The SalsaNor Rueda Congress is what we call a ‘traveling’ congress, connecting with new rueda friends in a new host city every year.  A great tradition at our congress, is therefore to spend the Friday morning out-and-about, getting to know a little bit of the place we are visiting, and perhaps dancing some rueda.

 

Luncheon and perhaps some rueda at the Retiro park

For our day out with everyone at the congress, we have chosen to meet up at 12.00, at The Square of General Martínez Campos, in the gorgeous city park, el Retiro. Here we hope to do some rueda dancing and animation, starting at noon, if everything goes as planned.

After dancing it´s lunchtime. We will be a couple of hundred people together this morning, and  we recommend to go together in groups to have the lunch of your choice. A great option is to have a picnic in the park. If this is your choice we recommend you to either bring your lunch from somewhere on the way to the park (or the Mercadona between Hotel Exe and Hotel Foro), or get something from one of the cafés inside the park. You can also choose to have a sit-down at one of the cafés in the park and have your lunch there. There are lots of excellent restaurants on the back side of the Retiro Park, along the side streets of Avenida de Menendez Pelayo (entrance Sainz de Baranda). So, many great lunch options.

 

Sightseeing

The Retiro park is in the very center of the city, and just outside the park you may enjoy the view of the Puerta de Alcala and a bit further down the avenue, the impressive Plaza de Cibeles. The park is also just 10 min walk from f.ex. the famous art museums of the Prado, the Thyssen-Bornemisza and the Reina Sofía. 

It is close to the shopping area around Puerta del Sol and Gran Via, walking distance maybe 25-30 minutes or 2 metro stops. If you go tho this area, don´t miss a walk through the old town square, Plaza Mayor, a beautiful 15th century spot.

You will most probably have time for a couple of hours of sightseeing after our Daytime Social before the afternoon workshops.

Madrid is a beautiful and huge city where you easily can fill days visiting amazing sights, and we really recommend you to take an extra day or two before or after the event to do so, if you have the chance.

 

How to get to the park from our congress venues in Trés Cantos, and back again

Our meet-up is at 12 o’clock, so we urge everyone to be there in good time before!

There are several options to get to the city centre from our venues. You can go in small groups on your own, or join one of the groups we organize. The groups will probably take the longest time, since they will be large in numbers.

By public transportation it normally takes between 45 and 55 minutes. By car/taxi it takes around 20-25 minutes. If you are going in a small group we recommend taxi to get there fast, and shared with 3-4 people it may be more convenient than public transportation.

  • Organized groups: 

We will have two organized groups going to the park, led by some of our local staff. The 1st is leaving from Hotel FORO at 10:15, the second one is leaving from Hotel EXE at 10:45. 

  • Public transportation on your own:

Bus from Tres Cantos 724 to “Plaza de Castilla”, there take the metro at the stop “Paco de Lucía” to “Ibiza”.

  • Taxi:

If you don´t see a taxi outside the hotel, you may ask in the reception, or use one of the companies that work by applications:

Cabifay
Uber
Bolt
Price range between 25 and 35 €.

Remember to calculate your time in order to be at the park at least 15-20 minutes before noon.

 

When you get to the park

The park entrance closest to our meeting point is called “Puerta de la Reina Mercedes”. If you come by underground, the stop is called Ibiza. If you come by taxi, ask the driver to leave you at this entrance, the park is fairly big.

From this entrance you will easily find Plaza General Martínez Campos.

Here you can see a map of the Retiro park with the different entrances (link)

Can’t wait for the event to start. Countdown now, only some 3 weeks to go!