Madrid Holiday Information
What can you expect from a holiday in Madrid? The Spanish capital is a grand, exciting, elegant city with great shopping, world-class museums and galleries, trendy pavement cafes, fabulous cuisine, a lively nightlife scene of bars and clubs and a cosmopolitan atmosphere.
From its central Spain location and high altitude (it is Europe’s highest capital city) Madrid enjoys good year round weather with warm summers and cool winters. The city itself is home to over three million people and attracts over six million tourists every year. As well as being Spain’s financial, industrial, political and commercial hub, Madrid also has so much for the holidaymaker to enjoy (even if the nearest beach is nearly 200 miles away).
Much of the city is characterized by large public squares, known as plaza’s, where you will find shops, historic buildings and many of the superb galleries and museums. Madrid is also not short of green space and there are several large parks offering a leafy break from the hustle and bustle. If you are lucky you may time you holiday to Madrid to coincide with one of the many festivals the city plays host to. The largest of these is in May, when the city holds the two week long San Isidro festival – a celebration of bullfighting by day and non-stop parties at night.
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Explore Madrid
Madrid is a city rich in attractions and things to see and do. Begin with the Plaza Mayor in the centre of the city – considered to be one of Spain’s finest squares; it is a great place to admire the 17th century architecture that surrounds it. Also well worth a visit is the Royal Palace, surrounded by gardens that are now partially open to the public, it is a magnificent example of 18th century art. There are also 15 important museums, dozens of galleries and several private collections all of which are open to the public. The three most famous museums in Madrid are the Prado, the Reina Sofia and the Thyssen Bornemisza museum and here you can see works by Picasso, Dali and Miro amongst others. Take time out from Madrid culture to relax in a cafe and perhaps enjoy your second breakfast of the day (it is typical in Madrid to have two breakfasts – one early in the morning and one around 11am). Sports fans will know all about Madrid’s passion for football and the city is home to Real Madrid and Athletico Madrid, two of Spain’s best soccer teams. If you can’t get tickets for a match to experience the atmosphere first hand, it is still worth visiting the Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium or Athletico’s Vicente Calderon Stadium, both of which hold close to 100,000 people. Those who prefer to shop will not be disappointed on a holiday in Madrid. The city has over 50,000 shops so a good place to start browsing is with a stroll along calle Mayor which is full of shops of every type. Also the exclusive Salamanca area is great for designer shops and high-end retailers. After a day’s shopping or sightseeing there are limitless restaurants and bars where you can quench your thirst and prepare for the evening ahead. All cuisines are catered for and surprisingly, being so far from the sea, Madrid is well known for its excellent fish and seafood restaurants. Finally, no Madrid holiday would be complete without experiencing the city’s nightlife. The locals are well used to late evenings and it is no surprise to find more traffic on the road at 4am in the morning than during the day! There are several popular nightlife areas where you will find not just clubs but also theatres and cinemas. If you want a night at Madrid’s hippest clubs then head for the Chueca area of the city which is not just the centre of the city’s gay scene but is also the place to see and be seen.