Cafe de Oriente
The biggest advantage of living in a big city is the wide variety of leisure options that you have. Madrid has so much to offer all year round and the holidays are no exception. I've put together a list of things to do in Madrid this holiday season whether you are here for a short visit or you are living here for a while. 
La Botilleria de OrienteWhat to do in Madrid this Holiday Season: THE BEST FOOD AND DECOR
Pay a visit to Cafe de Oriente and/or its little sibling La Botilleria de Oriente for great food, service and decor. La Botilleria is currently offering a Christmas menu for 19€ that we got to try last weekend, it was so good!
El Invernadero de Salvador Bachiller. There's a beautiful "greenhouse" in the basement of Salvador Bachiller's store in Gran Via where you can have delicious food and the fanciest cocktails. Even the china is beautiful, we got to eat from a (china) pineapple and an aloe vera leaf. The menu is pretty similar to the one we had at El Jardin Secreto earlier this year.
The legendary Chocolateria San Gines is the best place for chocolate con churros in the capital of Spain. Definitely a must to recharge batteries on a cold winter evening.
Salon des Fleurs is not on the touristy area like the previous ones but worth a visit. This mixture of coffee and flower shop is probably the best thing I've seen so far.
My favorite shops in Plaza Mayor are two traditional hat shops: Casa Yustas and La Favorita. I have already devoted a full post to shopping in Madrid which you can read here.
Other musicals currently in Madrid are The Bodyguard, Billy Elliot and The Adams Family.
What are your favorite Christmas activities?
xo Cristina
BUNDLE UP
El Invernadero de Salvador Bachiller. There's a beautiful "greenhouse" in the basement of Salvador Bachiller's store in Gran Via where you can have delicious food and the fanciest cocktails. Even the china is beautiful, we got to eat from a (china) pineapple and an aloe vera leaf. The menu is pretty similar to the one we had at El Jardin Secreto earlier this year.
The legendary Chocolateria San Gines is the best place for chocolate con churros in the capital of Spain. Definitely a must to recharge batteries on a cold winter evening.
Salon des Fleurs is not on the touristy area like the previous ones but worth a visit. This mixture of coffee and flower shop is probably the best thing I've seen so far.
Cafe de Oriente
What to do in Madrid this Holiday Season: SHOPPING
The most famous Christmas market is in Plaza Mayor. Unfortunately, this is very far from the traditional Christmas markets around Europe -I'd love to see more craftsmanship and less tacky knick-knacks- but it's still worth seeing the ambiance.My favorite shops in Plaza Mayor are two traditional hat shops: Casa Yustas and La Favorita. I have already devoted a full post to shopping in Madrid which you can read here.
El Invernadero de Salvador Bachiller
What to do in Madrid this Holiday Season: MUSICALS
If you haven't seen The Lion King, you have to do it. It's going to be in Madrid until the end of April and tickets go fast. We watched it earlier this month and we wouldn't mind going again. Our mouths were wide open from beginning to end. The costumes, the dancers, the singers, the staging...it's all breathtaking.Other musicals currently in Madrid are The Bodyguard, Billy Elliot and The Adams Family.
What to do in Madrid this Holiday Season: NAVILUZ
It's a Christmas bus that takes you around the city to see the lights of the main areas of the centre of Madrid.xo Cristina
BUNDLE UP
