The Capital City Of Madrid

Located in the middle of the Meseta, Madrid is the highest capital city in Europe with an altitude of 660 m. It is a city that has a particular historical past, but its location in the heart of the 18 autonomous regions of Spain makes it ideal to play its role of capital city. It was made the capital for this reason and this event took place in 1521, when Philip II moved the court here from Toledo.
Because of its altitude and its distance from the sea, Madrid is a city to visit in spring or autumn, in the other seasons the weather conditions in Madrid are not the best; the winters can be freezing cold, while summer is usually torrid.
Thanks to its understanding cultural activity centered on the development of the “Paseo del Arte”, and also to its multicultural, excellent food, excellent hotels and excellent public services, Madrid is an ideal tourism destination. Among its main attractions are the famous art galleries, the Royal Palace, the beautiful public squares and many museums that display the richness of Spanish history.

Madrid has, in fact, a fascinating journey through the history of art, with works kept in the Archaeological Museum in Madrid. The Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza covers the same periods coming up to the twentieth century, with important collections of world renown. The Centro deArte Reina in Sofia houses the collection of contemporary art and classics such as Picasso, with works that illustrate the horrors of the Civil War with Guernica. Smaller collections are housed there in the beautiful Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales.

Besides the cultural riches, Madrid also offers its visitors beautiful architectural works, like the beautiful Royal Palace and Palacio Real, built by the first Bourbon king of Spain. With its extraordinary attention to the decoration details, the building dominates the western part of Old Madrid. Among the most famous squares is certainly the majestic Plaza de Cibeles, bordered by impressive buildings such as the Banco de Espana and the main post office in Madrid. The Parque del Retiro, with its shady streets, is surrounded by an imposing colonnade, with its elegant shops in the streets of Salamanca.

The administrative part of Madrid is located in the northeast, on the Paseo de la Castellana, which extends to the Paseo del Prado, forming the great north-south axis of the city. The east – west axis formed by roads and Calle Gran Via de Alcala, takes you to the famous seventeenth-century Plaza Mayor, the heart of the city since the days when it was used as an arena for bullfights.