PLAN YOUR TRIP

Introduction

In this section, we provide some information and links to help you plan your trip, including practical information: weather, business hours, currency, what you need to know about safety and security and an overview of tours and attractions.

For more detailed information on the city of Madrid, please visit www.esmadrid.es

The city of Madrid

Located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, Spain’s capital Madrid is a cosmopolitan, diverse, multicultural city, whose streets are filled with life intermingled with art and history and the traditional Spanish atmosphere of its hidden corners, museums, squares and monuments. A welcoming, fun city full of bars, cafés, parks and cultural activities, Madrid offers visitors a truly unforgettable experience.

"Historic" is only one of many ways to describe Madrid. The city is commercial, financial and industrial as well as picturesque with bull fighting, "Flamenco", El Rastro (flea market), and antique dealers and artists. The roads from Madrid also lead out to the Royal Residences; regal palaces, mansions and pavilions built by the different monarchs; their grandeur still unchallenged after so many years.

Madrid has a continental climate: hot summers and warm winters.

Culture and Art in Madrid

Madrid has one of the richest cultural heritages in Europe and the capital is home to the famous Triangle of Art: unique art galleries such as the famous Prado Museum, exclusive and private collections in the Thyssen-Bornemirzsa Museum and the most avant-garde and contemporary paintings in the national collection at the Reina Sofia Museum. Set in one of the most emblematic areas of Madrid; the Paseo del Prado, thickly covered with trees, gardens and fountains. During the reign of Carlos III (1759 – 1789), in the middle of the enlightenment, urban reformation was planned for what at the time was the outskirts of the city: the Meadow (Prado) of Saint Jerónimo. This is an area that the inhabitants of Madrid hold very dear and which they can easily explore on foot. The museums boast pieces including the works of natives Goya, Velázquez and Picasso as well as foreign masters such as Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Caravaggio, Rubens, Frans Hals and Gauguin. Art lovers can not afford to miss the opportunity to see so many classics in such a small area.

Shopping in Madrid

Another great attraction of the capital of Spain is the wide range of shopping opportunities. In Madrid you can find all kinds of shops including luxury boutiques such as those scattered around the streets of the Salamanca neighbourhood. Here you’ll find the top international brands (located in the golden mile along Ortega y Gasset Street), shops dedicated to Spanish designers and department stores. In the downtown area between Plaza de Callao and Puerta del Sol you can stroll along pedestrian shopping streets such as Carmen Street where you’ll find large modern stores alongside more traditional businesses selling clothes, shoes and music for all tastes. Other areas of the city also offer a wide range of stores selling fashion and accessories by Spanish designers. To discover new trends you can take a stroll around the area of Chueca, Fuencarral street and Almirante street. But if you look for some different shopping, you should visit the world famous flea market around the Plaza de Cascorro. Dating back to medieval times, the Rastro market is one of the oldest in Europe, yet also one of the most modern. Throngs of traders and shoppers, locals and tourists, have made the Rastro one of the most popular places in the city, a must-see in Madrid.

Nightlife in Madrid

Madrid’s bustling nightlife and leisure opportunities are famous the world over with bars, restaurants and cafés, all bubbling with activity. It is the original city that never sleeps. There are a wide range of leisure activities available for all tastes. The small cosy cafés are ideal locations to have a relaxed chat, listen to live music or have a drink. Just like Paris and Lisbon, Madrid’s history and literature was written in its cafés, on those well-known marble tables with forged iron feet that can still be seen in many parts of the city centre. Cafés such as the “Café Gijón”, “Café del Espejo”, “Café Comercial” and “Café de Oriente” hosted intellectual, erudite tertulias (gatherings) stemming from the highly traditional Spanish custom of conversing around a table.

Traditional food & tapas

The assortment of culinary delights is never ending, starting from restaurants serving typical Spanish food – you can’t leave this city without trying Spanish omelette or the wonderful Cocido- to dishes from all over the world. Tapas are as typically Spanish as the fan or bullfighting, and when you visit Madrid you should devote some time to one of the locals’ favourite sports: going out for tapas. The variety is truly impressive and there are almost as many different types of tapas as there are places in the city where you can taste them. The most traditional tapas bars can be found in the areas around the Plaza Mayor and the Puerta del Sol. The areas of Huertas, La Latina, Salamanca or CondeDuque quarters are filled with tapas bars, combining traditional cuisine with more modern, creative tapas.

A Green city

Visitors will be surprised by the more than three million trees lining the city’s many wide avenues and its public parks. Whether you choose the Retiro Park, the Botanical Gardens, the King Juan Carlos I park or any of the city’s many other green areas, you will always be surrounded by a leafy, natural environment and one of the many attractive outdoor cafés will be close at hand.

Transport

Many visitors to Madrid will be impressed by its transport network. The city has carried out major investments in recent years to improve its already extensive metro network. With 14 lines, the Madrid Metro is considered one of the best and most modern in the world. Visitors can get from one part of the city to another in times which are truly unbelievable for a city of this size. Over 100 bus routes and 16,000 taxis complete the urban transport available in this city with so many attractions on offer.