Madrid

Bilbao Abando

Introduction

The Bilbao-Awando station is the railway station of the Bilbao Awando district in Spain. It was opened in 1870 and the existing station was completed in 1948. The hall has a large stained-glass window. The station is currently the most important railway station in the Bilbao area; in 2010, more than 6 million passengers used their long-distance and commuter services.

The Old Town around the Cathedral is a 10 to 15-minute walk away - turn right at the station and follow the famous "Naffora Kelela" street and the tramway on the bridge.

Platform

Bilbao-Abando's platform is located above the street but has free access to the exit and underground stations.

When you get off the bus, take the exit and walk through the main hall to the stunning stained glass installation. Behind this square is the escalator, which leads to the exit and the subway, below the two floors.

On the first floor, you will arrive at some of the shops and restaurants of the station as well as some of the restrooms. Alvia trains from Madrid usually arrive via platform 8, which is the location of other restrooms.

When you reach the height of the street in the main station building, you can choose three street exits, the main exit will be on the left, on the other side of the independent escalator bank, directly to the subway station.

If you are travelling to FEVE Station in Bilbao to Concordia, please use the less obvious exit on the right. The tourist information office is located next to the station, turn right from the main exit and you can find it in Plaza Bribila.

Madrid

City Overview

Madrid is not as colorful as Barcelona. It is not as old-fashioned as London, and there is no infinite prosperity in Paris. In the eyes of many travelers, she is even a bit unremarkable. As the capital of Spain and the largest city, people can experience the blend of classical and modern in Madrid, experience football culture, bullfight culture, feel the influence of the Spanish royal family on the lives of the people, or linger in museums or taste all over Spain. Gourmet.

Must visit attractions

Prado Museum Museo del Prado

The Prado Museum is one of the best museums in the world and is the most visited attraction in Madrid. It is the best work in the history of Spanish art from the 16th to the 19th centuries, such as the works of Velázquez, Goya, Greco, and of course a large collection of works by foreign Renaissance painters, such as Venice, Italy. Titian of the painting school, Rubens of the German Baroque, Jeronimos Boss of the Dutch surrealist, and so on. The total number of works in the museum is now 27,509, of which 7,825 are oil paintings, and the number is dazzling.

Transportation: Take Metro Line 2 to Banco de España or Metro Line 1 to Atocha Station.  

Madrid Royal Palace

The Royal Palace of Madrid is the largest royal palace in Western Europe, with 3,418 rooms inside, each with its own character. There are a lot of beautiful oil paintings, collectibles, weapons, porcelain, watches, gold and silver items. One of the most important works is the five-piece violin made by Antonio Stradivari, one of the greatest string instrument makers in history, and exhibited in the concert hall of the Royal Library. In addition, there are collections of paintings by the famous Spanish painter Velázquez and Goya, and the paintings of the famous Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio.

Until today, the palace is still the official royal residence.   Transportation: Take Metro Lines 2 and 5 to Ópera Station and head west to cross the Royal Opera House and Oriental Plaza.

Puerta del Sol Puerta del Sol

The square originated as a gate of Madrid in the 15th century, named after the city facade in the direction of the rising sun. The earliest building on the square was the old postal building of the 18th century, today the government building of the Madrid Autonomous Region, which was the National Security Headquarters during the Franco period. It may be worthwhile to pay attention to the semi-elliptical dark windows in the lower part of the building. This year was the prison for the recidivism against Franco. On the ground near the road in front of the building, it is the “zero kilometer” sign, which is the center of the Spanish national road network.

Transportation: You can choose to take the subway lines 1, 2 and 3 and get off at the Sol station.   

Gourmet & Accommodation & Shopping

Gourmet

As a capital, you can taste delicacies from all over Spain in addition to the local specialties stewed beef, Castilian soup, Segovia roast suckling pig, Valencia paella, even Spain Basque cuisine in the north. Restaurants and taverns are everywhere, and the palace and the Puerta are the most dense.

