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 Madrid
is the capital of Spain. Located
in the middle of the country,
660 metres above sea level
it gets extremely hot in summer
and cold in winter, like many
other interior cities in Spain.
If you don't like walking
in temperatures of around
40ºC it is not advisable
to visit Madrid in the Summer.
On the other hand, if you
don't mind the heat but don't
like crowds, August is the
best month as thousands of
Madrileños leave
the city to spend their holiday
month elsewhere.
Madrid is well equipped for
tourisim with its large number
of hotels
and restaurants.
It is well connected to the
rest of the country by road
and rail. The city itself
has an extremely user-friendly
underground system, bus network
and local trains to surrounding
areas. As in any major European
capital city, stations get
extremely crowded during rush
hour times.
Madrid is a charming city
with a lot of personality.
People from Madrid are friendly
and hospitable. There are
many historical buildings
and sights to visit. For further
information see: museums,
palaces,
parks
and sights
in
Madrid.
Walking around Madrid
Madrid is a lovely
city to walk around, full
of interesting plazas, buildings,
parks, shops.... Here are
a few recommendations of the
best places to stroll around
to get a real feel of the
city. For more detailed description
of Madrid's main sights, click
on the links at the bottom
of the page.
 Barrio
del Madrid Antiguo or
Madrid de los Austrias:
this is an old neighbourhood
full of bars, pubs and restaurants
with lots of history. It is
where you can find many of
Madrid's oldest buildings,
squares and monuments such
as the Palacio Real,
the Opera House,
the famous Puerta del
Sol where Madrileños
gather to greet the New Year,
the Plaza Mayor,
the Arco de Cuchilleros,
the Basílica
de San Miguel, the
Almudena Cathedral,
the Encarnación
Monastery,
the Descalzas
Monastery,
la Casa Cisneros,
la Colegiata de San
Isidro and the Santa
Cruz palace...A walk
along calle Mayor,
which goes from the Palacio
Real to the Puerta
del Sol, and which is
full of shops of every type
is definitely recommended.
Also recommended is a walk
along calle Arenal,
the location of an old church
called Iglesia de San
Ginés and many
interesting shops.
 The
area known as Madrid
de los Borbones, is
another place which shouldn't
be missed. This is where the
famous Retiro park is located.
The Barrio de Salamanca,
is one of Madrid's most exclusive
areas where the most expensive
designer shops, art studios,
hotels and residences are
located. People who enjoy
window-shopping are advised
to stroll along the streets
Serrano, Velazquez
and Claudio Coello. Two
well-known plazas (Plaza
Cibeles and Plaza Colón)
are in Salamanca, as is the
Retiro Park with its
boating lake and open-air
artists and buskers, the National
Library, the Arqueological
Museum and the Real
Jardín Botánico
(Botanic Gardens).
Many of Madrid's most important
museums are in the area known
as Alcalá: the
Prado, the Thyssen-Bornemisza,
the Reina Sofía, the
National Archeological museum,
the Military Musuem and the
Decorative Arts museum. You
can also see the emblematic
Puerta de Alcalá.
Other historical buildings
to see are the Teatro
Español, el
Congreso de los Diputados,
Atocha station, el
Café Gijón,
la Casa de Lope de Vega,
el Ateneo...
To the west of the city you
have the Gran Vía,
a commercial street where
many theatres, cinemas and
restaurants can be found as
well as the Gran Casino de
Madrid. The Plaza de
España and
the hill known as la
Cuesta de San Vicente,
which goes down from the
Estación del Norte
(the North Station) and along
el Paseo de la Florida,
eventually takes you to the
Ermita de San Antonio
de la Florida. From
the Plaza de España
you can easily get
to the Parque del Oeste
or de Rosales where
you can visit the Templo
de Debod.
In the east of the city you
can visit the famous bullring
la Plaza de Toros de
las Ventas, in the
street called calle Alcalá.
To the south of the city
you can find interesting areas
such as La Latina and
Lavapiés. This is where
the famous Rastro flea
market is located. The
Reina Sofia Museum of Art
is situated between el
Paseo de las Delicias and
el Paseo de Santa María
de la Cabeza, Embajadores
and la Ronda de Atocha.
The Paseo de la Castellana
is the centrepoint of the
city. It crosses from the
north to the south of Madrid
(the impressive Kio towers
are situated in the Plaza
Castilla), it continues
until the Plaza Colón
where it becomes the Paseo
de Recoletos until the
Plaza de Cibeles (flanked
by the main headquarters of
the Bank of Spain and the
Post Office) where it becomes
the famous Paseo del Prado.
This continues until la
Glorieta Carlos V, next
to the Atocha railway station.
