My mom and I did their 4:00 PM E-bike tour this past week. It was a great experience and our guide…read morewas excellent! I would recommend doing this tour on your first day/afternoon in Madrid so you can get acclimated to the city and see some of the main sites. Our guide, Fran, was knowledgeable, personable, and animated. The background he provided at each of the sites was interesting and helped us learn more about Madrid and Spanish history. He also had great tips and recommendations for where to go in Madrid. The tour was about 10-15 people I'd say. It was a good size to command enough attention to safely drive on the road in a lane but have everyone stay together. They provided a water bottle, helmet, bike. Fran even took us to a special "surprise stop" at the end (churros!). With the E-bike, you could adjust the assistance and you still pedaled to make the assist go, but it was a good choice to have some assist as there are hills and you don't want to worry about having to keep up on going when you're driving in a lane on the road. The shop also has bikes, roller blades, and skate/penny boards for rent.

Best way to spend 2 hours at Parque De El Retiro. The park is rather large but flat so exploring…read moreby bike is not only fun but makes for a fun way to see the park. Rental was quick and easy, you have to leave your ID and 2 hours was about $7.50 euros per person. We easily explored the parque in 1 hour with time for photos and admiring the beauty it offers. Definitely recommend!

Wonderful experience that you get and the Marcos my tour guy super informative and welcoming. The…read moreexperience makes you feel at home after being away from home so hundreds of miles. Relaxing. A must do in Madrid

What a wonderful way to spend the day! Right from the start, Marcos thought of every detail,…read moresending comprehensive directions on how to arrive, setting everyone up on a horse and explaining all the directions in English. And as if a beautiful ride in the striking countryside wasn't enough, the picnic that followed was also fantastic. An assortment of delicious goodies including a fantastic hand made tortilla de patatas to snack on while looking out over the mountains. Couldn't have asked for a better day! Thank you to Marcos and the team!

BRINGING BACK THE INTERNATIONAL RACES Oh how I miss these…read morerun-cations (running+vacation). International Rock n Roll (RnR) races are slowly dying out, so I had to register for this one before it became a distant memory. (This is for 2022) RIP RnR Lisbon, Nice, Edinburgh, Dublin, Vancouver, Chengdu, Mexico City, and all the other races I have missed. RnR Madrid offered a 10K, half and full marathon all on Sunday. There were no "remix challenges," ie run one race on Saturday, then a different one on Sunday to earn another medal for doing multiple races in one weekend. THANK YOU RNR GODS The expo was held at IFEMA building 12, and thank you RnR Gods for making it easy to get to! I was totally smelly, jet-lagged, and dragging along my luggage at the expo. Instead of complicated and expensive transfers, it was seriously the first stop off the metro from the airport. (But after that, figuring out which building was a different story, but at least you are in the area!) The expo was held on Friday-Saturday from 10-8pm. Expos are hardly ever open that late, so that was also a pleasant surprise as well. QR code All runners were given a QR code a couple weeks before the race. The QR code was basically your ticket into convention center. Non-runners attending the expo were required to obtain a QR code as well. At the entrance of the expo, they had a QR scanner which was probably used at one point, and that was that. BOOTH HOPPING Beyond the entrance, there were photo opps for the 10K, 21K and 42K. As you descend down, you will be greeted with designated booths for each distance. I had no idea what my bib number was, so the volunteer scanned my QR code, checked my ID (via passport because upon registration I had to input it) and handed me a fancy envelope with my bib inside. The next booth provided a bag of fuel goodies, and the booth after that I obtained the official bag for gear check (you cannot use just any bag). The last and final booth was for your shirt. COOL SHIRT I really liked how each shirt was differentiated by their distances. 10K was yellow, 21K was pink and 42K was maroon. The quality and fit of the shirts were quite impressive, and it really gave off a European vibe. In the US, I would usually opt for a small, but for EU standards I figured I would be fatter so I chose a medium. I did see a booth where you would be able to exchange your shirt for a different size, but no one was there. Luckily the fit of the shirt was fine. I would have loved to try on a smaller size to know where I fit in EU sizing, but I guess I will never know. It's going to be a week of wine and tapas, so a medium will have to do for now. ;) EXPO, SMEXPO The first stop beyond the endless booths was the Adidas Store; one of the sponsors of the race. Their souvenir selection was lacking. They only had 1 shirt dedicated to the race, and discounted swag from last year. The rest of the expo was pretty much like every other expo -- various fitness booths, opportunities to sign up future races, nutrition, blah, blah. I probably spent a total of 15-20 minutes at the expo. GETTING TO THE RACE The 10K started at 8am, while the half and full started at 9am at The Paseo de la Castellana (Plaza de Gregorio Marañón). With all the one-way streets, and street closures I would recommend using the metro to get there. It was a nightmare trying to Uber to the race, and I almost missed the race. The price I paid for being lazy. THE COURSE Weather was perfect, and I enjoyed the course, especially the support. There were a lot of water stations with snacks, and staff on rollerblades spraying some type of pain relief on runners. FYI, International races tend to hand out full size bottles vs cups. Madrid surely takes care of their people! For some reason, the runners gave off a different vibe too. You can tell people trained for this, accessorized accordingly and took it seriously. It's hard to explain. Maybe I am just used to running alongside with entitled, and fat Americans that complain about everything. jk. There was even a finishing area for people without bibs. You know, if you want to run for funzies. FINISHING CHUTE The finish line was at the Paseo de Recoletos (Between Plaza de Cibeles y Plaza de Colón). Once you get your medal, volunteers mark it on your bib. As you continue down the finishing chute, you are handed a bag filled with goodies. Since I didn't get anything at the expo, the goodie bag (in addition to the shirt and medal) became my souvenir. I liked how the bag just read RnR Madrid. I enjoyed the bag so much, I grabbed another one... and another one.... and another one, and then pretty much basked in the sun in front of the fountain by the Columbus Statue. As I was pretending not to die from exhaustion, a staff photographer took photos of me in all my marathon glory... so who knows, I may be the next face of RnR Madrid! lol. jk. I wouldn't mind running this race again. If you need a run-cation, this is your race.

