|
Orientation
|
|
|
The city's layout is pretty straightforward. At the heart of Madrid - indeed at the very heart of Spain since all distances in the country are measured from here - is the
Puerta del Sol
(often referred to as just "Sol"). Around it lie the oldest parts of Madrid, neatly bordered to the west by the
RAo Manzanares
, to the east by the park of
El Retiro
, and to the north by the city's great thoroughfare, the
Gran VAa
.
Within this very compact area, you're likely to spend most of your time. The city's three big museums - the
Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza
and
Reina SofAa
- lie in a "golden triangle" just west of El Retiro and centred around Paseo del Prado, while over towards the river are the oldest, Habsburg parts of town, centred around the beautiful arcaded
Plaza Mayor
. After Gran VAa, the most important streets (
calles
- abbreviated as c/) are
c/AlcalA?
and its continuation,
c/Mayor
, which cut right through the centre from the main post office at
Plaza de Cibeles
to the Bourbon
Palacio Real
. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
|
Spain,
|