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Among the top-selling daily newspapers in Madrid are two that are devoted exclusively to football, La Marca and AS. Walk along any street on the night of a big Real Madrid or Atlético de Madrid match and you’ll see everyone in every bar glued to the TV. Football, as the cliché goes, is a Spanish religion, closely followed by basketball. Getting tickets to either is difficult but not impossible. The city’s sports facilities have improved dramatically over the last decade, and there are several municipally run sports centres with pools and gyms that offer a good range of other sports. For general information on municipal sports facilities, call T 91 540 39 39. The Parque del Buen Retiro and the Casa de Campo are good for cycling, jogging, and strolling, but you should head out to the mountains for some serious hiking, mountain climbing and biking. There are even a couple of ski stations less than an hour’s drive from the city, but these are best avoided at weekends when they get very crowded.
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