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Madrid Holidays, Hotels & Travel Guide
Travel guide to hotels & holidays in Madrid
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Madrid Holidays Overview
A guide to holidays in Madrid - Madrid may be lacking in architectural beauty
compared with other major Spanish cities, but it makes up for this
with its boundless energy, blue skies, art, culture and some of the
most exhilarating and exhausting nightlife in Europe. The city is
compact and easy to navigate on foot - most of the sights of
interest are found in the downtown area between the Royal Palace
and Parque del Retiro.
The capital of Spain
since 1562, Madrid sits in the geographic centre of the Iberian
Peninsula and has long been an important stop on any art tour
through Europe. The famous Museo del Prado on the city's 'Museum
Mile' houses important works by Spanish and European masters from
the Renaissance onwards, while the Museo Thyssen-Bornemiza houses
one of the most extensive private collections in the world. The
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia is devoted to 20th
century Spanish art, with works by Miro, Dali and
Picasso. Visitors wishing to take a break from
all that art may want to see the Plaza de Toros, Spain's largest
bullring, where regular bullfights are still held. Sports fanatics
who like something a little less blood-thirsty can watch Real
Madrid, or Atletico de Madrid, Spain's most famous football teams
kick off. The city sits atop a plateau and is
the highest capital in Europe, making its climate somewhat extreme
with steaming hot summers and bitterly cold winters. Spring is the
best time to visit and explore the squares and alleyways in the
heart of this crowded city.
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Madrid
holidays - Top Places To Go
1. The Prado
Paseo del Prado
museoprado.mcu.es |
What is it? Madrid's world-famous attraction is the
213-year-old Prado Museum, one of the world's greatest art
galleries, with more than 7,000 paintings that include masterpieces
by Fra Angelico, Botticelli, El Bosco, Titian, Rembrandt and
Velazquez. The museum began as a Royal collection, which succeeding
dynasties have added to. The collection naturally focuses on the
Spanish masters, particularly Goya, whose exhibited works follow
the development of his painting from the sun-soaked early scenes of
joyful festivities to the grim madness characterising his 'black
period'. The Prado has few equals - whether you are an art lover or
not.
Hours of Operation: Tuesday to Sunday 9am to 8pm
Phone:91 330 2800 |
2. Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
Villahermosa Palace, Paseo del Prado 8
www.museothyssen.org |
What is it? The second gallery in Madrid's 'golden
triangle' of art museums is the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, housing
the former private collection of the Thyssen family, which was
bought by the city to enrich its fund of art treasures. The
collection, in the restored 18th century Palacio de Villahermosa
near the Prado, contains more than 800 paintings, sculptures,
carvings and tapestries, ranging from primitive Flemish works to
contemporary pieces. Among the highlights are works by Renoir,
Durer and Van Eyck. The collection includes some major American
works as well.
Hours of Operation: Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 7pm
Phone:91 369 0151 |
3. Reina Sofia National Art Centre Museum
Calle Santa Isabel 52
www.museoreinasofia.es |
What is it? The third of Madrid's famed art galleries,
the Reina Sofia, is dedicated to 20th century Spanish art, having
been designed to give Spain a museum to equal France's Pompidou
Centre and London's Tate Gallery. The museum was opened by Queen
Sofia in 1986, and is housed in the former Hospital de San Carlos
at Calle Santa Isabel 52. The artworks displayed here include those
of Juan Gris, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro and Pablo Picasso. The star
attraction of the museum is Picasso's controversial
Guernica, depicting the Nazi bombing of the
Basque town in 1937 in support of Franco's cause in the Spanish
Civil War. Until 1980 this painting hung in New York's Museum of
Modern Art.
Hours of Operation: Monday to Saturday 10am and 9pm, and on Sundays
between 10am and 2.30pm. Closed on Tuesdays
Phone:91 774 1000 |
Madrid
holidays - Top Events
1. Madrid Carnaval
From 2007-02-14
To 2007-02-21
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What is it? Madrid's traditional medieval carnival was
revived in 1976 after being squashed for 40 years under Franco's
regime. Revellers now exult in this plethora of partying and
parades every year, with the action centred around venues like the
Casino and the Circulo de Bellas Artes. Carnaval opens with a huge
parade along the Paseo de la Castellana, and there are fancy dress
competitions and an evening concert in the Plaza Mayor. The end of
Carnaval on Ash Wednesday brings on the bizarre traditional 'Burial
of the Sardine' parade, with the participants all dressed in black
carrying a cardboard sardine in a coffin to be mournfully buried at
the Fuente de los Pajaritos. For more information contact the
Madrid Tourist Office on 91 588 1636 or 91 366
5477.
Where is it? |
2. ARCO
From 2007-02-15
To 2007-02-19
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What is it? Arco is Europe's largest contemporary art
fair (drawing around 200,000 visitors) and turns Madrid into the
centre of the international art world during its five-day run each
year. About 200 contemporary art galleries are represented in the
exhibition, along with a programme of lectures, social events and
related activities.
Where is it? The Crystal Pavilion of the Casa de Campo |
3. Autumn Festival
From 2007-10-11
To 2007-11-09
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What is it? Madrid becomes a perfect roost for culture
vultures in autumn when more than 50 dance, theatre and musical
groups from countries throughout Europe, the Middle East and
America participate in a programme of opera, ballet, dance, music
and theatre at about 40 venues throughout the city. The varied
selection at this premier cultural festival spans everything from
chamber music and classic plays to flamenco and hip-hop. For more
information contact the Madrid Central Tourist Office on +34 (0)91
588 2900 or email infomadrid@munimadrid.es
Where is it? Various |
4. Fiesta de San Isidro
From 2007-05-15
To 2007-05-15
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What is it? Madrid goes wild each May in honour of the
city's patron saint, San Isidro, with a traditional round of
partying, feasting and dancing in the streets that goes on for
about 10 days around the designated saint's day, 15 May. The city's
streets are dominated by music, and each neighbourhood (barrio)
chimes in with their own street party or traditional celebration.
The city's squares become centres of performances of everything
from flamenco to rock 'n roll, while spectators feast on
traditional ice cream and doughnuts. San Isidro's fiesta also
signals the start of the city's bullfighting season at the Plaza de
Toros Monumental de Las Ventas. For more information dial the
Tourist Information line on 010 (Madrid) or +34 (0)91 540 4040\4010
(when calling outside of Madrid).
Where is it? Plaza Mayor, Plaza de las Vistillas, Plaza de las
Comendadoras, Plaza de Felipe II, Parque del Retiro and the Centro
Cultural de la Villa in the Jardines del Descubrimiento |
5. International Gourmet Fair
From 2007-05-01
To 2007-05-31
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What is it? A paradise for food and wine lovers, the
annual Madrid Gourmet Fair has improved every year since it was
first held in 1987 to showcase Spain's fine food and beverages.
Traditionally the fair opens with the entertaining 'Ham Carving
Competition' (ham being a staple delicacy in Spain, and gourmets
being particularly partial to ham from acorn fed pigs). There is
also wine-tasting, a gourmet cook-off in which top chefs from
Spain's autonomous regions compete, a 'Spanish cheese' contest and
of course plenty of delights to sample at the stands of more than
700 national and international exhibitors.
Where is it? Casa de Campo Exhibition Centre |
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