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Luxury Travel Destinations
Destinations > Madrid, Spain: Home
Madrid, Spain
City Facts
| Madrid Population | 5,145,000 *
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| Spain Population | 41,184,000 *
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| Currency | Euro (EUR)
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| Time Zone | GMT + 1 hour
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| Language | Spanish
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* Source: UN Population Division 2005 estimate
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| Our favourite hotel in Madrid | |
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Hotel Ritz - Madrid
"Thanks to the quality of its service and its incomparable presige, Ritz has gained a position among the best ten hotels of the world." - Beatriz Roldán, Tempus Magazine 2006
Rating: 
Facilities: Wellness centre, restaurants, bars and much more.
Why: One of the original grand luxury hotels in Europe.
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Madrid HomeHotelsAttractionsMapsPicturesRestaurantsWeather
Madrid Home
Introduction
Madrid is the capital of Spain, set deep in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula, at the highest altitude of any European capital. Its summer is hot; and its winter, though often brilliantly sunny, somewhat cold.
Founded several hundred years ago as an imperial centre and fought over in a vicious civil war in the first half of the twentieth century, Madrid has matured into a stylish and vibrant city.
Government, finance and the media industries give the city its economic vitality. Buildings of the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries make up much of an impressive city centre. Some are now world-class museums, others part of the daily life of the Madrilenos, as the city's natives are known. Nightlife, theatres, and film are famously busy. Restaurants draw on the traditional cuisine of Castile, Madrid's local region, and of many other cooking styles from around Spain, Europe and the world.
Arts and Events
Carnevale takes hold of the city at various dates in February and March. For the particular festivals of Madrid the celebrant must wait till May: on the 2nd comes the Fiesta de la Comunidad de Madrid, and on the 15th the Fiestas de San Isidro. For some the festivals seem to continue all year long - Madrid's nightlife is an ebullient and exciting affair.
Daylight reveals two squares at the city's center: the Puerta de Sol and the Plaza Mayor. A stiff walk away are: the Prado, one of Europe's great museums, inheritor of some of the world's finest paintings; the Reina Sofia, home to much modern Spanish painting, including Picasso's "Guernica"; and the Thyssen-Bornemisza, comparatively small, but with some fine works.
Sports fans may revel in the performances of Real Madrid, one of the most successful soccer (football) teams in Europe; or in the bullfighting (season's climax in mid-May).
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