What is happening to Madrid!
 

Tourism down 22%. Empty tourist buses, dirty streets, unfinished projects, cancelled concerts and events. Can't be just the Iberia/BA factor surely. There are plenty of other airlines who fly there:blink: Perhaps it's the cuts in spending.

http://politica.elpais.com/politica/...35_707943.html

Some photos here: Titled "Madrid's decay"

http://elpais.com/elpais/2013/10/05/...818_1381009720

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

We've been there this past week and the only real difference we noticed from previous years is that a lot of the pavements were in a poor state of repair - beggars there have always been, and we see the same ones in the same spots year after year; the streets were not littered with rubbish as shown in the photo, and we noticed that people seemed to be very diligent about picking up their dogs' mess; the streets, bars and restaurants still seemed busy.

OH has just pointed out that the photo of all the litter was taken after Copenhagen football fans had passed through Puerta del Sol on their way to the match with Real Madrid - it just so happens that we'd just emerged from the Metro there on our way back from Aranjuez, to be greeted by the noise of them chanting as they were entering the square, escorted by a large police presence. There were street sweepers waiting behind the group to clear up the mess (they were nearly all drinking, must have thought the prices were great after Denmark!) so it just shows how misleading a photograph can be.

I've just been speaking to my sister, she and her husband were there for a short break the week before we were, and she noticed nothing amiss either.

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

I prefer Madrid now to what it was during the boom, when everything was being dug up, cranes across the skyline, dust everywhere, etc.

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

It could be that El Pais has caught the Daily Mail syndrome of talking down everything:lol: They could have filmed those empty tourist buses at 8am. As for the homeless, same in every capital city all over the world.

The 22% drop in tourism is worrying for the City...strange:confused:

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

I think there are obviously problems in Madrid - as anywhere else in Spain. I know people who are desperate now, simply can't find any work and been unemployed for years now. A lot of this is to do with the Spanish culture/system of valuing qualifications over experience and of staying in the same job for years on end, doing the same thing and not moving on to more challenging jobs. However I think those photos in El Pais don't help - anyone can stage a photo to make things apear worse (or better) than they are, and I think most readers are wise to it.

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

The 22% drop in tourism was month-on-month and for August

Nobody goes to Madrid in August

I like El Pais, it is a good newspaper, but in this respect they have used selected photos to illustrate something they wanted to say and have been deliberately misleading

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

I think most readers are wise enough to know that the paper has focused on the negatives, and whilst it's an easy job to clean up the empty cans, filling/finishing all the empty buildings is not so easy. There have been many, many vanity projects, most have failed miserably, and Madrid is no exception. They gambled on getting the Olympics, their bid failed, so there are loads of buildings unfinished, and will probably remain that way. I've said many times here, unlike expats, the Spanish don't have a problem highlighting all the things that are wrong with Spain, their press is full of horror stories.

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

Although some of the issues raised in the article are relevant, the pictures were some of the most mis-leading bits of mis-information I've seen for a long time. As I leave my Madrid accommodation this morning, I'm sure that I won't see such litter-strewn streets, nor will I see empty tourist buses - in fact I'd already been looking at them the week before and although they've not always been 100% full, they've always had a decent number of passengers even on the rainy days we had last week.
From a personal point of view, Madrid is as good as it's ever been. Places like Lavapies and (especially) Malasaña are totally full of life and full of new businesses. It's arguable how long the gift-shop for pet dogs will survive :huh: , but a stroll around Malasaña will show you new Greek delicatessens, wool and craft shops (very big here), cycle cafe-bars, stationery stores and various new eating places. The new Sol station that links to the Cercanias lines is a great development, and the metro system seems to work as effectively as ever, even if it gets crushed in the morning rush-hour.
The one area that seems to be have been hit hard in the centre is the Huertas zone. I get the feeling they've milked their position as a main night-life zone for too long, and so tourists and locals alike stay in more authentic barrios.

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

As I mentioned on another thread the Estadio Olimpico has been sat there, like that for a decade. It was built in 1994 and closed 10 years later with the aim of staging the Olypics there if Madrid won one of their bids (and with Atleti moving in there afterwards). So for El Pais to use a photo of it as a symbol of Madrid's current problems is disingenious. Of course there are plenty of white elephants in Madrid, so why didn't El Pais include a photo of one?

Another example is the photo of the puente de Perrault. It's true that they spent a lot of money on the project, but the tunnels have improved traffic circulation no end, the park by the river (including that bridge) is full of people and people generally like it. Also it is generally accepted that they had to do something about the previous situation with the M30 cutting right through Madrid.

