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As well as being a world centre for Art, Madrid is a delightfully compact city break, with main attractions including the great three Madrid Art galleries, Madrid old town revolving around Sol and Plaza Mayor and shops, theatres and parks all centrally placed and within a stones throw of each other. Madrid's superb metro, one of the tidiest in Europe, makes it easy to push out further to attractions such as Parque Oeste's cable car, Real Madrid's football stadium at Santiago Bernabeu and the Plaza de Toros famous Madrid Bullring at Ventas. Green spaces, the Escorial palace and even skiing in the winter around Madrid are also easily accessible via local rail links from Madrid's Atocha station.
There's a spanking new Madrid Tourist Information Centre at Plaza Colon. Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza. It's spread along the former underground passage by Paseo de Recoletos. Audio-visual screenings and more on Madrid are in here. It's where to head early on. Metro Colon/L4. Open 9.30 to 8.30 daily. Madrid's Airport Terminal 4 also has tourist information. Visit also another of Madrid's main Tourist Information Centres at Plaza Mayor' Casa de la Panaderia (Madrid Tourism Centre, Salon de Columnas de la Casa de la Panderia, Plaza Mayor 27, Madrid. Tel. (00 34) 588 16 36. Open 9.30am to 8.30pm.
Madrid City breaks are made extra easy by the fact that Madrid Barajas Airport is just 12km from the city centre. Direct links via bus, metro and taxis are all cheap as well as quick from Madrid Airport into the city. A number of UK and Ireland Airports now offer cheap direct flights to Madrid, including London/Heathrow, London Gatwick, Liverpool, Dublin, Bristol and East Midlands.
Madrid's weather is more extreme than the Spanish resorts on the coast. Winters are colder and longer, and Summers are hotter - it's a dry heat pushing often up into the 30s (centigrade) during June, July and August. Sunshine though, event during the colder winter months is often crisp and clear (good news for photographs!), and more extreme temperatures tends to mean Madrid has quieter tourist months during the peak three summer months and in December and January - good times to avoid queues at the Prado Museum! For cheap Flights to Madrid and car hire from Madrid Airport checkout the weblinks right for details or contact Iknow Holidays booking line direct for assistance.
Madrid is a world centre for art, and not just the Spanish masters, Madrid is also an International Art centre. Velazquez, Goya, El Greco, Picasso, Joan Miro and others are all here in Madrid's three famous art galleries which make up the now nicknamed Golden Art Triangle. Most popular is the Prado Museum for which there are understandable queues to get in daily - the world's best collection of Diego Velazquez, Francisco de Goya and El Greco paintings are in here. More contemporary Spanish master artists like Picasso have spent hours studying Velazquez and Goya in the Prado. Take a lesson from Picasso - the Prado is huge and demands several visits and many hours to appreciate the art gems in here.
Madrid's two other acclaimed art galleries - the Reina Sofia and the Thyssen Bornemisza can be overshadowed by the Prado, however they are equally superb for different reasons. Picasso's most famous work, and a huge panorama with intense political meaning - 'Guernica' is in Madrid's Reina Sofia gallery and naturally draws much attention. More Picasso paintings, alongside works by Joan Miro, Salvador Dali, Gris and Gonzalez are also in the Reina Sofia which focuses on 19th century to the present art. Art at Madrid's third famous art gallery - the Thysson is eclectic indeed, reflexive of the fact that this was a private collection. Flemish, Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo to Neoclassicism are all themes well covered in the collection. Surrealism, pop art and Modernism from both Europe and America are particularly well represented. You can expect to see plenty of Edward Hopper, Winslow Homer and Dali, alongside Picasso and Miro. The eclectic mix is the Thyssen's appeal, as you suddenly stumble on say Kurt Schwitters or Georgia O'Keeffe. Collections held in each of the three Madrid art galleries are comprehensively listed via their websites linked right.
Madrid's central old town, blending medieval architecture with lavish Bourbon palaces, clusters around historic Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol and the Palacio Real.
Madrid city centre is best explore on foot, and by metro to its outskirts. Streets are busy, and riding a bike around Madrid (except within the parks) isn't such a good idea. Easy to navigate around, Puerta del Sol is a good place to start, winding towards historic Plaza Mayor and Madrid's oldest square, Plaza Villa. Move on towards the Palacio Real and Placa Espana, then back via bustling Madrid main street Gran Via. Stop for a rest in one of Madrid's many city parks - Retiro is particularly pretty and has a boating lake. Other top Madrid attractions, best accessed via metro, include the cable car ride at Casa de Campo (metro Arguelles), Plaza de Toros, Madrid's famous bullring (metro Ventas) and a tour of Real Madrid's football stadium - Santiago Bernabeu.
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