Madrid - where to stay, what to see?

Probably going to Madrid at the end of September for a weekend, where should I be hoping to get a hotel (area)
Plan is to mince about and take in the sights and drink in swanky bars.

Hi there, i would recommend that you stay in Malasana area, nearby Alonso Martinez/Tribunal tube station. Very nice area with plenty of restaurants and nightlife. Extremely safe to walk at night time and you're 10 minutes walk from chueca and Fuencarral. Very central with a nice market, plaza Santa Barbara has too many restaurants and bars to fully recommend just one.

I'm heading to Madrid for a week at the end of the month.

Any updated suggestions for areas to stay, things to see, and places to eat? Muchas Gracias

Chamberi (~Notting Hill) or Lavapies (~Hackney) are both central and decent to stay/close to Metro
Calle cava baja for tapas
Have a bocadillo de calamare, they're amazing
Good day trip would be Segovia (about an hour or so on the train) for Roman aqueduct and general pleasantness.
Casa de Campo (ENOURMOUS park) and Retiro park are worth visiting
Estrella Galicia > all other beers

Actually I found something which I normally share which is a bit more useful:

Arrival:

By Air: Barajas Airport in the North East of the city. There are basically 2 airports - Terminals 1,2 and 3 are the "old" airport (Ryanair, Easyjet etc.) and Terminal 4 is shiny new airport (Iberia, BA etc.). Both are served by metro and mus services to the city centre. It's probably easier to take the metro if you don't know your way around because your hotel will indicate which metro station is closest. However, the 24 hour bus service is quick and cheap with a direct route to the centre with a couple of stops.

By Train: Atocha Station in the city centre. Has high speed services that cover all of Spain and also some international services. There is a metro station on the concourse to reach your hotel.

Where to go:

Tourist area map: https://www.esmadrid.com/en/tourist-areas-map

El Prado - One of the world's best art galleries, probably the finest collection of European Art up to the 19th century: http://www.museodelprado.es

Reina Sofia - The modern art section of the Prado, including Picasso's Guernika: http://www.museoreinasofia.es

La Casa Encendida - A cultural centre with many different concerts and exhibitions: http://www.lacasaencendida.es

Museo Thyssen - A private art collection donated to the state, with art from all periods: http://www.museothyssen.org

Museo ABC: Art and Drawing gallery: http://www.museoabc.es

Museo Sorolla: One of my favourite museums, artist Sorolla's house converted into a museum showing his paintings: http://museosorolla.mcu.es

The National Museum of Archaeology - reopened after 5 years of renovation: http://www.man.es/man/en/home

The Royal Palace - Palacio Real: https://www.patrimonionacional.es/en/visita/royal-palace-madrid

More things here: https://www.esmadrid.com/en/discover-madrid?utm_source=portal&utm_medium=menu_Discover_Madrid_EN&utm_campaign=enlace_menu_Discover_Madrid_EN

Eating:

Important note - Madrileños eat very late! If you go to a restaurant before 9:00-9:30pm you will in all likelihood be the only ones there.

The calle Cava Baja is one of the classic streets in Madrid for bars and restaurants. It's just behind the Plaza Major (main square)
There are far too many places to mention, but of the most famous (and quite pricey) is Casa Lucio: http://www.casalucio.es/ - However, the best thing is to go from bar to bar trying tapas and drinking cañas (small beers)

On the calle Huertas there is a great Galician restaurant called Maceiras which is always really busy, but great food. https://goo.gl/maps/p2bYWQKgBVBGJKG47

Further up the same street you'll reach another restaurant called Ginger which is nice, and cheap: https://andilana.com/en/locales/ginger-3/

Museo del Jamon: A chain of bars that have Jamon (cured pork - a Spanish delicacy) hanging on the walls - great tapas and cheap beer https://www.museodeljamon.com/web/nuestros-museos/

100 Montaditos: It's very cheap and cheerful chain, large beers for €2, don't expect much in the way of quality, but it's cheap... https://spain.100montaditos.com/en/

Lateral: innovative, modern tapas and reasonably priced - there are a few of them in different areas, including in the Plaza Santa Ana: https://www.lateral.com/en

