Trying to decide where to study abroad next spring? Too many choices? I promise that Madrid is the perfect place to go.

This summer, I had the amazing opportunity to take the second two Spanish classes in Madrid with a group of 40 wonderful students and 4 awesome Baylor professors. I was there for 5 weeks and had the most memorable time, while learning a lot about the Spanish culture (specifically Madrid's).

While Spain is a typical destination for college students to choose for their study abroad programs (or vacations in general), it seems as if most people (that I know, at least) pick to study in Barcelona over Madrid. Understood; I mean, Barcelona is the more popular city when it comes to movie filming locations, tourist attractions and of course, the beach. However, I promise that while other cities, such as Barcelona, are great, Madrid is the perfect place to study abroad. Take these following reasons (in support of Madrid) to mind whenever you are trying to plan your future travel endeavors.  

It’s the Spanish capital; therefore, there are endless things to do there. Whenever I was in Madrid, the coronation of the new King occurred (the throne was passed down due to the King stepping down) which has not happened since about the 1500s. This was so exciting because it all occurred in the city I was living in. In addition to that, my class got to visit the Spanish Congress building – a huge honor. It is easy to learn a lot politically and culturally by living in the Spanish capital (PLUS we got to visit the Royal Palace). 

It's CLEAN. If you have been to New York City or London, you know that the metros can be pretty dirty and the streets can be pretty littered. Madrid has a trash can probably every 30 feet and the metros are ridiculously clean. The metro closed every night from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. and it was super beneficial because the next morning, we knew the metro would be a clean and enjoyable ride.

You learn Spanish. Madrid doesn’t target tourists; this is nice because you don’t have someone approaching you at every corner (unless you are in Plaza del Sol, but don’t worry because the nightlife there is worth it). In fact, this helps you learn the language better than you would in a different city. Even if you aren’t studying Spanish, it is pretty simple to pick up the basics of the language at restaurants or just asking for directions on the streets. Living in this city helped me change my minor to Spanish and it was really helpful in strengthening my Spanish speaking. 

The Nightlife. As I mentioned earlier, Plaza del Sol was our favorite place to go when we wanted to go out at night. In Spain, they go to bars around 11 p.m. and they don’t go to clubs until around 1 a.m. Sol was our favorite place to find new bars and such, but on our last night we went to Madrid’s famous 7-story club named “El Kapital.” This place was unreal – there were hundreds of people and unlimited music. Each floor had a different theme; we had the best time.      

Truly, any travel abroad experience will be a great one; but I highly recommend you visit Madrid, as it was the best experience of my life.