Just before Christmas 2006 the Minister of the Environment, Cristina Narbona, became the first politician in Spanish history to recommend that, in the foreseeable future, bulls should not be killed at the end of a bullfight. Her intention was -- and is -- to bring Spain more in line with the policies of the European Union on cruelty to animals and follow the examples of Portugal and Southern France, where bullfights are held but the animal still gets to leave the arena alive. Stalwarts and hard core traditionalists will inevitably be outraged, especially in Madrid, whose Las Ventas ring is the largest and most prestigious in Spain, hosting some of the biggest names in the bullfighting world. Yet the corrida is already undergoing a transformation. Its traditionally huge success as a money-spinner (raking in an estimated 1.5 million euros a year) is offset by the fact that top toreros are no longer revered as they were in Hemingway's day (having been superseded in popularity by leading pop singers like David Bisbal and soccer stars like Real Madrid's Raul), and the whole scene, notwithstanding its guaranteed fascination as a tourist attraction, has -- for many -- become less magical, more blandly commercial than in the popular days of charismatic performers like Manolete, Dominguin and Ordoñez. Overall objections may therefore not be as intense as anticipated and changes may come about more quickly than expected. Time will tell.
Getting to Know Madrid
Visitors can now get the latest news on events in and around the Spanish capital from obliging staff at perky orange colored information kiosks run by the Madrid Tourist Board. These genial information spots, launched in 2006, are located in both the central city squares of Callao and Cibeles and at Barajas airport's Terminal 4. Open daily from 9:30am to 8:30pm, they provide a free compact magazine called EsMadrid, updated monthly, which is also available in many of the city's hotels. Check the website www.esmadrid.com for further details.
Getting Around
Six new metro stations opened between November and December 2006 on three of Madrid's subway lines. The green line 5 to the east of the city now extends to El Capricho -- near the city's most attractive park -- and to the residential area of Alameda de Osuna; the dark blue 10 line has a new stop at Aviación Española close to the Cuatro Vientos private airfield and air museum; and the dark green 11 line extending down from Plaza Eliptica on the grey circular 6 line now includes the southern stops of Carabanchel Alto and La Peseta in its route.
The first quarter of 2007 will see further radical expansions in both the Madrid underground and suburban rail networks. Due for completion are the Metronorte line, on the northern outskirts of the city, which will run from Tres Olivos near Fuencarral to the satellite town of San Sebastian los Reyes; and the metro or tren ligero (light metro or train) -- a streamlined 21st-century version of the tram -- whose ML1 route is scheduled to operate from Pinar de Chamartín via new town Sanchinarro to Las Tablas (short run of just 5km/3 miles serving the most architecturally innovative corner of "New Madrid"). Two other metro ligero services (ML2 and ML3) covering a total of around 30km are also due to extend west of the city from Colonia Jardin on metro line 10 to the upmarket residential areas of Boadilla del Monte and Pozuelo de Alarcón.
On January 1st, 2007 fares remained the same for single journeys on the metro, but rose from 1.50€ to 1.75€ for the combined underground and bus ticket (metrobus) and from 6.10€ to 6.40€ for the ten-in one metrobus ticket.
The antiquated and highly congested bus and metro terminus at Plaza Castilla is undergoing a 100 million euro plus transformation covering a total of 75,000 sq m whose first stage is due for completion by May 2007. Instead of operating from the surface, as they are doing at the moment, buses serving the northern suburbs and towns from here will start from new underground levels similar. At this writing, 80% was complete, with the new station scheduled to be fully operative by 2008 when it will cater for an increased 20% of traffic.
The other nearby underground bus station currently still under construction at Chamartín (directly below the railway station: see below) is due to be finished by April 2007 when it will handle up to 60,000 travelers daily.
Among the more streamlined rail services operating out of Atocha railway station the latest -- inaugurated in December 2006 -- is the Zaragoza and Lleida run, now speeded up to 300km (186 miles) an hour. By 2008 the line that continues from Lleida to Barcelona will be similarly modernised, reducing the journey between Spain's two largest cities from five hours to three and a half hours.
What to See & Do
If you're here at the beginning of January 2007 look out for the Goya Exhibition at Casa Panaderia in the Plaza Mayor.
Outdoor Activities
One of the city's most ambitious construction projects, aimed at reducing pollution and creating more green areas, is the 6 km (4 mile) tunnel under the Manzanares river, which will in turn be bordered by a new traffic free zone of flowery parklands and (comparatively) tranquil walkways adjoining the Casa de Campo. December 2006 saw the completion of its first stage in the Príncipe Pío area, and the deadline for the whole finished work stands at May 2007, when it should conveniently coincide with the Madrid municipal elections.
The latest addition to the increasing number of cycling trails in and around the city is in the north western pine wooded Dehesa de la Villa, one of the city's oldest protected natural areas. In December 2006 the road that crosses it was converted into a totally traffic free route for use only by cyclists.
Side Trips from Madrid
Madrid province's most imposing monument, El Escorial (48 km/30 miles west of Madrid), now has a rival on the cultural front. Brainchild of Madrid's determinedly progressive mayor, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, a new auditorium opened just below El Escorial in summer 2006. The building's stark modern design, strikingly different from the rest of this highly traditional town, has caused no little controversy among locals. Though hardly likely to take custom away from the incomparable 16th-century monastery, it may prove a stimulating afterthought if you want to follow up your visit to Felipe II's masterpiece with an evening of ballet or opera (providing you remember to bring your credit card along).