I love Madrid for may reasons and I have visited it many times.  I felt inlove with Madrid in 1952 when I went there during my honeymoon trip to Europe.  It is not a bargain to shop in Spain anymore, but still I love to window shop, specially the wonderful department stores that can put to shame ours that are pretty good.  I love the many restaurants, but I try to avoid  tourist traps, where shows  included.  As in many other c ities in Europe they are expensive and  the food mediocre.   The Prado, Thysen, Reina Sofia  are jewels but  there are may other smaller museums in Madrid worth visiting.   The only bad experience I have suffered in Spain are related  to airlines and airport services.  During this last trip I found  that the airline (Iberia) does't give the number of the departure door until half hour before the flight.  At arrival I found that it was changed back again to the previous announced one.  Since the travel time from one to another toop me almost 25 minutes.  I could not make it back again to board my flight to London where I had to cannect with  the one to Los Angeles.   After an employee of the airport informed her superiors of my problem  and moments of terrible anguish, she took me  through an special route used only by employees .  I made the flight but I was exausted and ready to colapse. At Heathrow the ordeal was similar for althuogh I had almost two hours to board my next flight, the security lines were huge and the airport  somewhat disorganized after a recent security threat,  I would say tha this time Heathrow was not my favority airport to make connections, but still beats Madrid's Barajas anyime.