I wrote in my last post about how much I loved Madrid. I did love the city, but there are things I didn’t like about Madrid as well. This is not to say that I hate Madrid, just that not everything is Vermouth and Churros in this Spanish capital. After nine days in the city there were certainly things that annoyed me. Hell, there were plenty of things I didn’t like about Madrid, but there are plenty of things I don’t like in general. I am just an old ornery bastard.
No city is perfect, it is that the things that annoyed me about Madrid were somewhat unexpected. This was certainly a place I didn’t research enough before visiting. Maybe it is just that a lot of the below things felt like it came out of left field. In travels past I was a lot better at scouting an area. This trip I did a lot more “winging it” which is both good and bad. Let me dig in deeper as to the things I didn’t like about Madrid.
Madrid Was Loud
It is cute at first, the great people of the country staying up until all hour’s partying. With the music blaring it was a nonstop event, this is why we visit Spain. That is until the third night, when you are shaking your fist at the whipper snappers like a 90-year-old man on a lawn chair. Madrid is loud and it is loud at the worst possible times. There is an endless supply of horns if you stay in the wrong area. Cars seem to have only one way of communicating and they did so at all hours. I loved my hotel; I loved the location on the Gran Via… but sleep was difficult at times. Luckly, I walk about 30K steps a day and eat like a pregnant rhino or I never would have slept.
Take out the terrible car horns for a second, the people themselves never shut up. It was the World Cup, so I was just asking for trouble, but the songs at 4am got old. Not like they had good voices anyway. One of the things I loved about Madrid is that it was a nonstop party. One thing I hated about Madrid is that it is a nonstop party. I cannot have it both ways, but sometimes I want to!
Madrid is Landlocked
Madrid has 99 problems, but a beach ain’t one. For a landlocked city Madrid had excellent seafood, that is undeniable. Still there is something nice about eating that seafood overlooking the water. There is a lot to do in Madrid, especially if you like history and art. Sometimes I want to just walk along the coastline when traveling and get away from the previously mentioned noise.
I am not really a fan of the beach, too much sand and heat. I do love the water and most other Mediterranean cities I have visited had plenty of it. At times, being in a landlock city feels claustrophobic. Once again this is not a total dig at Madrid, it is a beautiful city. I certainly knew it was landlocked when I arrived. Still, in comparison to other places, I did have a bit of nostalgia, a missing of the sea. This may just be me being nitpicky!
Madrid Is Crowded
Another thing I didn’t like about Madrid was it was full of people, almost overwhelmingly at times. Since it is a nonstop party, everyone is on the street. The walking lanes were so crowded at times that one could not move. The touristy areas are especially bad, they usually are, but Madrid just felt extra cramped.
This is a real city; I do not know why I had it in my head that it would be on the smaller side. For gods sakes it is the capital of Spain, of course it will be crowded. Going to the San Miguel Market was a chore at times. Fighting the other tourist for a table, it can get a little old when trying to relax. Other markets weren’t all that better in terms of crowds. Really, all of the best places were packed at peak (and sometimes nonpeak) hours.
Then there are the lines to get into the tourist attractions. Madrid has some amazing sites, but you have to wait for them. Sometimes the back streets weren’t as bad. Even then you find yourself battling for sidewalk space with the locals. If you are going to Madrid, Spain for a relaxing walk down the street you might be disappointed. The streets are beautiful, yes, but the amount of people was one of the things I didn’t like about Madrid.
Madrid Was Dirty (At times)
I claimed in my last post that Madrid was cleaner than a lot of cities in Europe, I may have been over exaggerating. It is a huge city, with a ton of partyers. With a constant supply of drunk people there is a constant supply of garbage. I think the city did a great job of cleaning it up, but it was a never-ending battle. So many trash cans were over filled, and the garbage just piled onto the floor.
There are homeless camps everywhere (I will get to that later). More than I have seen in other areas of Europe. To be fair the city was still cleaner than most cites in the United States and probably cleaner than Athens. Still, I hate to see a place with such amazing beauty covered in graffiti and trash. It is a major city, comes with the territory, that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
There is a Seedier Side
Madrid is a beautiful, family friendly city during the day. At night the atmosphere shifts a bit. At times my partner would call it quits early due to feeling sick and I would walk the mean streets of Madrid by myself. More than once I would get called over by a pleasant gentleman asking me if I wanted a hooker. I politely declined, but it was very nice of them to ask. This on top of the fact that there were hookers in plain sight all over the city.
Madrid, like any other big city has an underbelly. The laws seem more relaxed than in the United States. That is not to say I ever felt unsafe. Mainly due to the huge amount of people everywhere. I certainly would worry more walking the streets of New Orleans at night, but still there is an underlining element in the city. Whether it is the people lining up to play lotto or the lucky rosemary scam it isn’t all Ritz and glamour.
When I first got to Madrid I thought (and still do) it was a gorgeous city. Walking back from my hotel I turn down one different street, literally 5-minutes from the hotel. My partner looks at me and says this is the bad part of town. I laugh and say there is no bad side. Well, not five seconds later does a homeless man proceed to take a crap in the middle of the street. Not on the side, smack in the middle. Central Park horses have more discretion. That pooing man made me eat my words.
Certainly, there is a Homeless Problem
That last story ties in nicely with my last problem with the city. I hesitated to even mention this, but it was so in my face that I thought I should. This is in no way to complain about the homeless themselves, it is more how they are treated and some of the messes they cause. I hate seeing a rich city seem like they do not care about the poorer people. I know we in the United States have no leg to stand upon given our cities conditions. Maybe I just thought Europe was better than this.
Of course, any major city (outside of what I saw in Tokyo) has this problem. Madrid just felt worse than most cities. Once again this is a post Covid world. Take it from a New Yorker, this is not something you want getting out of control. It will ruin the city, fill it with terrible homeless camps and doesn’t help anyone. I don’t know the solution to homelessness, but I do know what it could do to a city. You certainly don’t want your tourists stepping in the previously mentioned human poo.
Conclusion: Six Things I didn’t Like About Madrid
Yes, I loved the city, but there are things I didn’t like about Madrid. So many times, when researching a place people talk about the positives only. I just want to give a fair representation of my experience. I loved the city. I want to get that straight. Still, it is not without its problems, no city is. For those of you that visited, tell me your pros and cons of Madrid that you noticed.
