Welcome to Madrid, the capital and largest city of Spain. It lies on the River Manzanares in the heart of the Iberian Peninsula, about 660 metres above sea level, and is the second-largest city in the European Union after Berlin. Madrid began as a walled military outpost in the late 9th century, under the Emirate of Córdoba, and after 1561 it became the permanent seat of the royal court. Today it is the political, economic and cultural centre of the country, and home to the football clubs Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid. Let us set off through its great museums, palaces and squares.
Museo del Prado
Photo: Emilio J. Rodríguez Posada · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsStep inside the Museo del Prado, the main Spanish national art museum. Founded in 1819, it grew out of the former Spanish royal collection and holds European art from the 12th century to the early 20th century. Francisco Goya is the most extensively represented artist here, alongside masters such as Bosch, El Greco, Rubens, Titian and Velázquez. Velázquez himself helped bring many of the museum's Italian masterpieces to Spain, making this one of the largest collections of Italian art outside Italy. Together with two nearby museums, the Prado forms Madrid's Golden Triangle of Art.
Royal Palace of Madrid
Photo: Tim Adams · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsIn front of you rises the Royal Palace of Madrid, the official residence of the Spanish royal family. With 3,418 rooms, it is the largest palace in Western Europe. It stands on the site of the old Alcázar, which grew from a Muslim-era fortress of the 9th century and burned down on Christmas Eve 1734. A new and more sumptuous palace was then built from scratch for the Bourbon dynasty between 1738 and 1755. Notice how the façade contrasts grey granite with white limestone, and look out for the Sabatini Gardens and the Campo del Moro around it.
Plaza Mayor
Photo: Jorge Franganillo · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsWelcome to the Plaza Mayor, the main square and once the centre of Old Madrid. It was first built between 1580 and 1619, during the reign of Philip the Third. The square is rectangular, 129 metres by 94 metres, and famous for the uniformity of the buildings that enclose it. Count the balconies if you like: there are 237 of them overlooking the square. You can enter through ten entrances, each named for its historical or geographical significance, such as the Arco de Triunfo and Cuchilleros.
Puerta del Sol
Photo: Matt Joseph · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsThis is the Puerta del Sol, the Gate of the Sun, one of the best known and busiest places in Madrid. It began as a gate in the 15th-century city wall, and it took its name from the rising sun that decorated the entrance, because the gate faced east. Here you stand at kilometre zero, the centre of the radial network of Spanish roads. Look up at the famous clock: its bells mark the traditional eating of the Twelve Grapes at New Year, a celebration broadcast live since 31 December 1962.
Buen Retiro Park
Photo: Max Alexander / PromoMadrid · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsTake a breath of fresh air in El Retiro, one of the largest city parks in Madrid. Its full name means Good Retreat Park, and for centuries it belonged to the Spanish monarchy, until it became a public park in 1868. Covering 1.4 square kilometres at the edge of the city centre, it is full of gardens, monuments, galleries and an artificial lake. Its story began with a royal retreat built beside a monastery church, later enlarged after Philip the Second moved the court to Madrid. Since 2021 the park has been part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with the Paseo del Prado.
Museo Reina Sofía
Photo: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsHere is the Museo Reina Sofía, Spain's national museum of 20th-century art, named after Queen Sofía and inaugurated in 1992. It stands near Atocha station, at the southern end of the Golden Triangle of Art. Inside you will find collections by Spain's two greatest 20th-century masters, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí. The most famous work of all is Picasso's 1937 painting Guernica. The museum also houses a free-access art library with over 100,000 books.
Almudena Cathedral
Photo: Fernando · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsOpposite the Royal Palace stands the Almudena Cathedral, seat of the Archdiocese of Madrid. Surprisingly, when the capital moved to Madrid in 1561, the city had no cathedral at all, and plans for one dedicated to the Virgin of Almudena were postponed again and again. Construction finally began in 1883, and it took more than a century to finish. The cathedral was consecrated by Pope John Paul the Second in 1993, and much of its final appearance was designed with its regal neighbour in mind.
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
Photo: Badefa · CC0 · Wikimedia CommonsFootball lovers, welcome to the Bernabéu in the district of Chamartín, home of Real Madrid since 1947. The stadium is named after the former player and president Santiago Bernabéu, and it has a retractable roof. It is one of the most famous football venues in the world, hosting the European Cup or Champions League final four times. It was also the first stadium in Europe to host both a European Championship final, in 1964, and a World Cup final, in 1982.
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