- What to visit in the districts of Madrid
- Walk in the center
- Madrid cultural masterpieces
The capital of Spain is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, even experienced tourists love to return to this city. They have no question of what to visit in Madrid, because cultures and styles are harmoniously intertwined here, old city buildings and trendy skyscrapers or shopping centers are located nearby.
Madrid is a treasure trove of world architectural masterpieces, found at every step, and works of painting, sculpture, stored in metropolitan museums. And the Spanish capital is also a very fun city, with the largest number of bars (per capita). Therefore, acquaintance with history can be taken in the morning, and a gastronomic tour can be carried out in the late afternoon. During the day, most likely, you will have to just sit back, as all the locals do, what to do - a siesta.
What to visit in the districts of Madrid
Many tour operators offer future guests of the Spanish capital to immediately decide what to visit in Madrid on their own, where it is better to go with a knowledgeable person. The second question that needs to be resolved is what to focus on. There are two so-called tourist zones in the city: the historic center of Madrid; new quarters of boutiques, shopping and entertainment centers, restaurants.
Depending on this, the cultural program of travelers will be built. In the old town, tourists will find Puerta del Sol, an old square, many call it the heart of Madrid and a meeting place for townspeople and visitors. In the center of the guests' attention is Gran Vía, and the surrounding areas with characteristic buildings dating back to the 17th century - Austrian, Malasanya, Arguelles.
The second tourist area of Madrid includes the Salamanca district, where the best food establishments (cafes and restaurants) are concentrated, as well as the most luxurious shops. In the Castellana area, you can feel like a man of the world, nothing specifically reminds of Spain here - offices propping up the sky, fashionable hotels with a lot of stars on their facades.
Walk in the center
One of the oldest districts of Madrid is Austrian, which got its name back in the 17th century. Tourists love to walk along its narrow streets, relax in tiny squares, admire the amazing temples of the city. In the very center of the area is the Plaza Mayor, which during the Middle Ages served as the venue for the famous Madrid bullfights, market trading and the place of execution of heretics and witches.
Today the square is filled with restaurants and bars, clubs and souvenir shops. You can see the frescoes that adorn the Baker's House and the nearby Butcher's House. It seems that life here does not stop for a second, even during the midday rest of the rest of the townspeople. Antiques are sold in local shops; you can easily buy things that are a hundred years old.
Here, nearby are streets that invite you to delicious gastronomic tours, for example, on Cava Baja you can find many authentic establishments, including taverns, wine bars, on the next street there are so-called tabernas, where delicious coffee is prepared.
Madrid cultural masterpieces
One of the architectural highlights of the capital of Spain, the locals call Las Ventas - the arena for holding bullfights. The building was built on a wave of interest in the ancient national tradition, and today it amazes tourists with its monumentality and solemnity. Built in the Moorish style of bricks of deep red color, decorated with graceful arches, statues and richly decorated interiors. The role that the building plays in the life of the capital can be evidenced by the fact that many talented people have dedicated their creations to it.
The main museum of Madrid is the Prado, it is a worthy competitor to the Parisian Louvre and the St. Petersburg Hermitage, ranks third in the world in terms of the number of collected masterpieces of world art, namely the world. Of course, the largest share of the art collections is made up of works by Spanish masters. But in the expositions and funds there are creations of the great Flemings, Dutch, representatives of other countries and cultures.
Very soon, the Prado Museum in Madrid will celebrate its 200th anniversary, city residents and museum staff have already begun preparations for this grand event. A number of unique exhibition projects are being prepared, which will open unknown pages in the life of venerable artists, as well as present ingenious creations of unknown masters.
In the first collection of the Prado Museum there were only 300 works, today the number of canvases exceeds 6 thousand, there are also sculptures, masterpieces of arts and crafts, jewelry in storage. Of the artists whose works are in this museum, the most famous are the Spaniards El Greco and Velazquez, the Italians Botticelli and Raphael, the representatives of the Flemish and Dutch schools - Rubens, Rembrandt and Bosch.
