100 things

to do in Madrid before you die (or before you move back to the States in July).


It's a pretty comprehensive list, but at the same time, it's got some weird, random things that I may decide to sub out. 


So, here are the 100 things I will do in Madrid before July.

1. See the gardens at Atocha.
2. See the memorial to March 11.
3. See the sculpture of the fallen angel.
4. See the Crystal Palace.
5. Ride a bike around the Retiro (not sure how I'm going to do this with no bike).
6. Go boating in the estanque.
7. Take a photo at the statue of el Oso y el Madroño.
8. Wander the Cecilio Rodriguez gardens.
9. See the Cibeles fountain.
10. Climb to the roof of the Círculo de Bellas Artes.
11. Wander up Gran Vía
12. Go to a show on Gran Vía
13. Go shopping on Preciados
14. See the Puerta de Alcalá
15. Eat a sweet treat at the Mallorquina
16. Eat 12 grapes in Sol on New Year's Eve. (this might be difficult. Anybody got a Time-Turner?)
17. Eat a calamari sandwich in the Plaza Mayor.
18. See the statue of Eloy Gonzalez.
19. Walk through the Rastro on a Sunday
20. Eat patatas bravas in Las Bravas
21. See the Don Quijote & Sancho Panza statue in the Plaza de España
22. See the sunset at Templo de Debod
23. See the Guernica at the Reina Sofia
24. Enjoy the art at the Prado
25. See the Bonsais in the Royal Garden
26. Tapear in the San Miguel Market
27. Visit the Royal Palace and the East Plaza
28. Wander through the Sabatini Gardens
29. Eat in the 'mythic' Underground Chino
30. Step on Km. 0
31. Visit the Museum of Sorolla
32. Go to the Plaza de la Villa
33. Visit Valle de los Caídos (Thank the lord I did this in 2008, because it's closed now and they may never reopen it)
34. Touch the grass at Santiago Bernabeu
35. Listen to jazz at Café Central
36. Visit the wax museum 
37. See the Madrid skyline from Tetas de Vallecas
38. Visit the Palace at Aranjuez
39. Visit the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales (Monastery of Barefooted Royals)
40. See the 4 towers at Chamartín
41. Eat Indian food in Lavapies
42. Start a day (End a night?) with churros from San Gines
43. Go to the Natural Science Museum (This one was one of the snow items. I thought that science should win out.)
44. See the cupula of the Metropolis building.
45. Enjoy Madrid's skyline from the Teleférico
46. Visit the Thyssen
47. Visit the Museo de América
48. Ride in the Strawberry Train at the Train Museum
49. Find a unique gift in the Fuencarral market
50. Wander through the Parque Tierno Galván
51. Spend a day in El Escorial
52. See the Royal Palace from the Campo del Moro
53. Admire the walls of the Casa de la Panadería
54. Visit the Cathedral of the Almudena
55. Visit Las Ventas
56. Party in Chueca and Malasaña
57. See the Puerta de Toledo
58. See Gran Vía at night
59. Read on a bench in the Plaza de Colon.
60. Take a photo of the Torres Kio
61. Admire the vertical garden of Caixa Forum
62. Visit the Bishop's Chapel in the Plaza de la Paja
63. Drink some beers on a terrace in La Latina
64. Try the grilled chicken at Casa Mingo
65. Climb the Abyss at Warner Amusement Park
66. Roar with the lions in front of the Congreso de los Diputados
67. See the Goya frescoes in the Hermitage of San Antonio de la Florida
68. See the Plaza of Neptune
69. Go window shopping on Serrano--Buy something if I can afford it (HA!)
70. Take a picture with Gran Vía in the background
71. Visit the Sierra de Madrid while it's snowy
72. See Madrid from the Cerro de los Angeles
73. Enjoy a movie in one of the few movie theaters that remain on Gran Vía
74. Discover the history of the metro
75. See the Plaza del Oriente from the Opera balcony
76. Spend the day with your childhood heroes at Warner Amusement Park (seriously, this has 2???)
77. Visit the house where Cervantes was born
78. Circle Madrid on the bicycle path. (ummm, on what bike?)
79. See the starry sky in the Planetarium
80. Visit the Basilica of San Francisco el Grande
81. Climb up the Faro de Moncloa on a clear day
82. See the new panda babies in the zoo (PANDA BABIES!!!)
83. Hunt zombies on line 6 at 8AM
84. Wander through Casa de campo
85. Look for an apartment of more than 30 meters squared (Done and Done!)
86. Get lost in Madrid. (For how long? I feel like this one needs a minimum time limit because I am frequently lost, but very quickly find my way)
87. Run a marathon (gonna do the 10k. but it's coming up in April, I believe).
88. Eat a good cocido madrileño (I've had cocido. not sure I would call it good)
89. See the puppets in the Retiro
90. Work with an NGO in front of FNAC
91. Meet with old friends to drink a coffee (can mine be a hot chocolate, or a cola cao?)
92. Have an urban picnic (ahem, botellón) in Plaza de España. 
93. Wander through Plaza 2 de Mayo
94. Build a snowman in the Retiro (am searching for something to replace this with...maybe go out one night to the Tabacalera)
95. Enjoy a concert in the Sports Arena
96. Visit the mint
97. Ski in Xanadu--the indoor ski park
98. Search for the best mojito in Madrid.
99. Enjoy the graffiti.
100. Live a Noche in Blanco
101. Do it all over again. With friends.