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writes about Madrid
Madrid [1] is the capital city of Spain,
and is located almost exactly in the geographical
centre of the Iberian Peninsula. Madrid
is the largest city in Spain and has a population
(city) of 3.228 million (July 2005) and
5.843 million (metropolitan area). Madrid
is best known for its great cultural and
artistic heritage, a good example of which
is the El Prado museum. Madrid also boasts
some of the liveliest nightlife in the world.
Major Museums
The "Golden Museum Triangle"
Museo del Prado, (The nearest Metro stations
are Atocha and Banco de España. Bus
lines 9, 10, 14, 19, 27, 34, 37 and 45.),
[2]. Closed on Mondays and some holidays.
One of the finest art collections in the
world, and the best collection of classical
art in Madrid. It contains the famous Velazquez
piece, Las Meninas, as well many of the
Black Paintings of Goya. Includes many different
Collections: the Spanish (El Greco, Velazquez,
and Goya), the Flemish and Dutch paintings
(Rubens, van Dyck, and Brueghel), Italian
(Botticelli, Tintoretto Caravaggio, and
Veronese),the German paintings (Albrecht
Dürer, Lucas Cranach, and Baldung Grien).
Tickets are about €6, with discounts
for students, children, etc. Entry is free
on Sundays.
Reina Sofía National Museum and
Art Centre, Santa Isabel 52, 28012 Madrid
(located near the massive Atocha train station),
? (+34) 91 774 10 00 (fax: (+34) 91 774
10 56), [3]. Mo-Sa: 10.00 - 21.00, Su 10.00
- 14.30. Houses Madrid's best collection
of modern art. It includes many of Pablo
Picasso's most revered works including the
renowned Guernica. The Reina Sofía
also houses masterpieces by Miró,
Kandinsky, Dalí, Bacon, and more.
€6, free at weekends.
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum of Art, [4].
Opens from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 a.m.-7
p.m. The ticket office closes at 6:30 p.m.
The Museum is closed all day on January
1, May 1 and December 25. Contains a large
art collection including masterpieces by
Monet, Goya, Degas, Renoir, Van Gogh, Picasso,
Mondrian, Bacon and Lichtenstein. Tickets
are about €6.
Atocha RENFE. A very large train station.
The interesting thing about it is the winterhouse
jungle garden inside the main building,
complete with small turtles. Worth visiting.
El Retiro is considered to be the "Central
Park" of Madrid, the perfect place
to take a rest during a sunny day, or take
part in the drum circles around the statue
of Alphonso XII on summer evenings. There
is a large boating lake where one can hire
a rowing boat - great fun for the children!
There is a monument to the victims of the
Madrid 3/11 terrorist bombings, the Forest
of the Absent, and the Crystal Palace, a
large structure entirely made of glass.
Sunday afternoons in summer are a treat
in the park, where young hippies play bongos
and dance.
La Casa de Campo is the park at the rear
of the Palace (Palacio Real) which used
to belong to the Royal family. Much of the
park has been taken to smaller activity
parks such as the Zoo but in general it's
peaceful. From Moncloa you can take a teleferico
across into the park.
Palacio Real, (The nearest Metro station
is ''Opera''), [5]. The Palacio Real (Royal
Palace) is a enormous palace, with scorching
plains of concrete around it and the Real
Armorial (Royal Armoury), a two-story collection
of medieval weapons and armour. In spite
of its name, it is not the residence of
the current royal family. The Royal Palace,
in the Calle de Bailén, is considered
to be one of the most emblematic and beautiful
buildings in Madrid, not only for its location
but also for its architecture and the artistic
treasures to be found in its rooms. The
façades of the palace measure 130
metres long and 33 metres high with 870
windows and 240 balconies opening on to
the facades and courtyard. It has a surface
area of 100,000 square metres with 44 stairways
and more than 30 principal rooms. Also located
within the palace is the Pharmacia, which
contains hundreds of bottles of early medicines
and a reconstructed laboratory.
Catedral de la Almudena. This massive cathedral
can be found facing the Palacio Real. Finished
in the end of 20th century, it is where
the Princes of Asturias Felipe and Letizia
were married in 2004.
Gran Vía. Literally, "Broadway",
Gran Via is one of the busiest avenues in
Madrid, what you could call the main street
of Madrid, and the location of the cinema
district. The Gran Via is very similar to
Times Square in New York City. "From
the Habsburgs to Manhattan in 2 minutes".
Gran Via has a constant buzz of traffic
and life. 3-4am Early morning traffic jams
are not unusual.
Do
- Stroll on El Retiro
- Enjoy the famous nightlife of Madrid.
- Check out some Flamenco Visit the Corral
de la Moreria [6], one of the most famous
flamenco tablaos in the world. It´s
right in the heart of the city, and you
can enjoy a full fledged Spanish meal while
you watch performances by renowned international
flamenco music and dance artists.
- Watch some soccer Two teams from Madrid
play in La Liga (Spain's premier division):
Atletico de Madrid (at Vicente Calderón
stadium) and Real Madrid [7] (at Santiago
Bernabeu stadium).
- Have your portrait drawn in the Plaza
Mayor. Generally very good quality and the
prices are very reasonable.
- Cinemas offering international o.s.t.
movies can be found in inner city, consult
the daily press for what they show at the
moment.
- La Transhumancia. A yearly festival (of
sorts), in which the centre of Madrid is
traffic free and instead the streets are
filled with sheperds exercising their ancient
right to drive sheep and livestock through
the city.
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