Madrid Overview

Welcome to Madrid, the political and financial capital of modern Spain. With its incredible offer of museums, myriad of cultural activities, delicious cuisine and unbeatable nightlife, it easily rivals the best the world has to offer.

Districts

Spaniards will tell you that while the rest of the world lives to work, they work to live. Nowhere is that more evident than in the capital where the free-spirited Madrileños provide the main attraction for visitors. The unrivaled number of bars, cafés, discos, restaurants and live music venues, combined with the locals’ enthusiasm for enjoying themselves, make this the place to come for fun. You’ll still find plenty of intellectual stimulation at some of the best museums in Europe.

Sol
The heart of it all! Expect to find wonderful 19th-century buildings, shops, cafés, bars, restaurants and crowds at this busy central intersection. From here, head up Calle Mayor to Plaza de la Villa and the old historic district. Or you can take Calle Arenal and visit the Palacio Real (Royal Palace) and Teatro Real (Opera House). If you go up the Carrera de San Jerónimo, you’ll come to the Prado Museum.

Castellana
This long tree-lined boulevard is the backbone of Madrid. It’s so long that it even has three official names: Paseo del Prado, Plaza de Cibeles, and Paseo de Recoletos. La Castellana is best in summertime when the tree-lined avenues are crowded with outdoor terrazas (sidewalk cafés) that remain busy until very late with trendy, well-dressed young professionals. Come here to relax, take a coffee break, or sightsee.

Gran Vía
Traffic surges through this long, noisy avenue, along with swarms of locals and tourists. Look up and admire the eccentric 20th-century architecture built during the Franco era. You’ll find every style represented, from neo-baroque to art deco.

Madrid de los Austrias
Walk around this historic district, named after the Austrian Hapsburgs, and lose yourself amongst the cobbled winding alleys, iron balconies and leaning old buildings. It's easy to imagine you're back in the 18th century, especially at night when the street lamps give the place a romantic feel.

La Latina (The Rastro)
Just next to Madrid de los Austrias, this old district is known for its huge array of bars, cafés and restaurants and Spain's largest flea market, the Rastro. Every Sunday morning, you’ll find stalls selling everything from valuable antiques to old junk.

Retiro Park
Escape the city in huge, lush, green Parque del Buen Retiro (Good Retreat Park). Do what the Madrileños do: buy a bag of sunflower seeds or kikos (fried corn kernels), dress up in your Sunday best and stroll down the long paseo (promenade) in front of the pond overlooked by a statue of Alfonso XII. The best way to enter the park is from Calle Alcalá, passing the 19th-century Puerta de Alcalá. Right outside the park boundaries is the elegant district of Salamanca, which features several upscale boutiques and art galleries.

Moncloa and Argüelles
Nightlife, nightlife and more nightlife! This area is dominated by great tapas bars that don't even open until 9pm or later. Huertas and Plaza Santa Ana is yet another lively spot for cafés, bars and nightlife action. It is centered around Plaza de Santa Ana. Located close to Madrid de los Austrias, this is also the place to go to see live music. The crowds here consist of mainly 20 to 30-somethings.

Malasaña and Chueca
This is a fairly quiet area during the day, with winding streets and 19th-century architecture. At night it’s transformed into a busy nightlife spot as young and old mix in the many bars, discos and cafés. Malasaña is dominated by Plaza Dos de Mayo, while Chueca, one of Madrid's most cosmopolitan areas, is the epicentre for the city's gay population.

Entertainment

Madrid is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, one of the world's best cities for having fun. Madrileños don't tend to go out on the town until after midnight and rarely arrive at clubs before 3am. However, even if your entertainment tastes are more sedate, you won't be disappointed (unless you were planning on having dinner at half past six!).

The city is brimming with art galleries of every taste and there are museums devoted to every subject from famous painters to famous motorcyclists. The three most important collections of art in Spain are all within walking distance of each other in what’s known as Madrid's "Golden Triangle."

The cinemas are concentrated along the Gran Vía east of the Plaza de España. Movies tend to be dubbed into Spanish so if you want to see them in the original language, make sure it specifies V.O. (versión original) in the listing.

Lots of bars and clubs put on a traditional tablao where you can watch flamenco dancing in its different forms. As for music, jazz aficionados can choose from a number of clubs in the Huertas district. Rock/Indie music can be heard in small places like Suristán, which has been operating for several years and regularly has alternative and world-beat concerts.

There are dozens of "mainstream" theatres, often showing works by famous Spanish dramatists, many of whom have metro stops named after them (Quevedo, Tirso de Molina).

Nightclubs are everywhere. Some are cheap, while others are outrageously expensive. You can find every type of music including techno, salsa, merengue, house, hip-hop, acid, disco and anything else you can think of. Many don’t open until midnight and only fill up at 3am. The Chueca district has mainly gay clubs. The Malasaña district offers plenty of rock, grunge, indie and alternative clubs, and the Huertas district is the place for latin and jazz clubs. Your first drink is usually included if you pay a cover charge. Beware of the expensive drink prices in some of these clubs. Madrileños love their nightlife, and they're willing to pay for it!

Dining and Drinking

Good food and drink are central to life in Madrid, and there’s no shortage of either anywhere in the city.

The bars are full of people having tapas along with a drink. Two of the most popular tapas are boquerones en vinagre (marinated anchovies) and empanada (pastry filled with tuna and tomato). Or you might find people sharing raciones, which are larger versions of tapas. The area around Plaza de Santa Ana is a popular place to tapear (have tapas in one or more places). Bars usually have both tapas and raciones menus to choose from.

Spaniards in general, and the people of Madrid in particular, are proud not to be bound by the rigid timetables that other nationalities follow. They’re happy to sit down to a three-course lunch with wine and coffee at three o'clock in the afternoon before returning to work. Many foreigners see it as "wasting" two whole hours when they could be working, and they wonder how anyone could eat and drink so much and then continue to do any constructive work.

Where To Stay

Madrid offers visitors a full range of accommodation options, from the most luxurious five-star hotels to small affordable hostels.

Did You Know?

Madrid towers as Europe's highest city at 2,100 feet.

Orientation/Geography

Madrid, Spain's capital, sits in the center of the country which resembles an obese peninsula. Pamplona, with its bull rampaging streets, lies 253 miles north near the border of France. Barcelona basks 385 miles northeast along the Mediterranean coast. Seville, near the Strait of Gibraltar, lies 287 miles south, and the Mediterranean Sea splashes 218 miles directly east.


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