Villanueva de la Cañada

    … was already known under the name La Despernada or Espernada in the sixteenth century. During that time it was a residence for the royal class that used the property as a hunting ground. Much later in 1870 Villanueva de la Cañada counted 496 inhabitants, and has about 19,000 registered inhabitants nowadays. However, this number needs to be corrected as about 18,000 students of the two universities Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio and Universidad Camilo José Cela settle down in Villanueva during their study.

    The main street that goes straight through Villanueva is Calle Real, where you can find anything from fruit&vegetable shops, restaurants, Tabacos (for bus and metro tickets) to banks and other shops. But most of the people meet in Calle Cristo because of the low budget places like:

• copas rotas: mainly drinks and some snacks
• 100 Montaditos: drinks and many different types of filled mini baguettes
• Restaurant for mini pizzas, which is next to 100 Montaditos
• Dia: grocery store

    And there are also a

• 24/7 shop, a few places to dance (i.e. Zoe), and many other cafés and restaurants. Close to the big fountain is a post office and if you follow Calle Cristo to the smaller numbers, you should try the churros with chocolate sauce at CHURRERIA CHOCOLATERIA MUFER S.L. after a long night.

    Another popular street is Calle de Jacinto de Benavente with more cafés and bars. If you need to buy something quickly and haven’t so much time, check out the other low budget shops, mostly owned by Chinese. There are two types, one for groceries, and the other one from decoration to kitchenware and everything you need for your appartment.

    Remember that the shops are generally open from about

• 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m
• 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

    But there are always exceptions that don’t have the break between 2:00 and 5:00 p.m., like the supermarkets Supercor and Caprabo with higher prices. If your budget is low, you can either go to Dia in Calle Cristo or take the bus to the next village Brunete and buy your groceries at Mercadona.

    If you like to spend some money for better quality products, I can recommend you the markets on Tuesdays and Saturdays in Calle Santiago Apóstol which is behind the french school in Calle Cristo. Although it opens quite early you should go around 1:00 p.m. for olives, nuts, and sweets, and just a few minutes before 2:30 p.m. to buy fruits and vegetables. That are the best times to pay less for higher quantities because they are about to close and want to get rid of the rest. And it is a good practice for your Spanish anyway. For the ones that prefer organic markets with more than just fruits and vegetables, you can go to Ecotienda in Calle Empedrada.

    As you have noticed, there is anything you need in Villanueva de la Cañada. The only thing that a young student could miss are the many places to party like in Madrid.