CavaTravel.com: Travel Info: Madrid, Spain

Destinations > Spain > MADRID

Puerta del Sol, Madrid

Madrid is the capital city of Spain, located at its center. The city is featured in various cherished works of Ernest Hemingway and was immortalized by the great Spanish author Benito Pérez Galdós, in his novel Fortunata y Jacinta. Madrid is full of a spirit unique to a place which is both the heart of traditional Castile and a great cosmopolitan metropolis, open to all the world and innovative in its art and culture. [Full Profile]

Featured Sights
The Plaza Mayor may be the most cherished and interesting of the major tourist sites: Europe's largest enclosed, open-air public plaza, once the site of notorious autos-da-fé and even bullfights, it is now a haven for street artists, independent musicians and open-air café goers.

Instant Getaway: Parque del Buen Retiro

Right in the heart of Madrid, near the Prado Museum and Atocha train station, the Parque del Buen Retiro was the country resort for Spain's ruling monarchs, but now is a favorite sojourn for the city-dweller tired of the traffic and the noise.

Museums / Culture
Three of the world's preeminent museums are situated within a few blocks of each other at the heart of Madrid: El Prado (Goya, Velázquez, Bosch), the Reina Sofía (Picasso, Miró, Dalí), and the Thyssen-Bornemisza (Rubens, Titian, Pollock)

Architecture
Madrid is composed of a seemingly endless array of barrios, each with its own atmosphere. See refined, 18th Century monuments around the Puerta del Sol, the bawdy canyon of the Gran Vía, or the small-town feel of the quieter neighborhoods.

Restaurants
Madrid offers a taste of everything. Like many great metropoli, Madrid is home to fine cuisine from all parts. Try her ríoplatense offerings, or Las Cuevas, the underground bars favored by bohemians in the early 20th century.

Featured Favortie: La Cabaña

Parrilla argentina: An Argentine-style grill and steakhouse, features hearty food, mysteriously good "medicinal" mineral water, Argentine wines and a perilously inviting grilled provoleta cheese dish. [Contact...]

Ventura de la Vega, 10
Metro: Sevilla, Sol

Hotels
Even the busy city center boasts the full range of options, including five-star marvels and tiny one-star hostels in private homes.

Transportation
Getting around Madrid is easy, if crowded, when you ride the underground Metro. You can start from the Puerta del Sol, in the center of the city, and from there reach almost any point within the capital, including the major train stations and the airport.

Travel Facts: from

Spain's capital and largest city, home to 3,500,000 madrileños. Madrid is situated high up on the plains of Castile. At 2,200 ft above sea level, it is the highest capital city in Europe. Just to the north are the Guadarrama Mountains, snow-capped in winter. Madrid is more or less slap bang in the center of the country. The (insignificant) river that runs through it is the Manzanares.

Madrid is searingly hot in summer and can be bitterly cold in winter. Its overcrowded, buzzing streets throb with life 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. At the same time, Madrid claims to have more green space than any other city in the western world. In terms of its museums and cultural attractions, Madrid rivals—perhaps even surpasses—any other city you can imagine. Its nightlife is legendary.

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Oxígeno y ciprés: junio en España

ENTRANDO...

Camino por el pasillo abierto que lleva hasta la puerta. Me recuerdo. Recuerdo sin fallos el lugar y el sentido del lugar. Ver el mismo cactus, el encanto de las plantas que llueven sobre los muros, ver la casa, el umbral, la cara y bondad insondable de Gloria, que siempre me cuidaba tan bien, significa una colaboración improbable con el fluír temporal.

Cenamos y hablamos de literatura, de leyenda y de la verdad. Hablamos de ese espacio infinito que corre por entre los nudos y planicies de la biografía a medias.

Me encuentro entre planes, entre mundos, entre variados trayectos de un progreso incierto que se llama vida. El aire tenue y privado está repleto de fantasmas e ideales, preferencias, gustos, y todo lo demás que pueda trascender los cambios cotidianos de la vida... [Texto completo]

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MADRID BOMBING INVESTIGATION

5 DETAINED IN CONNECTION WITH THURSDAY'S ATTACKS
14 March 2004

The Spanish government has announced it arrested 5 men in connection with evidence related to Thursday's bomb attacks in Madrid. 3 of the men are Moroccans, 2 carry Indian passports but may be Spanish citizens of Indian origin. Thousands of protesters gathered outside the ruling party's HQ on Saturday, to demand answers. Suspicions turn from ETA to Al Qaeda. [Full Story]

CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT

SPAIN ELECTS ZAPATERO, VOTES OUT PARTIDO POPULAR
15 March 2004

Only three days after the worst terrorist incident in Spanish history, Spain has ousted the governing PP and installed the socialist PSOE, which had governed throughout the 1980s and the transition to democracy. Tension over issues of war and peace had been growing since 90% of Spain's population opposed its government's involvement in the Iraq war. Turnout was up 8.46% over 2000. Zapatero pledges to combat terrorism as first priority. [Full Story]

EUROPEAN UNION

EU CAMPAIGNS TO ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY
17 January 2004

The European Union requires a ban on the death penalty for all members. While the EU has been a staunch proponent of human rights, and is home to the World Criminal Court, EU officials have announced they will intensify their global campaign against capital punishment. Representatives of the EU are touring Asian countries, hoping to lobby their governments for the cessation of the practice. [For more: IHT]

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