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e-travel-to Madrid
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One of the city’s main attraction are its inhabitants with an infectious
thirst for street fiestas and not forgetting the thousands of bars, clubs,
restaurants, cafes and chiringuitos, which transform the streets into hubs
of buzzing activity throughout the night. However Madrid is a capital city
and as such looks like any other modern capital with vast expanses of high
rise buildings and sprawling suburbs. Nevertheless, the city center and most
of the key attractions including some large parks are easily explored on
foot. Madrid’s location at the very heard of Spain makes it a convenient base to explore the country further. Within a relatively small radius of the city lie such national treasures as Toledo, El Escorial and Segovia offering some breathtaking attractions and sights. AttractionsThe Greater Madrid area is full of attractions for all ages. As Europe's most elevated city (2,120 feet), warm, welcoming Madrid also is quite compact. Its main north-south artery, Paseo de la Castellana (turning into Paseo de los Recoletos and Paseo del Prado), links the city's two primary train stations, Chamartín and Atocha. The oldest quarters are between Paseo del Prado (with fabulous galleries) and Palacio Real to the west. Modern-day Madrid stretches east into the 19th-century grid of the Barrio de Salmanca and north through neighborhoods of Chamberi and Chamarti. Midway, the barrios southeast of Puerta del Sol lead to the Lavapiés district, filled with restaurants, bars and cafes. The densest concentration of overnight accommodations are around Puerta del Sol, Plaza de Santa Ana and the barrios of Malasaña and Chueca (for pensiones and hostales) and along the Gran Vía (for hotels). The section of Madrid worthy of culinary exploration is in the center, between the Royal Palace and midtown forest, the Parque del Buen Retiro. No other European capital has a city center so congested so late into the night, as though city ordinances demand that no one retire for slumber too early. Madrid restaurants, eateries and bars provide a kaleidoscope of nocturnal revelry. Despite ambitious modernization programs in the works, Madrid residents take pride in knowing their city remains refreshingly distinct from Paris, London, Rome, or other capitals.Botanical Garden
Garden / Arboretum, Park Retiro. Call (91) 420-3017 for more information. Casa de America As a cultural center and art gallery, Casa de America focuses on Latin America. The casa within the Palacio de Linares is said to be haunted by its builder, who made a fortune in the New World and returned to a life involving disturbing deaths. Paseo de Recoletos 2. Call (91) 595-4800 for more information. Church of San Nicolas The red brick tower of the Church of San Nicolas is one of the oldest buildings in Madrid, possibly built as part of an Arab mosque. Others believe it was built after the Christian conquest of 1085. Brickwork and horseshoe arches indicate it was crafted by either Moorish workers or Spaniards. Exhibits inside detail the Islamic history of early Madrid. Plaza San Nicolas. Call (91) 559-4064 for more information. Museum of Archaeology Sharing a neoclassical building with the National Library, the Museum of Archaeology’s big attraction is a replica of prehistoric café paintings found underground in Altamira and Cantabria, where access is quite restricted. Calle Serrano 13. Call (91) 577-7912 for more information. The Prado Museum The Prado, Madrid’s chief attraction, was commissioned in 1785 by King Carlos III as a natural science museum. By completion in 1819, emphasis had shifted to art gathered by royalty since the era of Ferdinand and Isabella. Works of Spanish masters Goya, Valazquez and El Greco are here along with masterpieces of Flemish and Italian artists. Paseo del Prada. Call (91) 420-3662 for more information. Queen Sofia Art Center Madrid’s modern art museum, often called the Sofidu after the Pompidou modern art center in Paris, showcases Picasso’s famous Guernica, depicting the horror of 1937 Nazi bombing of the Basque town of Guernica. Also on display are major Cubist and Surrealist works including Salvador Dali’s The Great Masturbator (1929), and The Enigma of Hitler (1939). Santa Isabel 52. Call (91) 467-5062 for more information. Plaza Santa Ana Plaza de Santa Ana is one of the prettiest and most vibrant, and Plaza de la Paja is tranquil, tumbling down the hill in the heart of Madrid's oldest barrio, or neighborhood. Plaza Mayor The Plaza Mayor is an extremely grand 17th-century arcaded square in the heart of Madrid. In the past, the square was the location of great festivals, ceremonies, plays, and even the crowning of Kings. Unfortunately, it has also seen some less than savoury events such as bullfights and the public burnings of heretics. What can’t be disputed is that the Plaza Mayor has played a vital role in Spanish history. Royal Palace Opulence reigns within the 2,800 Royal Palace rooms where a two-hour guided tour winds along for more than a mile of