La Zarzuela: racing that ends in time for lunch

Sunday mornings through October and November, first race at 11.30, gates earlier. The season runs to 29 November, part of a year of 34 race days, 160 races and €2,245,850 in prize money. October brings the Gran Premio de La Hispanidad on the 11th, plus the Gran Premio Rubán, the Gran Premio Memorial Duque de Toledo and the Gran Criterium; November has the Gran Premio 85º Aniversario.

General admission, no membership: €16 for adults, €10.50 for children, season passes at €50 and €30 through the racecourse site, under-14s free. Boxes and hospitality are booked separately. Parking is free, more than 2,000 spaces, and free shuttle buses run from Paseo Moret in Moncloa to the racecourse’s main entrance, from 10.30 on Sundays until the last race and from 17.30 on the September evening cards. Between races, look up: the rationalist grandstand, a 1940s architectural landmark of Madrid, is the building.