Madrid is the capital of Spain, it is located in the heart of the peninsula, it is located 646 meters above sea level with a population over 3 million and lies about 300km away from the sea. The airport of Madrid is called Barajas and is just outside the city. It is known as a cosmopolitan city and the city is home to the Spanish Royal Family, the government and the parliament.

Tourist Information in Madrid

Madrid City Tourist Office
Plaza Mayor, 3
915 882 900 / 913 665 477
www.munimadrid.es

Tourist attractions in Madrid

Palacio Real

This is the palace of the Royal family, although they don’t live here they do use it on the date of an official state function. You are able to visit the palace and you can take a informative guide tour trough the palace that consists of 3000 rooms.

Plaza Mayor

In the Plaza Mayor you'll find a selection of pricey bars and restaurants on the outskirts of the square along with novelty shops selling hats and coins. There are artists working outside the tourist office and tourists from all over the globe hanging around this grand plaza. It did serve before as a small market square when it was first built in the 15th century. It was completely rebuilt after Phillip II made Madrid the capital of Spain and became the city's focal point as bullfights, carnivals and all the great festivals and ceremonies of imperial Madrid were held there.

Parque del Retiro

The Reteiro park is the way to escape the busy life for the inhabitants of Madrid. It is located close to the main attractions of the city. In this park you will see Madrileños drinking, sporting, relaxing or rowing around the lake in rented boats.

Puerta del Sol

Puerta del sol is the central place of Madrid and therefore the central place of Spain so it is likely that you will visit the Puerta del Sol when you are in Madrid. "Puerta" means gate and it got this name historically because in the 15th century it was the city's main, easternmost gate when under the Habsburg Kings it was surrounded by churches and monasteries. These days it is the chore of the transport system in the city and it is the most favourite meeting point for Madrileños.

Museo del Prado

The Prado Museum is Madrid's premier tourist attraction with a higher concentration of masterpieces than any other museum in the world. The best works in this museum are from great painters like Goya, El Greco and Velázquez, the great Spanish painters as well as celebrated works by Bosch, Botticelli and Rubens amongst others. The Museo del Prado hosts more than 9000 peces in its collection. The Museum is not big enough to show them all at the same time so you should Check the weekly 'Guia de Ocio' magazine to check whether any special exhibitions are on display during your visit. Normally they display about 1,500 works. You should definitely take part in the private tour of the Prado Museum and the Royal Palace accompanied by a licensed, English speaking tour guide.

Museo de América

This museum is concentrated on a collection of pre-Columbian art and artefacts in Europe. The art collection contains articles that were brought back at the time of the Spanish Conquest as well as others that have been donated by various Latin American countries. You will find here Inca stone sculptures, an funeral offerings from Peru, gold ornaments and finely modelled figurines from Colombia, Aztec masks and a Mayan illustrated manuscript from Mexico telling the story of the arrival of the Spaniards.

Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

This museum is home to Picasso’s ‘Guernica’ this piece of art is the most visited piece in Spain. You can find here works of almost every Spanish artist of this century and a lot of non-Spanish artists as well.

Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza

This museum will take you trough a chronological tour of European Painting from the 13th Century to modern times. The best works are from Italian and German Renaissance the 17th Century Dutch School, Impressionism, Expressionism and Cubism.

Transportation in Madrid

Buses

The city Bus system is nice and the bus stops are clearly marked with the destination indicated on each bus. It is recommended that a visitor purchases a "Metrobus" ticket that entitles the holder to ten trips either by Bus or by Metro.

FGC (Railway)

In Madrid are six different types of train services. All tickets for trains may be obtained at any RENFE office and station Most Travel Agents also offer this service. Further details can be obtained by visiting www.renfe.es or call them at 902 240 202

Metro

The metro system is a food option in Madrid, it is fast and not expensive It operates from 06.00 to 01.30 hrs and has over 150 stations running on 11 colour lines. You can purchase your ticket on one of the machines which are located at every metro station in Madrid.

Taxis

Taxis are not that expensive although they do charge you a minimum charge. You can recognise them by a red diagonal stripe on their doors. They have a green light on the roof of their taxi to indicate when they are available for hire and also display a sign "libre".

Food in Madrid

There are a lot of good dishes and recipes which can be considered typical of Madrid. For example the Cocido Madrileño, this is a stew combining chickpeas with vegetables and chicken, beef and pork and which is turned into a huge succulent meal. Another example is callos. Madrid's sweet tradition can be appreciated through its dessert; from torrijas which is a type of French toast, typical in the springtime and during to Holy Week, to the barquillos which are rolled wafers, bartolillos con crema which is a type of small pie with custard or the buñuelos which consists of a type of fritter filled with custard whipped cream. Very popular is Spain and also in Madrid are the tapa’s, this is an old gastronomic tradition. You can find numerous establishments specialised in serving these tapas. In the streets of Madrid serve a tapa accompanied by a small glass of wine or beer.