El Pais did a better job last year I think wihen describing the situation with Plaza España:

http://ccaa.elpais.com/ccaa/2012/05/...68_371890.html

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

Ive been to Madrid twice once for a At.Mad v Liverpol Europa league tie, and another last year as we went to Madrid just to catch a cheaper flight and stay the night, everyone raves about it but it did nothing for me, no nice views and dirty streets, we considered opening a shop there, but it just did not doo anything for me, I was not wowed as I expected to be compared against Sevilla which I think is the best city I have ever been to in Europe

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

Probably because the article is entitled "La decadencia de Madrid" Surprised they didn't mention the Aznar's autopistas around Madrid all now bankrupt.

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

It's funny how different people take to different cities in Spain. For me I really loved Barcelona as soon as I went there, but it took time for me to get to like Madrid. For many people it's the other way round. Somebody once suggested to me that it depends on which city you visit first, as that leaves the biggest impression. The second Spanish city you see isn't going to seem quite so "different" and interesting as the first.

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

Yes that would have been better. Ironically I've started using them now because they're quite cheap, nearly empty and with good surfaces, while the toll-free roads are full of traffic and of poor quality. The savings I make on tyre wear and fuel from not having to drive through heavy traffic, combined with the pleasure of getting out of Madrid so smoothly generally makes it worthwhile.

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

Madrid has a special atmosphere if you go out at night with people that live there and know where to go, but on the surface is pretty ugly and uncomfortable

Barcelona is at first glance much prettier, but doesnt quite have the atmosphere or depth to back up the good looks. Well, I say this as a non-Catalan speaker...

The Andalucian cities such as Sevilla, Granada and Cordoba seem to belong to another time, and out of the three, actually only Granada seemed relevant to its time nowadays, the others felt well past their best although of course are very impressive

San Sebastian is a city that is living at the peak of its powers, while there are dozens of small Spanish cities (Oviedo included) that live in a comfortable sleepy slumber, seemingly detached from the rest of the world and very peacefully content in their way of life

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

In August 2012 Madrid received 381,620 visitors whilst in 2013 this figure was 290,494

I make that a drop of 24%

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

Good thinking! Now you just need to convince a few million others to get on board! ;) Whenever we fly into Málaga heading south I find it the same, autovia almost empty, coast road manic. :confused: I guess it would be different if I had to do it every day, every week like the locals.

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

Madrid has never had the wow factor for me. Prefer Barcelona. Never found Madrid dirty (although I read they have recently sacked about a third of Council cleaners). Doesn't compare with other major cities like Paris, Rome, Vienna and of course, London.

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

All subjective of course.
London is great for some things eg theatre, river walks, sporting venues, parks etc.
But I find Madrid far superior in terms of noise (yes London far noisier), value for money, climate, football quality ;) , even the water quality is better. And I'll take the Plaza Mayor (or Gran Via) over Oxford Street or Piccadilly Circus any day, even if they aren't the best places for that cafe con leche
As for Barcelona, great location, some good architecture, but it's too dominated by tourists imo. Yes, London can be seen that way eg Camden or Oxford Street, but you can escape easily to other neighbourhoods.

Incidentally, it may have been the sunshine today, but I saw the tourist bus on 4 different occasions this morning and on each bus the top level was full of sight-seers. And the Plaza Mayor was as clean as you could expect it to be (only rubbish I saw was that left by a couple of people at a terraza).

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

Madrid is perhaps better as a place to live in than a place to visit. Though that depends on what you look for in a visit - Madrid is good for nightlife (better than Barcelona) and is better for culture (especially if you throw in Toledo, Segovia, etc). However Barcelona is prettier - with more interesting architecture and, being next to the sea, on some days it has a fantastic light. However when choosing somewhere to live, things like having more work available, more sociable and friendly people around, and lots more going on in general pushes things in Madrid's favour. On top of that, it is much, much cheaper to live in than other capital cities in Europe. Where else could you buy a flat with a communal pool, gym, etc within walking distance of the centre for less than €300k? And you can still go out in Madrid, go to a decent restaurant and have a few drinks afterwards for less than €40. Also Madrid has a very good climate - it is only "unbearably" hot for one monnth of the year, and it's only "unbearably" cold for maybe 2 or 3 months of the year. That leaves about 9 months of rather pleasant, sunny weather, with proper seasons thrown in. I just wish it was closer to the sea.

