Activities: Practice your Spanish in Madrid

In order to make the most out of your trip, maximise your enjoyment and continue learning after your classes our school has organized a series of activities and excursions which allow you to better get to know the city and the way of life in Spain, as well as practicing your Spanish with your classmates as well as with the locals!

These activities are optional, but we highly recommend that you make the most out of the opportunity to get to know people from all over the world and practice Spanish in a completely international environment

All students are able to participate, regardless of their level of Spanish: There are no medical restrictions, nor any other measures that could impede students from taking part in our extra-curricular activity programme.

Some activities do not incur an extra charge, eg. going to the cinema or to a bar- students just have to pay for what they do (entry ticket etc). These activities are normally accompanied by a representative of the school.

Additionally, if you would like to get to know other parts of Spain, we organise weekend excursions to cities such as Tolego, Segovia, Salamanca, Avila and Aranjuez.These tours are offered at a reasonable price: from 35 Euros.

If you are a little more adventurous and would like to travel further and practice your Spanish with people from other areas with different accents you can also discover Barcelona, Servilla and Cordaba, or even travel to different countries and get to know Lisbon or Morocco!

More activities to practice your Spanish in Madrid

If you wish to build your knowledge of the written language and literature we offer the opportunity to participate in literary workshops. In these you can study the various genres of Spanish literature. We also offer specialized sessions which we dedicate to significant works, like for instance ‘Don Quixote’ by the famous Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes.

These are some of the many activities you will find at our school, and they will, without a doubt, help you to practice your Spanish. Madrid offers many points of interest for visitors as well as important museums and places for leisure activities. At our reception we will also help you by giving you helpful suggestions as to how you can get to know Madrid and its surroundings. Without a doubt, your experience in this city will be unique.

At the same time as ensuring you get contact to the culture of Spain we are always sure to promote communication between students and teachers. For this reason, when you choose to learn Spanish in our school, you can enjoy lunch with your teachers, or coffee in our beautiful terrace with incredible views of the city. This is without a doubt an excellent opportunity to practice your Spanish and improve your conversational level.

If you are interested in other activities, do not hesitate to get in touch. We have more leisure options prepared just for you which will guarantee that your stay in Madrid is incredible. What’s more, we work together with travel agents which means if you want to discover a particular city all you have to do is ask at our school!

Live Art and Culture in Madrid

Madrid is the city with the most museums in Spain. Throughout your stay you can immerse yourself in all the art and culture that is hiding around every corner in the wonderful city.

When you come to Madrid you will discover the so called ‘triangle of art’ where the following museums are located within just a few metres of one another:

The ‘Museo del Prado’, with works by Bosch, Goya, Velázquez, Rubez and El Greco to name just a few!
The ‘Museo de Arte Renia Sofia’ (The Art Museum of Queen Sophie), displaying a collection of contemporary art. Here you will find works of Dalí, Miró or Picasso (for example his famous painting ‘Guernica’)
The ‘Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza’, which contains the biggest private collection of art in the world, covering the 13^th through to the 20^th centuries.

We also recommend visiting other museums in Madrid for instance: The Museo Sorolla, the Arqueológico, the Lázaro Galdeano, the Romántico and the museum of América.

Places of interest in Madrid

The streets of Madrid hold many magical wonders, from historical buildings right through to the most modern of skyscrapers.

The ‘Palacio Real’, or ‘Royal Palace’, the previous residence of the Kings of Spain, with regal decorations and paintings
The ‘Plaza Mayor’ (Town or City Square), built in the 17^th century and located in the historical centre. Here you are entering one of the most beautiful town squares in all of Spain, where you can enjoy the sunshine on one of its many lively terraces, or its famous Christmas Market in December.
The Convent of the ‘Descalzas Reales’, founded in the 16^th century. It contains a large collection of paintings, sculptures and furniture. Although it is still an active convent you are able to visit.
The massive skyscrapers of La Castellana, the longest street in Madrid with buildings from famous avent-garde architects.
The ‘Parque del Retiro’, or ‘The park of retreat’, where you can relax and enjoy the open air. Once inside you can visit the palaces of Valazquez and the Cristal, you can ride in a boat or spend your time enjoying the numerous street exhibits, acts and improvised concerts.

Another of the large parks in the city is ‘La Casa de Campo’, literally ‘the land house’ which is easily reachable on the metro, or, if you prefer, by cable car, where you can enjoy Madrid from the sky!

Football fans can of course visit the stadium ‘Santiago Bernabéu’, or attend one of the incredible matches. And those who have an interest in Bullfighting can go to ‘Las Ventas’, the Bullfighting arena of Madrid.

Come alive in Madrid

If you want to live it to the max in Madrid you have to get to know the city’s nightlife. The city presents infinite opportunities to have a good time, with bars and pubs for every taste.

Some of the locations that we recommend are the ‘Casa Patas’, Tablo Villa Rosa or the Corral de la Morería, where you’ll discover flamenco!

If beer houses and disco pubs are more your thing you can go to the ‘Plaza de Santa Ana’ and the Zonda de Huertas where the bars are open until the small hours of the morning!

Madrid’s alternative side can be found in ‘Chueca and Malasaña’, and the more multicultural district of ‘Lavapiés y La Latina’

Shopping

If you want to go shopping in Madrid you will find every type of shop possible on the famous shopping streets of Preciados, Plaza de Callao and Gran Vía

What’s more, on Sunday mornings you can visit ‘the Rastro’, a famous open air market, when you’ll find anything you could dream of.

Gastronomy

Spain is famous for its great cooking and delicious dishes. In Madrid you can enjoy a great selection of these; paella, tortilla española (Spanish Omelette), cocido madrileño (a traditional Stew typical in Madrid) to name but a few!

Of course, a compulsary activity for anyone staying in Madrid is going for tapas. Tapas are small portions of typical Spanish food accompanied by a drink. This is the ideal opportunity to try the wines of this area: The strong reds Navalcarnero or Valdepeñas, whites from Rueda or the ‘fine wines’ of Andalucía, a solid Rioja or Claret from Burgos.

How to get here

Madrid is known for its good public transportation network which will facilitate your mobilitiy throughout your time in Madrid.

If you are arriving from another country the most sensible option is to fly to Madrid Barajas Airport. To get to the city centre from here (which is 12 kilometres away) you can take a taxi which would cost around 30 Euros, a bus which leaves every 15 minutes which will take you to the transport hub of Avenida de America, or the most affordable option- the metro which you can leave at any location in the city you like!