Sagaretxe - A Basque restaurant and bar with some brilliant tapas. https://sagaretxe.net/

Great informal place that does Argentinian / Italian food near the centre: https://losporfiados.com/

Casa Lucas: https://casalucas.es/

Casa Julio: https://www.restaurantecasajulio.es/

Calle Ponzano - one of the most popular bar areas in Madrid - dozens of places https://www.esmadrid.com/en/ponzano-trendy-food-street-madrid

Picnic in Parque Tierno Galvan - great in the sun on a warm day

Bar La Ideal - for a Madrid classic of bocadillo calamares. One of those bad boys and a pint for under a fiver! (just off plaza major) - https://goo.gl/maps/jimNP2QQ8uX6o3r57

Bars / Clubs:

The essence of Madrid life is the nightlife and having a good time. It might not be the European city with the most monuments, but without doubt it's right up there when it comes to having a good time!

There are more than 15,000 bars in Madrid, so we can only give you a few suggestions, but don't worry - just go in to a place and ask for una cerveza, por favor and see if you like it. Often the smaller places are more fun!

A few places:

The best views of Madrid go to the Azotea del Circulo de Bellas Artes, you can eat or just have a drink: http://www.azoteadelcirculo.com/

Or try here: De Madrid al cielo Sky bar at the top Hotel RIU Plaza España - https://www.esmadrid.com/en/nightlife/360deg-terraza-sky-bar

There are 2 modernized markets that serve food and drinks that are well worth a visit: San Miguel: http://www.mercadodesanmiguel.es/ and San Anton: http://www.mercadosananton.com/

Junco is a cool jazz bar, easy to pull in there. Have Live concerts too: http://www.eljunco.com/

Live Jazz concerts at Cafe Central. You can dine well whilst watching good jazz bands, international ones too.http://www.cafecentralmadrid.com/

Kapital is a popular commercial club: https://www.teatrokapital.com/index2.php/

Honky Tonk is a more rocky bar/club: http://www.clubhonky.com/

Football:

There are 4 clubs in Madrid:
Real Madrid: Tickets can be bought on the web:https://www.realmadrid.com/en/tickets - Metro Santiago Bernabéu, line 10 (Dark Blue)

Atlético de Madrid: Tickets can be bought on the web: https://en.atleticodemadrid.com/atm/tickets - Metro Estadio Metropolitano, line 7 (Orange)

Rayo Vallecano: http://www.rayovallecano.es/ - Metro Portazgo, line 1 (Light Blue)

Getafe: Tickets can be bought on the web: https://getafecf.expertustech.com/open#/eventshome

Day Trips from Madrid:

Toledo: Medieval capital of Spain which has Jewish, Moor and Christian influences - There's a high speed train to Toledo from Atocha station

Segovia: Medieval walled city famous for it's aqueduct and castle - Whilst there try the famous Cochinillo (roast suckling pig). There's a high speed train to Segovia

Aranjuez: Town where Spanish kings had their summer palace - visit the palace and the gardens: There's a local train service to Aranjuez
Alcala de Henares: It's a medieval city which Cervantes (author of Don Quixote) is from. 30 minutes from Atocha Renfe with some nice tapas bars it's a student area (very famous for its university):

If you want to save money, there are also bus services to these places, which are cheaper.

Thanks for this. Off to Madrid on the 22nd Sept for the weekend to meet a couple of old Uni mates. Flying Bordeaux -Madrid on the way out (Iberia) and catching the Flxbus back from Madrid to Bordeaux overnight on Sunday night just to keep the return cost down. Thoughts and prayers for that leg please

That is all so helpful thanks @FarCorfe

Thoughts are with you for return leg, I did Barcelona to Paris on flixbus(?) last year. 12 hours overnighter. Didn't sleep a wink grrrr

Yeah, I've done that one. Coach getting a puncture and a massive flood just south of Paris didn't help either. It's on my ever-growing 'never again' list.

just to say, i don’t think it is worth it staying at the Parador Madrid, which is actually in Alcala. Even though Paradors are amazing if you can afford to treat yourself, this one has no pool and the commuter train back into Madrid is a ball buster.

Whats the urban cycling like there for visitors these days? Do they have cycle lanes and an urban bike hire scheme like other cities?