|
The City
|
|
|
Madrid's main sights occupy a compact area between the
Palacio Real
(Royal Palace) and the gardens of
El Retiro
. The great trio of museums - the
Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza
and
Reina SofAa
- are ranged along the Paseo del Prado, over towards the Retiro. The oldest part of the city, an area known as
Madrid de los Austrias
after the Habsburg monarchs who built it, is centred on the gorgeous, arcaded
Plaza Mayor
, just to the east of the Palacio Real.
If you have very limited time, you might well do no more sightseeing than this. However, monuments are not really what Madrid is about, and to get a feel for the city you need to branch out a little, and experience the contrasting character and life of the various
barrios
. The most central and rewarding of these are the areas
around Plaza de Santa Ana and c/Huertas
, east of Puerta del Sol;
La Latina and LavapiA©s
, south of Plaza Mayor, where the Sunday market,
El Rastro
, takes place; and
MalasaA±a and Chueca
, north of Gran VAa. By happy circumstance, these
barrios
have some of Madrid's finest concentrations of tapas bars and restaurants. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
|
Spain,
|