Real Madrid Official Real Madrid website - http://www.realmadrid.es/portada_eng.htm Tickets - Not as tricky as you may have thought, only really a struggle for big games when seats are only available to club members. Tickets go on sale around a week before the game on the ticket hotline 00-34-902324324 and at the ground. Try calling on the Friday or Monday, pay by credit card and collect on the day of the match. For additional Real ticket advice please click here.
Stadium - One of the true cathedrals of world football, Estadio Santiago Bernabeu holds 85,000 fans, and is easily reached by taking metro line 10 to the Santiago Bernabeu station. Ultra Culture - Traditionally supported by the wealthy and the powerful and hated by the rest. Real's right-wing Ultras Sur are arguably the most famous ultra group in Spain.
MADRID
Overview - Football wise, choose between the down-to-earth, always the bridesmaid, never the bride Atletico and the current superstar galacticos representing the most successful club in world soccer - the one and only Real Madrid football team. Away from the match, you've got some of the most pulsating nightlife in all of Europe, making this one of THE undisputed top ten European football travel destinations. Airports & Transfers - Barajas Airport - 9 miles north east of the centre, linked by metro line 8 (45 minute journey time), or bus no. 200, which takes around 20mins and leaves every 10-20 minutes. Tickets 1Euro. Taxis will set you back 20-25 Euros. Nightlife - With literally hundreds of bars and clubs in the city centre and 4am traffic jams a common sight, Madrid is a city that takes its nightlife seriously and likes to party all night long. The two main areas to hit after dark are the concentration of bars and clubs around Plaza de Santa Ana and Calle de las Huertas in the city centre, and the Malasana and Chueca districts north of Gran Via. Shopping - International designer names can be found in and around Calle de Serrano, whilst smaller independent boutiques line Calle de Almirante in Chueca. Alternatively, make a beeline for the legendary Sunday morning flea market, El Rastro, in the Embajadores area just south of Plaza Mayor.
Further reading -
White Storm: The Story of Real Madrid
Chapter 5 of Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football
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