That’s the message brought to Dublin by Mercedes Sánchez, Marketing Manager UK & Ireland, Tourism Promotion and Development, Destination Madrid, who hosted a reception for travel agents and media at the InterContinental Dublin last week.
Mercedes emphasised the ease of access from Dublin, not only to Madrid, with frequent 2h40m flights by Aer Lingus, Iberia and Ryanair, but also to all the major cities of Spain onward from Madrid by high-speed train, ranging from a 30-minute ride to Segovia, Toledo and Cuenca up to 2h30m to Barcelona and Malaga.
Madrid airport is just 12km from the city centre, which is a quick Metro ride (a single ticket for Metro or bus costs €1.50) or a €30.00 fixed taxi fare. The Madrid Travel Pass offers great value for 1, 2, 3, 5 or 7 days of travel.
Madrid is well known for its great museums (including the Prado), its shopping, and, of course, for Real Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium, but the city also offers 3,100 restaurants, including 12 Michelin-starred establishments in the city and four more in the region, and 38 golf courses – nine in the city and 29 in the region.
Madrid is also a welcoming LGBT destination. The Madrid Pride festival, one of the biggest events of its kind, takes place in June and in 2017 the city will be hosting the World Pride.