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Eight essential apps that make life easier in Madrid

Madrid, the capital of Spain is a great city for foreign residents with lots of job opportunities and a fantastic cultural scene. But, if you want to enjoy the city more and make the most of it, these 8 essential apps will help you out.

Published: 16 March 2023 15:54 CET
Eight essential apps that make life easier in Madrid
Essential apps if you live in Madrid. Photo: Eduardo Rodriguez / Unsplash

For new and old residents alike, Madrid can sometimes seem overwhelming given its size, but fortunately, these apps can make life a little easier, from helping you find a parking space to booking health appointments and navigating your way around the city. Here are some of the best Madrid apps. 

Metro de Madrid

Most Madrid residents can’t get far without using the metro, so this is really one of the most important apps you can have if you regularly travel around the city. It allows you to see waiting times for your nearest station, the stations that are closest to you, metro maps, the status of the network and information about tickets and fares. It will also let you know how much credit is left on your travel card. It’s available for iOS here and Android here.

Madrid Móvil

This is the official app from the Ayuntamiento de Madrid (Madrid Townhall) and really is a must-have for any Madrid resident. It covers a wide range of topics and can be used for everything from finding out where the nearest public toilets and water fountains are located to receiving city-wide alerts and booking a padel court. It’s available for both iOS and Android.

READ ALSO: Madrid to keep schools open to pupils during holidays 

Telpark

If you own a car and live in Madrid, then you’ll know what are nightmare parking can often be. This app can be very useful if you want to find out what zones you can park in and search for parking meters. You can even pay for parking directly through the app, which will also remind you how much time you have left in your space. It’s available for both iOS and Android.

La Guía del Prado

Art lovers will find this app for the city’s famed El Prado museum extremely helpful when looking around. It includes more than 400 works of art with comments from the experts, as well as information about the history of the piece and all about the artist themselves. It’s available for iOS and Android.

BiciMAD

Madrid’s electric bike-sharing scheme also has its own app. Managed by the Municipal Transport Company of Madrid, the scheme has a fleet of more than 2,000 bicycles distributed across 165 stations. The app enables users to search for the nearest bike station, top up their balance, reserve a bike ahead of time and report any incidents. It’s available here for iOS and here for Android.

Guía de Arquitectura Madrid

If you’re a fan of great architecture, then you’ll enjoy this app from the Official College of Architects of Madrid (COAM). It allows you to discover all about the city’s architectural gems, as well the lesser-known ones. It allows you to see various photos of the buildings and also find out about the most interesting building near you. You can download it for iOS and Android.

Cita Sanitaria Madrid

This app, while not particularly entertaining, will save you a lot of hassle when it comes to the Madrid health system. From here, you will be able to book appointments, access your test results and get in contact with your local health clinic. You can download it for iOS and Android. 

Imageen Madrid

If you’re into history, this app is a great choice to get to know the city’s past even better. It enables you to see the city as it once was. Simply point your smartphone at landmarks such as the Puerta del Sol or Gran Vía and you will be able to see a split screen showing you what they look like now and in the past. It also provides you with virtual guides so you can learn about how daily life was back then too. It is available on iOS here and on Android here. 

 

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SPANISH TRADITIONS

Everything you need to know about Mother’s Day in Spain

Here's how and when in May Mother's Day is celebrated in Spain, and why it owes its roots to religion and a Valencian poet.

Published: 3 May 2024 13:37 CEST
Everything you need to know about Mother's Day in Spain

This year, Mother’s Day (El Día de la Madre) is celebrated in Spain on Sunday May 5th. It’s always celebrated on the first Sunday of the month of May.

On this day, young children in Spain give their mothers manualidades (crafts) they’ve made at school as a token of their love.

Husbands and older sons and daughters may buy their wives/mothers a present to say thanks for all that they do as matriarchs, which usually takes the form of a detalle (smaller present than for a birthday or Christmas), and will come accompanied by a message such as te quiero, mamá (I love you, mum).

According to experiences website Aladinia, the average Spaniards spends €65 on gifts on Mother’s Day. 

Other mums may send out text messages to wish each other ¡Feliz Día de la Madre! (Happy Mother’s Day!).

As it’s always celebrated on a Sunday, many shops will be closed but you can expect plenty of restaurants to be open for lunch and perhaps dinner. 

Depending where you’re from, the first Sunday of May may or may not be when you’re used to celebrating Mother’s Day in your home country.

Around the world over 100 countries celebrate Mother’s Day (or Mothering Sunday, more on the difference below) – 77 in May, 13 in March, and 14 at other times during the year.

Some countries, like the UK, celebrate Mothering Sunday on the fourth Sunday during Lent, meaning that the date changes each year. This is because Mothering Sunday was originally a Christian holiday in some European countries.

READ ALSO: How a female teacher campaigned for Spain to have a Father’s Day

Spain, however, celebrates Mother’s Day on the first Sunday in May each year, meaning that it doesn’t have a fixed date either. But it wasn’t always like that.

The history of Mother’s Day in Spain

The first Mother’s Day in Spain was celebrated in Madrid all the way back on October 4th, 1926. Much of the impetus for establishing a day to celebrate mothers came, rather fittingly, from a poet.

Julio Menéndez García, a Valencian poet and public servant, pushed for a special day to celebrate mothers. Spanish newspaper La Libertad published a short section on Garcìa’s efforts in October 1925:

“A Levantine poet, Julio Menéndez García, has had the happy initiative that in Spain and in the Spanish-speaking nations a day should be consecrated to extol the love of mothers. The establishment of Mother’s Day is something tender and sympathetic, which deserves to be welcomed by governments, the press and public opinion, as it involves the highest tribute to women in their most august representation.”

After the Civil War, the church moved the date to December 8th to coincide with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a key holiday among Catholics. 

Civil War-era poster urging Madrid mothers to leave the Spanish capital with their children before the arrival of Franco’s troops. (Photo by AFP)

But it wasn’t until 1965 that Mother’s Day was celebrated in May in Spain. The reason for this change of date was to separate the celebrations (both were considered important enough to have their own day) but also the influence of other countries, namely the United States.

The campaign for a Mother’s Day was originally started by Anna Jarvis, an American wanting to honour her mother, in 1908. By 1914, US President Woodrow Wilson officially signed it into law, establishing a May date. 

However, for many years in Spain department store El Corte Inglés maintained the date of 8th December, meaning that Spain Mother’s Day was celebrated twice a year for a while, commercially speaking at least.

In 1936 a local council in Breña Baja, on the Canary island of La Palma, became the first in Spain to move Mother’s Day to May.

However, in 1965 the church authorities officially decided to move Mother’s Day to May, a month consecrated to the Virgin Mary. May is also the month of female gods in the classical world, and in Catholicism is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Interestingly, Jarvis herself later campaigned against the day, arguing it had become overly commercialised, something Spaniards often bemoan about other imported American customs like Halloween and Valentine’s Day. 

READ ALSO: How a female teacher campaigned for Spain to have a Father’s Day

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