Trip to Spain, any ideas for teens?

Question

I'm going to be traveling to Spain with two of my friends after we graduate senior year. Since we're first time international travelers, we need some ideas for what or what not to see or do in Madrid. We are hoping to shop, sightsee, and just have fun, so is there anything that is totally worth going to or seeing? We also have the option of taking a few day trips to neighboring cities if there are any suggestions for things to do outside of Madrid.

Answer 1

Generally speaking, unless you're incredibly rich, you want to stay away from places that cost a lot of money and are filled with rich American tourists. The workers in those places get pretty jaded and survive by being distant to everyone.

If you can speak Spanish at all and have decent manners, go to less expensive places where you might meet Spaniards who don't see that many tourists. Although some people warned us that Madrilenos were stuck up and unfriendly, we encountered really helpful and kind people.

The art museums are good. If you're not heavily into art, go anyway, so that you don't have to tell the other freshmen that next fall that you went to Madrid but didn't go to the Prado. Toledo is fairly close and has a old historical section, again, even if you're not big on history, go. With luck, you can work that into some Western Civ essay or research paper freshman year, too.