It's hard to know which way to take Madrid because there's so much to see and do! Go as you wish or prepare your itinerary carefully, you will enjoy yourself. Honour to the monarchy: you can visit the Royal Palace, the majestic residence of the monarchs. To find your way around, the centre of Madrid is the Puerta del Sol, where the main streets of the capital converge. You will enjoy a concentration of artistic treasures on the wide Paseo del arte: for less than a kilometre you will cross the Prado, the Thyssen-Bornemisza, the Reina Sofía, among other essential buildings. There is also the Plaza Mayor, in the heart of the Austrias district, a majestic Habsburg porticoed square, and the Cibeles fountain, the city's emblem. Madrid is suitable for families. Faunia Wildlife Park with four ecosystems featuring 4,000 animals from all continents. The immense Casa de Campo offers attractions for everyone: a zoo, the cable car linking the Parc del Oeste on the other side of the river, an exhibition centre, the Venta del Batán where the young bulls are kept before the bullfight in the Las Ventas arenas. But you won't have really enjoyed Madrid without following a gourmet itinerary, from the market lair to the best restaurants. Try the flavours of the sea and the land, while learning about the variety and quality of wines offered by Spain, not to mention tapas. Finally Madrid is also a celebration! There are plenty of opportunities and addresses to plan fun evenings.

When to go Madrid ?

Madrid attracts tourists all year round. To enjoy a mild and sunny climate, prefer Easter and September. Winter in Madrid is quite pleasant, as the weather remains dry and sunny. In summer, temperatures rarely fall below 26°C, even at night. When there is a wind, it is usually refreshing, especially if it comes from the northern mountains. And let's not forget that Madrid is the highest capital in Europe, at 667 meters above sea level. Madrid lives to the rhythm of its festivals! The patron saints of the neighborhoods give rise to spectacular religious parades. In summer, the many villages around Madrid celebrate their patron saint for almost a week. On this occasion, the inhabitants parade behind the Virgins, bullfights are organized and dances close the evening. The atmosphere is warm, the generations mingle... Ask for the calendar Guía de Fiestas en la Comunidad de Madrid at the Tourist Office of the Community of Madrid. April, May, June, September and October are the most pleasant months in terms of weather.

During Holy Week (Easter), the processions of virgins multiply. This is a typical ritual in Spain that should not be missed. However, if you don't mind the (very) hot summer in Madrid, take advantage of the low prices of this season to mingle with the locals during the neighborhood parties in July and August. In addition, in summer, the locals go on vacation, and the city is yours! Finally, the winter, striking but bearable, offers in December another facet of the capital: the enchantment of the Navidad. The illuminations are spread all over the city and give it an air of Christmas tale. The Suma Flamenca, a flamenco festival in June, or the jazz festival in autumn, can also be attractive.

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How to go alone

This destination can be discovered alone without any worries. Public transport, which links all points of interest and a detailed tourist offer, is sufficient to make it easier for you to discover and orient yourself. And you can always take an audio-guide or use a guide to go deeper into a particular building. And above all, you have the choice of good little tables, times of idleness and strolls....

How to go on a tour

The interest of the organized tour option for Madrid is essentially economical - and even then you can concoct a low-cost stay yourself - and practical. You don't need to look at the map of the metro or the city, we do it for you and you can enjoy your discoveries. But you don't have a choice of itineraries!

How to get around

The metro is the fastest, cheapest and most reliable way to get around Madrid. Madrid's metro system is one of the most extensive in Europe. Most neighborhoods are served from 6am to 1:30am. In addition, there is a network of city buses that run day and night. A tourist ticket allows you to use all the public transport in the Community of Madrid, without limit, with packages of 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7 days, in two zones (A and T).

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Discover Madrid

To discover Madrid is to follow the thread of history and the Spanish monarchy. A history symbolized by palaces, cathedrals and squares that take us back to the time of the Habsburgs. But it's also the history of the Dos de Mayo uprising (El dos de mayo de 1808 en Madrid), when the people of Madrid resisted the Napoleonic invaders, and whose epicenter was the Malasaña district. The same district where, after Franco, Madrid freed itself from dictatorship during the Movida, a counter-culture movement that is still very much alive. And if director Pedro Almodóvar was its figurehead, music and art galleries have been carrying on the legacy ever since, alongside historic museums. But the essence of Madrid is also its typical gastronomy, its legendary soccer clubs and its parks, where it's good to recover from the frenzy of a bewitching capital.