The headquarters of banks,
and the most important national
companies are all found on
the Paseo de la Castellana
as well as the most famous
museums and galleries: the
Thyssen, the Prado,
the National Library,
the Science Museum...There
are also a number of government
ministeries here too: (the
Ministry for Work, the Ministry
of Defence...). The Museum
of Sculpture can also be found
here with exhibits from contemporary
artists such as Botero and
Chillida as well as buildings
such as the Picasso Tower,
the Tower of Europe and the
world famous Santiago Bernabeu
football stadium, home to
Real Madrid.
 Advice
on eating out in Madrid:
There are thousands of restaurants
offering cuisine from all
over the world as expected
in any capital city. Even
though it could hardly be
further from the coast, people
say that 'Madrid is the best
harbour in the world' referring
to the excellent fish and
seafood restaurants. The most
typical restaurants in Madrid
are called 'mesones'
or 'tascas',
serving traditional dishes
and tapas. Asian and Japanese
restaurants are very popular
in Madrid at the moment as
is creative cuisine, and some
of Spain's best innovative
chefs have restaurants in
the capital city. For reviews
of our favourite restaurants
see restaurants
in Madrid and for
reviews of what the food critics
rate as the top of the bunch,
see best
restaurants in Madrid
The best restaurants in
the area surrounding Madrid:
It is very typical for people
from Madrid to go to the area
known as the Sierra
at weekends to escape the
city. There are some excellent
restaurants in this area where
you can eat typical dishes
from the province. Here are
a few we recommend: El
Charolés in
El Escorial (c/ Floridablanca,
24, Tel: 91 890 59 75); Mesón
de la Virreina in Chinchón
(Telf: 91 894 00 15, Plaza
Mayor, 28); El Caserón
de Araceli in San
Agustín de Gudadalix,
(c/ Olivar, 8, Tel: 91 841
85 31); Casa Pablo
in Aranjuez (Telf: 91 891
14 51, c/ Almibar, 42);
Casa José
in Aranjuez (c/ Abastos, 32,
Tel: 91 891 14 88);
El Cenador de Salvador
in Moralzarzal (Av. de España,
30, Tel: 91 857 77 22); La
Ermita de los Negrales
in Alpedrete-Los Negrales
(c/Santa Emilia, 4 B, Tel:
91 851 33 71); D'Moncho
in Guadarrama (Plaza de España,
5, Tel: 91 854 33 98; La
Chimenea in Alpedrete,
c/ La Sierra, 20 (Tel: 91
854 29 36); Mesón
del Comendador in
(Plaza Mayor, 21, Tel: 91
894 04 20); Casa Sala
in Guadarrama, (on
the los Molinos road, 2, Tel:
91 854 21 21); Bodega
La Ardosa (c/ Colón,
13).
For good tapas we recommend:
Las Cuevas de Luis Candelas,
La Chata (c/ Cava
Baja, 24), Oliver (c/
Almirante, 12), El Telegrafo
(c/ Padre Damián, 44),
José Luis,
(Paseo de la Habana, 4), La
Gran Barra de la Máquina
(por Angela de la
Cruz, 22), Viña
Olivo (Infanta Mercedes/Pensamiento),
El Mesón de los Castúos,
(Infanta Mercedes, 56), Entrevinos
(c/ Ferraz, 36),
L'Antigua, (c/ O'Donnell,8),
Cervecería Santa
Barbará (c/Alcalá,149;
Goya,70; Pl.Sta. Barbara,
8),
Cuisine from Madrid:
Madrid does not have any special
dishes as such but incorporates
dishes from the province such
as hotpots and stews - popular
due to the harsh temperatures
in winter.
Some dishes to look out for
are: el Cocido Madrileño
(a type of stew),
los Callos a la madrileña
(tripe); el
Asados de Cordero
(roast lamb), Sopa de
Ajo (garlic soup),
Cabrito al Ajillo (baby
goat with garlic sauce),
Caracoles a la madrileña
(snails), Ensalada
de San Isidro (salad),
Potage de vigilia con garbanzos
(chickpea stew), Besugo
a la madrileña
(sea bream Madrid style),
Rabo de Buey con setas (oxtail
with mushrooms) , Estofado
de toro de Las Ventas (stew
made from the bulls killed
in the Ventas bullring),
Bacalao a la madrileña
(cod Madrid style),
Cochinillo asado (roast
piglet), Guisadillo
de ternera madrileño
(beef stew),
Criadillas de cordero (lamb).
Popular deserts are:
Panecillo de San Antón
de yema, Bartolillos, Huesos
de Santo, Natillas estilo
Casa Lucio, Madrileñas,
Torrijas, Churros, Leche Frita,
Buñuelos de viento.
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