This was my first international marathon, and I had a good time. The race was organized and went…read morethrough various areas of Madrid. You could choose either the marathon or the 10k to complete. I would highly recommend the race. Course: Really hilly. Whoever created the course wanted to punish us since the last mile had a lot of incline! Otherwise, be sure to practice on rolling hills. You get a good snapshot of Madrid by running through the various areas. Communication: There were some email communications, but I checked Facebook every couple days to see if there were updates. Bib Pick Up/Expo: The expo was at the Recinto Ferial de la Casa de Campo, Pabellon de la in La Pipa Pavillion. The expo went from Thursday to Saturday. This was not near the main areas of Sol or Gran Via. It was highly recommended to take the metro to get here. The expo was large and had lots of local vendors. We didn't have any issues with picking up our bibs especially since we weren't fluent in Spanish. Bring a copy of your registration and your passport. The bibs didn't have our names on them. To see if your bib chip works, you have to go through a bib check. The volunteer scans your bib and then you can see your name appear on the tv screens. Pretty nifty. You also pick up your Adidas racing shirts at the expo. The shirts were pretty nice. Women had tank tops while men had t-shirts. I really like my tank top! Bag check: Available if you needed it. Water Station/Volunteers/Crowds: There were plenty of water stations available which occurred every 3km for the marathon. The stations had electrolytes and bottles of water. Crowds were on the side of the roads for more populated areas. It was cool to hear the various cheering slogans, such as ¡Ánimo! Swag: Technical t-shirt or tank top, medal, backpack, and a ticket to the free pasta party on the day before the race. The pasta party was fun. Even though the line was long, the flow of people went quickly. We received a bowl of marinara pasta with sausage, bread, orange, and your choice of drinks. There was a commentator in the dining area, and we also heard music from bands. Post-Race Expo: Plenty of sections to hydrate. Plus, there was a section to get fruit, carbs, and snacks. The volunteers were generous with the snacks since we got nuts, crackers, and juice boxes. Yum! Price: We registered early so the cost of the marathon was around 36 euros (around $56 USD).

We came here for a birthday party, seven kids six adults. The birthday package my friend received…read morewas three races for the kids for the kids (10 minutes each) with chips, drinks, and pizza (they only provide ham and cheese pizza or in Spain the usual Jamón y queso). The pizza slices are fairly large and the chips are the usual plain lays. I'm not sure what my friend paid but after it was all said and done he remarked that it was a good deal and repeated that he wanted to come back. The race track is indoor and quite extensive for being indoors. The kids each received a jump suit, a sanitary hairnet to wear under their helmets, a helmet, and a neck pillow to brace their necks in case of a collision or anything jarring. Before they entered the first race they received a safety brief via a video in Spanish with English subtitles. There is a large seating area upstairs that is quite nice with tables and chairs, comfy couches, and they even have a bar for refreshments both alcoholic and non. If you want to be closer to the action they have bench seating downstairs next to the track. Overall, the kids had a blast and the entire event lasted about three hours; the adults even had fun. The staff were friendly and helpful the entire time. I'd go back with our kids or as an office offsite event. Enjoy.

Worst costumer service I have ever experienced in my entire life. The people that work at…read moreregistration were hostile to my kids, CHILDREN! My 11 year-old's mask kept lowering (which obviously is a problem) but why do you SNAP at an 11 year-old when you're an adult woman? Went here for my boy's birthday, he wanted to ride the go-karts but they failed to mention that you need your physical passport to register, so his friends couldn't ride because pictures of a passport weren't enough for a go-kart park? That part was ok, I understand liability issues, but the costumer service was HORRIFIC. I am truly disappointed and sad at my experience.

Worth Visiting if Nearby…read more Madrid has a lot of beautiful plazas, and this is certainly one of them. Of note, Teatro Real is located along the western edge of the plaza.

At one end of the Plaza de Isabel II is the Teatro Real. It is well served by Estación de Ópera…read more A number of restaurants on the periphery of the plaza and because it's such a well known location, it is a meeting point for a number of the tour groups. And because of that, there's a good bunch of people who want to separate tourists from their Dollars and Pounds and Euros, either with the bubble-machine or simply picking pockets. So be wary!

No hay mejor gimnasio. Además tiene unas vistas privilegias que hace que entrenar sea un lujo,…read moresobretodo al atardecer viendo como oscurece Madrid y las farolas se iluminan.

We got free entry here because the gym at our hotel was out of action. This is a good gym,…read morerelatively well equipped, although the free weights area was a bit small