If you cross it, you can visit a church. After church visit, go back to Calle de Alcala in the direction metro station Sol. You pass by metro station Sevilla where you have a view of Banco Credito, intricate architectural style of a bank. Afterwards you arrive at Sol metro station where Plaza Puerta del Sol is located. From there, you'll see a statue of a bear, symbol of Madrid. Then go to the direction of Calle de Arsenal or Calle Mayor. If you choose Calle de Arsenal, you see along the way Plaza de Isabel II, Teatro Real, Senado, Plaza de Oriente, Palacio Real and Catedral de la Almudena. Then you head for Calle Mayor, the main road where you see Plaza dela Villa, Plaza Mayor, tourist information and mercado de San Miguel. There are a lot of souvenir shops and tapas bars and restaurants in this long road. There is a supermarket "Supermercados Coviran" (Calle Mayor 58) which is open until 10 pm, a bakery called "Horno de Santiguesa" (Calle Mayor 73) and another supermarket "Gama" near mercado de San Miguel (market with tapas foods).
If by chance you get off

San Isidro procession

at metro station Tribunal (metro line nrs. 1 and 3), you're near Malasaña district. Next to the station is Museo Municipal. Although in renovation, you can admire the baroque door entrance of the building. You are now in a main road called Calle de Fuencarral. If you follow the road to your left, you'll reach Gran Via as end point.
In the corner of Calle San Vicente and Calle San Andres, there is an old pharmacy known as Laboratorio Juanse, worth visiting if you like decorated tiles. Two streets away, you find Plaza dos de Mayo, a monument in memory of Spain's fight against France. There are bars and restaurants surrounding the plaza. A street away from Plaza dos de Mayo, you'll find a bakery "Ay mi Madre" (Calle Palma 41). It offers delicious breads, pizza, quiche, pies, brownies, coffee and softdrinks for affordable prices.

10-minute Madrid