Overview to Madrid: Travel Guide and Tourist Information
- Madrid Information
- Eating & drinking in Madrid
- Night life in Madrid
- Getting around in Madrid
- Things to do in Madrid
- Where to stay in Madrid
- Madrid street map
Madrid is the capital of Spain - the seat of power for its Royal Family and government and the hub of the country's thrusting economy. The city was once home to the illustrious Habsburg dynasty and has lost little of its architectural grandeur over the years.
Where Madrid really stands out is in its art. Its trio of galleries – the Reina Sofia (to the south by Atocha Station), the Thyssen and the enormous Prado Museum (both slightly to the east of the city center) – make it a contender for the art-lover’s city of choice.
But as well as all this high culture, Madrid is also a city of distinct, slightly run-down, neighborhoods. In amongst all the impressive monuments and grand art galleries, you’ll find a real city full of vibrant life; a city of rare, understated beauty.
Madrid’s geographical heart, Puerta del Sol, is chaotic and full of throngs of people. More than anything else, though, it’s a place from which to get your bearings and explore the rest of the city that spreads out around it.
Slightly to the southwest of Puerta del Sol, the oldest part of the city, Los Austrias, is home to the Plaza Mayor, the Habsburgs’ spectacular centerpiece. A grand arcaded square, the plaza was once the site of feasts and even bullfights.
Further to the south lies La Latina, a part of the city center that still retains a bustling neighborhood feel. The area is home to the Rastro, the wonderful sprawling flea market, which takes place on Sundays.
To the north of the center, meanwhile, two lively neighborhoods stand side by side: Malasana and Chueca. Malasana is all scruffy café-lined plazas and busy streets full of independent shops, while Chueca is the city’s colorful gay quarter.
After a day or two’s frantic sightseeing, the Buen Retiro, a park to the east of the center, is the place to kick back and relax. On Sundays, the city convenes in a wonderful sort of mass stroll. Like everything else in Madrid, it’s a leisurely and downright civilized affair.
Few cities in Europe, or indeed anywhere else in the world, offer such a complete travel package as Madrid. For the backpacker or student traveler, the footloose inter-railer or the couple on a weekend break – anyone, in fact! – Madrid really is a city that has it all.