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

As opposed to "la boina" you mean?;)

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

Probably a couple of scruffy Brits eh Stevie ? :rofl:

Never heard much positive re Madrid.

Those living there seem to spend half of their lives complaining about the place and most of their spare time joining the mass stampede over to my neck of the woods, gridlocking the roads so much that contraflow is often organised on the opposite side of the A3 as the normal 3 lanes can't deal with them all.

Nice to see them come.

Nicer still to see them go. :thumbup:

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

Same is true for the A1, A2, A4 and A5. They will all be operating contra-flows over the bank holidays, etc. First time I went to Valencia was for Las Fallas, we left at 3am and still hit heavy traffic for most of the journey. Spent so much time in the car it didn't seem worth it. But the Madrileños seem obliged to leave Madrid for every puente, even if it means spending most of the time stuck in the car somewhere on the meseta.

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

The Daily Mail has it sorted for you :-

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...don-homes.html

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

Madrid - it's also scrapping breast screening programmes and fining beggars 750€.

This on top of several stories over the years of spaniards from other parts of spain being refused medical attention there and sent back to their own regions.

Never mind, eurovegas will get it back on track :(

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

Yes, the beggars, that's OK, but charging the customers of prostitutes €750!!! :rofl: If the beggars had €750 they probably wouldn't be begging! :rofl:

Quote:

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Madrid multará hasta con 750 euros a mendigos y clientes de prostitutas

---

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

:rofl: If it ever gets built, the number of jobs etc are already a small fraction of what was initially promised. 28,000 against 260,000! And Eurovegas has told the Spanish they won't be involved in running the casino or hotels, they'll be doing that themselves.:rofl: Not sounding so good now, is it? ;)

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

I know they are pretty desperate but that really takes the biscuit, it's so damned stupid you have to laugh.:lol:

At present one of the few success stories is the sex trade industry attracting quite a few punters from outside the borders, especially from France and Portugal close at hand and helping to compensate for the decrease in local trade.

At those sort of costs and prices, I imagine it should provide a welcome boost to trade in Bangkok, Amsterdam and even London.

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

If anyone is visiting Madrid this weekend, the Autumn book fair in Paseo de Recoletos is on until the 13th. A great place to look through old books, posters and memorobilia..

http://www.iberlibro.com/blog/index....e-madrid-2013/

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

Not a pretty sight.

http://elpais.com/elpais/2013/10/09/...56_737127.html

Cafe con Leche anyone ?

"But after 12 years of trying, Madrid finally seems aware that it has nothing more to say. A walk through the dirty city center gives one a sense of abandonment. Not even the local landmarks get special treatment: in Plaza Mayor - where Botella encouraged International Olympic Committee members to enjoy a "relaxing café con leche" - there were 30 homeless people sleeping inside cardboard boxes last Thursday. Local residents complain about the filth and claim they have seen rats. Not far from here is another major square, Plaza de España, now lined with derelict buildings filled with squatters. On the city center's main thoroughfare, Gran Vía, some historic buildings remain walled up, such as the former movie theatre Palacio de la Música. The avenue is dotted with overflowing trash cans."

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

That's the same article as the op, except translated into English.

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

http://www.thelocal.es/20131011/stop...e-not-disabled

All but one got off scot-free.

Little wonder Madrid got the cold shoulder, apart from the lack of funds and the city going to hell in a handbag, the overall attitude towards fair play and sportsmanship still stinks to high heaven.

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

Sorry. I forgot the irony tag

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

Madrid is really getting hammered. Another report in El Pais

Madrid loses quality of life.


http://ccaa.elpais.com/ccaa/2013/10/...73_665690.html

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

It's pretty bad today, from our 8th floor office I can see a horrible brown mist covering the whole city

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

I used to get that hovering over my bunk after I had had my lunchtime tot
:blink:

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

Somehow I don't think Spanish coffee and beer are agreeing too well with Stevies constitution. :rofl:

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

DDast
how is life and economy in costa del sol today ?

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

He wouldn't know. He is up Norf in Valencia:D

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

:-)
Jacky
so how is it there ? marbella is even a special case, not reflective of
the whole costa I guess.

Re: What is happening to Madrid!
 

I am not there either. Back in the UK. Still have friends and relatives in Marbella. All in jobs. Was there late June/July. Quieter than it was a few years ago, places closing, places opening. Many only last one season. Same houses on sale that have been on for years.