JANE SLADE is in shopping and cultural heaven on a girly break to the majestic

WE MAY have known each other for 30 years but we had never been on holiday together, until now. None of us had been to Madrid and I reckoned my O Level Spanish, combined with Louise’s A Level History of Art and Fiona’s easy-going yet sensible disposition, would be a winning formula.

Madrid does not sizzle like Seville or bustle like Barcelona. Here the siesta is still sacred and the shops close from 3pm to 5pm. This is an elegant, sedate capital with squares, gardens, smart shops and cafés and a royal palace which are all conveniently concentrated within walking distance of the Hotel Emperador, our four-star home for two nights.

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Our three-bedroomed suite was more faded elegance than edgy chic but it enjoyed a great location on the Gran Via, just 10 minutes from the Museo Nacional del Prado and Museo Thyssen- Bornemisza which were on our cultural hitlist. Louise came into her own at the former, her knowledge of Renaissance art being remarkably fresh even after 25 years. Yet we all preferred Baron Thyssen’s private collection which includes Holbein’s Henry VIII and paintings by Canaletto, Constable and Salvador Dalí, over the vast galleries of the Prado. Madrid sits at odds with most capital cities, having no river running through it or great bridge to cross.

Surprisingly, it became the Spanish capital in the 16th century on the whim of King Philip II after it had served as a fortress for many centuries, starting life on a rocky crag which is where the current royal family’s Palacio Real now stands.

We found the taxi drivers to be friendly and patient, particularly when I thought I had lost my mobile phone, and one of the policemen outside the Prado even took our picture.

We shopped, drank and ate, stopping in little cafés for plates of grilled prawns, cakes and crème caramels, although I did worry at one point whether I had ordered a donkey at one café, using the Italian word “burro” for butter, which means donkey in Spanish. No one was offended.

There are dozens of great tapas bars around Plaza de Santa Ana, a large square framed by tree-lined promenades. Bar La Trucha is a busy hangout with quirky décor, strings of garlic hanging from the ceiling and painted china plates which decorate the walls. Another notable place to eat is Bar Tomate in Calle Fernando el Santo. It has modern interiors with chunky, wooden dining tables and open cube shelving housing some of the restaurant’s vast wine collection.

The city’s heart is the Plaza Mayor, a cobbled square with a bronze statue of King Philip III in the centre, and, I think, rivals the majesty of St Mark’s in Venice. For years it has been the centre of festivities, including bullfights and royal coronations. It is still used for public celebrations. You will also find traditional shops and cafés under its porticos and Madrileños (locals) sitting drinking on a Sunday listening to buskers.

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As a professional gardener, Louise just had to pop into the Royal Botanical Garden, conveniently located next to the Prado. We wandered around ornamental cabbages, hellebores, mimosa trees, camellias, roses and potager, which was a nice respite before hitting the shops.

We reckoned the Madrileños had rather deeper pockets than us after seeing the Calle Claudio Coello district, which has wall-to- wall designer boutiques including Karen Millen and Diane Von Furstenberg, for our shopping. We could afford Prado but not Prada, we decided, so meandered down little side streets and discovered funky boutiques where I bought some studded suede boots for e30 and a black, lace scarf for e10.

El Corte Inglés department store was our favourite and is the country’s affordable answer to Harvey Nichols. There were branches everywhere. Fiona had been struggling to find a dress for a friend’s wedding; it had to be anything but black and here we found her a great black and white number for e40.

THE SPANISH are renowned for dining late so expect to find restaurants pretty empty until 10pm. One evening we dined at the Restaurante Sobrino de Botín, listed in Guinness World Records as the oldest restaurant in the world, on Calle de los Cuchilleros.

The ground floor room has traditional Spanish décor, while the basement is cavernous with arched exposed-brick ceilings. We feasted on the speciality dish of roast suckling pig, which we washed down with a few glasses of
good Rioja and paid e50 a head.

This fabulous restaurant is in the medieval district of the city, opposite the bustling and fabulous Mercado de San Miguel market with its impressive wood-and-iron- crafted roof. This is the trendy place to go for an apéritif. Here
you can join Madrileños standing among the giant hams and wheeled carts, sipping excellent wine and sampling stallholders’ tasty pasta dishes while admiring the fruit and vegetables.

Later that evening, we popped into Torres Bermejas Flamenco Restaurant to see some traditional singing and dancing and the atmosphere was electric. It’s worth a visit if only to admire the Moorish décor, influenced by Islamic tradition, with plenty of red and gold detail and decorative arches. Its interior is a reproduction of the Alhambra Palace in Granada. Entry is e10 per person and it’s open until 2am.

If you want to enjoy a weekend where you don’t feel rushed or crushed, Madrid is perfect. You can sit around all day drinking and chatting in one of several magnificent squares, linger in a museum and not have to bother about being late for dinner. How relaxing is that?


GETTiNG THERE: 
Kirker Holidays (0207 593 2283/ www.kirkerholidays.com) offers two nights at the Emperador Hotel from £589pp (two sharing), B&B. Includes return flights from Gatwick, private car transfers and a 48-hour Madrid Cultura Card giving guaranteed entrance to more than 40 of the city’s museums and palaces and discounts at a number of shops and restaurants.

Spanish National Tourist Office: 00800 1010 5050/ www.spain.info