Options
Douro Cruise plus Lisbon and Madrid
We are on this tour November 1 - November 12, starting in Madrid. We will have an extra day in Madrid and are looking for things to do on our own before the Tauck tour starts. We have some museums on our tour of Madrid but I was wondering about the Museum of the Americas. Any suggestions for an extra day in Madrid?
0
Comments
Whenever in Madrid we always explore the Plaza Mayor area which is an easy walk from Tauck's hotel of choice for this tour. Near the plaza is our favorite market, Mercado de San Miguel, offering an array of delicious choices. The market has always been packed, however. You will also find many great tapas bars if you walk down any of the streets surrounding the Plaza.
I have not visited the Museum of the Americas, preferring to stay within what is referred to as The Golden Triangle of Museums -- the Prado, the Thyssen and the Reina Sofia. Unless the itinerary has changed, Tauck will take you to the Prado and may even give you tickets to the Thyssen.
This is a fabulous tour. Have a wonderful time. I hope you are fortunate to see the breathtaking vineyards with their vibrant fall foliage as you sail along the Douro. Please post a review of your experiences afterwards. It is always nice to compare notes.
Thanks so much for the advice! Those sound like great suggestions for our time in Madrid! Yes, we do go to the Prado as part of our tour in Madrid and we are looking forward to that. I am a museum guy and really love history and so I was curious about a museum that focuses on the history of Spanish explorations in the Amercias - but you are correct of course that it is quite a distance away from our hotel. I know we will have a great time with plenty to see and do closer to where we are staying. We have traveled with Tauck 9 times now and are never disappointed with their choices for our itineraries.
You are very welcome. I hope you enjoy the Plaza Mayor area and will report back after your trip. Safe and memorable travels!
OP Traveler, there is also an excellent archeology museum - Museo Arqueologico Nacional - that's a fairly easy walk from the hotel. It's very inexpensive - 3 euros unless you're over 65 then it's free.
They offer a digital guide for 2 euros or you can download the App MAN National Archaeological Museum before leaving home. Very well done museum.
We are also interested in the history of the early maritime explorations. Highly recommend the Naval Museum. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Museum_of_Madrid
Thanks for the great suggestions on museums in the area. I am sure one of those will work out for us.
OP Traveler - Although you didn't mention Lisbon, there is a maritime museum there run by the Portuguese Navy. It is the Museu de Marinha. It was listed on Tauck's 'things to do in Lisbon' handout on one of our tours and is part of the Jeronimos Monastery.
Back from our Douro River cruise plus Madrid and Lisbon. A good bit of rain in Madrid and during the first part of the river cruise (I am told the area had been in drought for some time so the locals were glad for the rain), but we had good weather the rest of the time and had a memorable time and a wonderful experience overall. Our Tauck tour directors were terrific as always (this was our 9th Tauck trip and we have found that to be typical). Thank you a thousand times to those who gave me the suggestions of the national architectual museum and the Naval Musemum. I loved them both and add my recommendation for each one, but I have to say (as a former U.S. Navy guy who loves history) that the Naval Museum was my favorite thing we did during our stay in Madrid. It is only a few blocks from the Westin where the Touck tour stayed. We even suggested that it be added to the list of "things to do" in Madrid. It is only a 3 Euro donation per person. It was worth that and more. We did not have time to visit the suggested maritime museum in Lisbon but I am sure that was great as well, especially given the extensive role of the Portugese in the Age of Discovery.