• What to do in Madrid

• don Quijote Madrid
• Price list

THE CITY:

• Population: 3.600.000
• Location: center of Spain (in the region of Madrid).
• Madrid is the capital (and largest city) of Spain, and home of the Spanish Royal Family.
• Madrid-Barajas international is the Spain’s main airport and it is located 13km northeast of Madrid.
• Madrid is a city full of differences where the old town personality mixes perfectly with the modern architecture.

MADRID ATTRACTIONS:

• Madrid has over 54.000 shops. You can literally find everything you want.
• The famous monastery of El Escorial, where most of the Spanish kings are buried, is positioned near Madrid. A must see attraction.
• Due to its central location, you can visit a lot of Spanish nearby cities without travelling for hours. In one hour you can reach the cities of Segovia, Aranjuez, Avila and Toledo.
• Madrid has a significant collection of museums (the Prado, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, the Reina Sofía Museum, etc) and art galleries.
• To relax, you can wander the lanes or lie on the grass in the most famous and authentic of Madrid parks: the Buen Retiro.
• Nightlife is a primary necessity of the city: you can find hundreds of bars and puns; traffic jams at 4 a.m., lights, shows, etc. There are several essential hotspots around the city, each with its own unique style.

Madrid is located in the Spanish Peninsula heart and right in the center of the Castilian plain 646 meters above sea level. Madrid is a multinational city, a business center, headquarters for the Government, Spanish Parliament, Public Administration, and the home of the Spanish Royal Family, The capital of Spain also plays a crucial role in both the banking and industrial sectors. Most of its firms are located in the Southern part of the city, where important food, textile and metal working factories are clustered. Madrid is characterized by a concentrated cultural and artistic movement and a very lively and celebrated nightlife.

It combines the very best characteristics of any European city with a fully interactive environment: vast green areas and a continuous flow of architectural structures, business people and students. The nightlife is very animated with much taking place in its thousands of traditional bars. If you’re looking to enjoy an exclusive experience, Madrid is the right place to go.

The Madrid metropolis can trace its origins back to the times of the Arab Emir Mohamed I (852-886), who ordered the creation of a fortification, on the left bank of the Manzanares River. Later it has been disputed between the Christians and Arabs until it was conquered by Alonso VI in the 11th century. At the end of the 17th century, a defensive wall was built for the protection of the new distant areas, tracing the roads of Toledo, Valencia and Segovia. During the 18th century and under the reign of Carlos III, the great “arteries” of the city, such as the Paseo del Prado and Paseo las Acacias were designated.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Joseph Bonaparte commenced the reform of the Puerta del Sol and the surrounding areas. At the beginning of the century the commercial street known as the Gran Vía was built as an east-west avenue. In the 50's the north-south boulevard called Paseo de la Castellana was extended and modern constructions were erected, housing the major financial institutions. Remains of the past are mainly the Baroque and neoclassical structures of the 17th and 18th centuries, such as the Palacio Real (Royal Palace), Plaza Mayor (Main Square

The San Isidro celebration consists of typical Madrid folklore with fairs and dances that are organized in honor of San Isidro. People sing, dance and enjoy themselves close to the Hermitage of their Patron Saint.

At the same time, there are ballet and opera performances as well as the traditional bullfights at the bullring of Las Ventas.