gilded splendor. Highlights include King Carlos III’s private Rococo décor apartments, the grand throne room and the banquet hall seating up to 140 for state dinners. The royal library has a first edition of Cervantes’ Don Quixote, the royal music museum has five stringed instruments by Stradivarius, and the royal pharmacy has vials and flasks used for the king’s medications. Calle Bailen. Call (91) 559-7404 for more information. Royal Tapestry Factory Operating continuously since 1721, the Royal Tapestry Factory crafts rugs and tapestries for Spain’s royals. Both modern methods and traditional tapestry-making techniques are showcased alongside an exhibit of tapestries created through the years representing what is on display at palaces throughout Spain. Fuenterrabia 2. Call (91) 551-3400 for more information. Taberna de Antonio Sanchez As Madrid’s oldest tavern, looking much as it did when opening in 1830, the Antonio Sanchez has dark walls lined with bullfighting paintings, a zinc bar and a pulley system for hoisting wine casks from the cellar. Meals are served in a rear dining room, with bull’s tail stew among specialties. Meson de Paredes 13. Call (91) 539-7826 for more information. Thyssen Museum As the newest of Madrid’s three major art centers, the Thyssen’s collection of 800 paintings traces the history of Western art. Showcased are examples from 13th century Italian Gothic through 20th century American Pop. Works were assembled by Swiss industrialist Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza and his father. In 1993, the baron, urged on by his wife (a former Miss Spain), gave the collection to Spain. Paseo del Prado. Call (91) 330-2800 for more information. |
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| As you admire it, you'll become aware that people are again
wandering, this time down the tree-lined centre of the Paseo del Prado, the
elegant and shady boulevard that cuts through the heart of Madrid. There is a good chance that they are making for the Museo del Prado, the highpoint of Madrid's only attraction of international renown - the Golden Triangle of Art. Rarely has an art gallery been designed with such forethought. The Museo del Prado's high ceilings, ample natural light and ornate pillars provide the perfect backdrop to the wonders of Goya, El Greco and Velasquez. Across the boulevard, the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza is possibly the finest private collection of fine art anywhere in the world, with Picasso and Gauguin rubbing picture frames with Caravaggio and Jackson Pollock. As if that weren't enough, the Centro de Arte Reina Sofi a is an outstanding collection of more contemporary artists - Picasso's Guernica in all its disturbing intensity is the highlight among many. What makes the Madrid art experience all the more pleasing is that these are not relics captured in time for the benefit of tourists. Madrileos love their art and love being able to find so much of it on their doorsteps. For this reason, you're as likely to hear Spanish spoken in the galleries as you will the languages of the world. In true Madrid fashion, there is even a story that somehow manages to combine Madrid's reputation for raucous energy with the sophistication of high art. A few years ago, the Museo del Prado organised a special exhibition of Velazquez. It lasted for months, but madrileos, being madrileos, tended to leave their visit to the last moment. Not just the last day, but the last evening of the last day. The doors shut, as scheduled, at 9pm, only for those inside to be assailed by an angry mob pounding on the doors, chanting "we want to come in". The museum's authorities bowed to the pressure - perhaps being locals themselves, they understood the need for flexibility - and reopened the doors, not closing them again until after midnight. Only in Madrid could an exhibition of 17th-century paintings cause a near riot. Only in Madrid would people see viewing great works of art at midnight as an entirely normal requirement. But therein lies the essence of Madrid - its marriage between irresistible glamour and accessible sophistication. Nowhere is this more evident than just up the hill in the Parque del Buen Retiro, Madrid's enormous gardens, a luxuriant stand of greenery and marble statues that is all too rare in the heart of a European capital. On any Sunday afternoon in summer, there is the unmistakable feeling that all of Madrid has gathered here. Families watch impromptu puppet shows alongside equally impromptu games of football on the lawns. Chinese fortune-tellers perch alongside South American musicians while courting couples enjoy a lazy boat ride. As sunset draws near, drummers and dancers pound out energetic rhythms in the shadow of the Retiro's grand monuments of distinction as more people than seems possible come, drawn by the infectious improvisation that fills the night. Such scenes are Madrid in microcosm, with everyone energetically doing his or her own thing, but more often than not doing it together. Better still, there's no such thing as a stranger because everyone is invited. |