Accommodation

There are a lot of hostels in Madrid, ranging from general-purpose B&Bs to high-end five-star hotels. Many mid-priced hotels, concentrated in Puerta del Sol to the Gulangwei Avenue, are popular with young tourists and are close to Atocha Railway Station. Large hotels are very convenient for travelers who travel to the suburbs for a day trip.  

Shopping

Madrid's main shopping districts are concentrated in the area around Puerta del Sol to the Ka Yao Plaza and around Serrano Street. There are a variety of affordable fashion stores near the Puerta del Sol, in line with the general public's consumer market; as for Serrano Street, it is the world of famous boutiques, and it is often seen that locals dressed in Chinese costumes shop here.

Urban traffic

Public transportation in the city of Madrid is very convenient. Metro, intercity trains, buses, night trains, light rails, etc. form a complete transportation network, which can be used to reach the destination in the day or night.

The length of the Madrid Metro is second only to London in Europe. It currently has 12 lines, 3 light rails, and the R-line connecting the city centre Ópera station and the Príncipe Pío station. Each line is labeled with a different color to facilitate passengers. You can check the line, timetable, transfer and other information on the official website. Download the PDF version of the map, click: www.metromadrid.es

Running time: Monday to Sunday 6:05 - 2:00 am the next day. During the peak period (8:00-22:00), the interval between departures is 3-4 minutes, and the frequency of departures at night and weekends is reduced, and the interval can be up to 15 minutes.

Tickets: 1.5-2 Euro for a single ticket (0.1 Euro per station after 5 stations), 12.2 Euros for 10 tickets, and 5 Euros for the 8th line to and from the airport.

Bilbao (, also US: , Spanish: [bilˈβao]; Basque: Bilbo [bilβo]) is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the province of Biscay and in the Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the tenth largest city in Spain, with a population of 345,141 as of 2015. The Bilbao metropolitan area has 1,037,847 inhabitants, making it one of the most populous metropolitan areas in northern Spain; with a population of 875,552 the comarca of Greater Bilbao is the fifth-largest urban area in Spain. Bilbao is also the main urban area in what is defined as the Greater Basque region. Bilbao is situated in the north-central part of Spain, some 16 kilometres (10 mi) south of the Bay of Biscay, where the economic social development is located, where the estuary of Bilbao is formed. Its main urban core is surrounded by two small mountain ranges with an average elevation of 400 metres (1,300 ft). Its climate is shaped by the Bay of Biscay low-pressure systems and mild air, moderating summer temperatures by Iberian standards, with low sunshine and high rainfall. The annual temperature range is low for its latitude. After its foundation in the early 14th century by Diego López V de Haro, head of the powerful Haro family, Bilbao was a commercial hub of the Basque Country that enjoyed significant importance in Green Spain. This was due to its port activity based on the export of iron extracted from the Biscayan quarries. Throughout the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, Bilbao experienced heavy industrialisation, making it the centre of the second-most industrialised region of Spain, behind Barcelona. At the same time an extraordinary population explosion prompted the annexation of several adjacent municipalities. Nowadays, Bilbao is a vigorous service city that is experiencing an ongoing social, economic, and aesthetic revitalisation process, started by the iconic Bilbao Guggenheim Museum, and continued by infrastructure investments, such as the airport terminal, the rapid transit system, the tram line, the Azkuna Zentroa, and the currently under development Abandoibarra and Zorrozaurre renewal projects.Bilbao is also home to football club Athletic Club de Bilbao, a significant symbol for Basque nationalism due to its promotion of only Basque players and one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football history. On 19 May 2010, the city of Bilbao was recognised with the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize, awarded by the city state of Singapore, in collaboration with the Swedish Nobel Academy. Considered the Nobel Prize for urbanism, it was handed out on 29 June 2010. On 7 January 2013, its mayor, Iñaki Azkuna, received the 2012 World Mayor Prize awarded every two years by the British foundation The City Mayors Foundation, in recognition of the urban transformation experienced by the Biscayan capital since the 1990s. On 8 November 2017, Bilbao was chosen the Best European City 2018 at The Urbanism Awards 2018, awarded by the international organisation The Academy of Urbanism.