Maty: There have always been exceptional people around the world. Matilde de Urrutia (Maty) was only 14 years old when in 1943 she opened her first shop employing five shoemakers. In its early days, the establishment was dedicated to stitching stockings and mending clothes and shoes. Everything changed when a lady came to the shop asking to repair her ballet shoes. She knew that in Spain it was impossible to find these shoes and of course she accepted the order. She took this opportunity and transformed her shop into the reference shop in Madrid for costumes and shoes for dancing. And she started to produce ballet shoes. The only mistake
Christmas Market in Madrid Plaza Mayor in Madrid is the epicenter of the Christmas atmosphere in the capital. The famous Christmas Market with its more than 100 red and colorful stalls attracts locals, national and foreign tourists. It is worth a visit both day and night; it is full of life almost 24 hours a day. Here you can buy everything from Christmas decorations, Christmas trees, nativity figurines, toys, amusement articles... to a four-leaf clover or mistletoe (according to legend, kissing under the branches of mistletoe brings luck in love and fertility). Christmas Market Madrid Already in the 17th century, fruit and vegetables, ornaments and gifts were sold next to
Does Madrid have a port? Or how come it is so famous for its calamari sandwiches? If you've ever visited Madrid, you've probably tried its fresh and tasty fish and seafood. Paella, grilled sea bass, squid sandwiches (Bocadillo de Calamares) ... Does it sound familiar? Also, visiting its marvelous markets, you will have noticed the amount of different fish or frutti di mare that are for sale. You may have wondered how it is possible to find such fresh fish so far from the sea and why the "Bocadillo de calamares" is so popular. That is a very good question! Madrid is situated in the center of Spain - with
Madrid Inside Boats in Madrid? Yes, there are boats in Madrid!. Although the city is located in the centre of Spain, both in the Retiro Park and in the Casa del Campo there are ponds where you can rent a boat. Renting a boat in Madrid and relaxing for a while on the waters of the Retiro Pond is one of the most popular activities for locals and visitors alike. With 125 hectares and more than 15,000 trees, the Retiro Park is a green haven in the centre of Madrid. It is not only one of the lungs of Madrid, but also offers culture, leisure and sport. Since 25 July

The new Gran Via metro station – What does it look like inside? Finally the works on the Gran Via metro station are finished and as it is 3 minutes away from our bike shop Trixi Madrid we went to see it. Impressive! It has several floors, 13 escalators, 4 new lifts and it is now connected underground with the train network “Renfe Cercanías Sol”. Gran Via also has a small museum with archaeological remains found during excavations and a ceramic mural in the lobby representing the original entrance pavilion, designed by the famous architect Antonio Palacios 100 years ago. The original pavilion was recreated in the new works and

Metro Gran Vía: Our bike rental and bike tour shop in Madrid is located in the city centre, close to the metro stations “Sevilla” and “Sol”. We are happy that the third metro station near to us – GRAN VÍA – will reopen on July 16th after more then 1.000 days of closure and modernisation work. Metro Gran Vía station, formerly “Red de San Luis”, was one of the first eight stations of the Madrid Metro on its inauguration in October 1919. During Franco’s time it received the name of “José Antonio”, and, in 1984 it was called again “Gran Vía”. The moderanisation has been carried out to create a

Bike Tours Madrid – We are back… …doing our bike tours respecting the guidelines and recommendations for our Tour Guides – developed by Spanish Tourism Quality Institute (ICTE): “Measures to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2” New rules for mask use in Spain came into effect on June 26. Spain continues to require the use of face masks in all indoor public spaces; however, masks are no longer required outdoors as long as 1.5 meters of social distancing can be maintained. Our tour guide will inform clients about applicable prevention and hygiene measures, and also about restrictions, limitations or modifications to the service to prevent contagion. The safe distance between the

Price Circus Madrid Let’s celebrate the magic and illusion of the circus! Let’s see, there are days for everything, Adn’s day (??), book day, fun day at work…really? ¡Come on!! ¡More than nerdy! But we didn’t want to miss the Circus Day on 17th April, a theme that in these times brings joy to young and old and allows us to escape and enter a world of dreams and magic. A good opportunity to introduce you to the emblematic Circo Price in Madrid. “Price”, doesn’t sound very Spanish, does it? …. To know the history of this circus you have to go back to the 19th century! Thomas Price, an

Easter in Madrid Normally, during “Semana Santa” the Spanish capital is full of processions, celebrations and concerts, but this year all the festivities had to be cancelled in order to avoid crowds of people. Nevertheless, the brotherhoods and confraternities will display the images of their patron saints in the different churches from Passion Saturday, 27 March, until Holy Saturday, 3 April, and encourage the faithful to enjoy them in the different churches. You can either walk to the different places or rent a bike at our Trixi shop to reach them easier! Happy Easter and let's make the best out of it! We are open from 10.00-18.00 Trixi Madrid c/
``Forgive fast, thank slow``. ``All your footsteps are my wings`` Boa Mistura Did you know that walking through Madrid you can come across these and other beautiful poetic verses painted on the crossroads of the streets? It seems that they want to awaken, challenge, shake, question .... "Te comería a versos" - that's the name of the project launched in 2014 by the artists of the group Boa Mistura (“Good Mix”). Here you will find a map where all the phrases that exist in Madrid are marked. In the beginning, the phrases and verses of these artists appeared illegally painted on the streets at night, but since they were so