Pictures and images Madrid

Musée Geominero. Museo Geominero
Le parlement espagnol à Madrid. alexsalcedo - iStockphoto.com
La cathédrale de la Almudena. Bertl123 - iStockphoto
Détail de la façade à bossage en pointe de diamant de la Casa de Los Picos, à Ségovie. pablo sancho beamud - Shutterstock.com

The 12 keywords Madrid

1. #Atocha

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Madrid's main railway station (Atocha Renfe) unfortunately became notorious in 2004 for the terrorist attacks that targeted it. Nevertheless, it's a very pleasant place to visit, not least because of its beautiful tropical garden, with lush plants, turtles and a warm, humid atmosphere. An emblematic place in the capital.

2. #Castizo

This adjective, which means "of pure blood", could be translated as "typically Madrilenian". Originally, a castizo was someone whose ancestors were from Madrid over several generations. But the reality is quite different. The word in fact seeks to express the essence of typically Madrilenian and, more generally, Castilian behavior.

3. #Coverts

There are so many convents that it's impossible to count the number still in use! Many of them are still home to cloistered nuns, though their numbers are dwindling... Among the best-known convents are the Descalzas, for women of the nobility, and the Incarnation, next to the royal palace. Both can be visited.

4. #Football

It's impossible to ignore the subject when you come to Madrid. There are two opposing teams: Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid. If there's a match between them during your stay, you're bound to hear about it. In simple terms, Real Madrid attracts the pijos (petty bourgeois), while fans of more modest origins are Atlético fans.

5. #Schedules

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Here, the rhythm of life is different. We have lunch at 2 - 3pm and dinner at 10pm. And these schedules imply a different way of life... The day is longer, but it's interspersed with moments of rest. In France, it's customary to give an hour's break for lunch, whereas in Madrid, we give two or even three. Siesta oblige!

6. #Marcha

The marcha is linked to the party. Ir de marcha or dirty marcha is going out and having fun all night long. As a group, the Madrilenians spend their early evening going from one bar to another. Traditionally, everyone buys their own round. When the night is already well underway, they join the discos. The evening often ends in the early morning.

7. #Movida

This movement emerged in the late 1970s. Clandestine at first, it grew in scope with the advent of democracy. Those who formed the movement saw the political freedom of the post-Franco phase as an opportunity to create avant-garde works. All artistic fields were represented.

8. #ONCE

Everywhere you will come across small kiosks or a street vendor working for the Spanish National Organisation of the Blind (ONCE), which organises the lottery, with the aim of financing the setting up of infrastructures for the blind and disabled. There are many other games of chance. During the Christmas season, everyone plays!

9. #Rastro

This Sunday morning market at La Latina is a must. You can find anything and everything, a little Spanish handicraft and antiques, but above all a lot of trinkets. Madrilenians get together there and take over the tapas bars. Tradition has it that you can taste bocatas de calamares, the famous fried squid sandwich.

10. #Holy Week

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Although the Holy Week celebrations are more spectacular in Andalusia, the Madrid processions will impress the neophytes. Hundreds of people crowd the alleyways of the old town to see the parades of Virgins carried on men's backs and believers dressed in large black hooded dresses.

11. #Tapas

Les icroquetas_i, un classique des bars à tapas (c) istockphotoluis.jpg

Whether it's around 2pm or 8:30pm, Madrilenians, like the Spanish, are very fond of aperitifs and tapas. Ir de chatos, ir de pinchos, ir de tapeo, all expressions to express a single practice: to meet around a glass to chat with friends. Outside of tourist areas, tapas are offered to consumers.

12. #Zarzuela

Born in the mid-seventeenth century, zarzuela is a kind of operetta where declamation alternates with singing to entertain the royal court. Nineteenth-century Madrid asserts its identity through this operetta. The themes are centred on the Madrid castizo. Today, it is less practiced. But in the summer, you can see a zarzuela in the street.

You are from here, if...

You dine on tapas as you move from bar to bar with friends. Every night of the week.

You eat a squid sandwich on Sundays after a trip to the Rastro flea market.

You take a siesta as soon as the heat arrives and flee the capital in May.

You eat chocolate churros on Saturday morning to recover from the evening before.

You've made a choice between Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid at derby time, and you're always ready to whistle for FC Barcelona.

You go for a stroll in the Retiro every weekend, by bike, on foot or by boat.

You get involved in your local fiesta (usually in August), but you complain about the rising rents in the capital.

You like to take your time and aren't at all fussy about schedules!

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