Yes! FREE SPAIN! And I don’t mean free them from the evil takeover of Eastern European handicapable penguins… (sorry, inside joke)
Evil Eastern European Handicapable Penguin
I actually mean that there are LOADS of free stuff to do in Spain. Yes, while tourists are paying 10 euros for a pair of lame tapas on a tourist-trap street, you can be 4 streets over enjoying delicious free tapas with your beer. Or taking advantage of all the free cultural stuff they have everywhere, especially in major cities like Barcelona or Madrid. Or taking a free city tour (only in Madrid as of now).
While in Madrid, you can’t miss out on taking advantage of one of their “free” tours in order to learn a bit about the history, before you forget all about that as the night progresses. There are two companies running free tours in Madrid now: Sandeman’s and MyMadridFreeTour. Whichever you choose, they show you the same things, so no worries there. Just don’t buy into their offers to take you on Pub Crawls (that you must pay for) later that night, because what they give you for your money is crap: 4 shots of juice, 4 crap tourist bars and… nothing else.
For the aforementioned free tapas, go to the WORST-kept secret in Madrid, “El Tigre”. Buy anything to drink (for 2 euros or less) and get a plate overflowing with delicious tasting cholesterol. If you’re a vegetarian or vegan -besides being ridiculous- you’re screwed. But at least the place itself feels like Spain.. if you ignore all the expat chit-chatter surrounding you.
El Tigre
Calle de las Infantas 30
28004 Madrid, Spain
How do free drinks sound? Yes, I mean FREE. Every Thursday night it’s ladies night at Dreams, a small bar that plays mostly American music. Normally I wouldn’t want to be seen there, but since on Thursdays being a girl pays off with free drinks, I am known to be found there with a bunch of crazy girlfriends. How does it work? Well, as you walk in you get a plastic cup. Don’t lose it, because it’s the only one you get. You just go to the bar, fight off all the other rabid chicks, and get it filled. When you’re done, you go do that again. And again. As long as you want. Of course the drinks don’t taste that great, but oh well, can’t be picky if you’re getting stuff for free. So, how does the bar make money? They charge guys 10 euros to come in and take a chance to pick up on one of these MANY unlucky girls. Unlucky because only idiots end up there. If you want to find an actual good man… well, Spain is the wrong place altogether.
Dreams
Calle Hileras 9
28013, Madrid
For free or very cheap good food and drinks there are quite a lot of places… but I will slowly give them out… I’m not ready to see you there hanging out at my places yet.
For free cultural activities, remember that most museums in Spain have free days (look at their websites), and check out these links:
Without Money/Sin Dinero- Here you will find listings of free stuff to do in Madrid or Barcelona in SPANISH
Katia’s Blog- My friend’s blog. She regularly updates it with info on free stuff going on in Barcelona. ENGLISH.
A Fin de Mes/ At the End of the Month- Tells you about how to get random free or super cheap things all throughout Spain. In SPANISH.
Barcelona Gratis- A great listing of EVERYTHING that is free in Barcelona, culturally-speaking. SPANISH.
Don’t forget to find out what your local “okupas” are up to… they always have free stuff going on! From free meals to free clothes to free drugs to free classes to free housing to free activities…
