Holiday Destination: Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The city is located on the Manzanares river in the centre of both the country and the Community of Madrid this community is bordered by the autonomous communities of Castile and León and Castile La Mancha. Madrid urban agglomeration has the 3rd largest GDP in the European Union and its influences in politics, education, entertainment, environment, media, fashion, science, culture, and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities. Due to its economic output, high standard of living, and market size, Madrid is considered the major financial centre of Southern Europe and the Iberian Peninsula it hosts the head offices of the vast majority of the major Spanish companies, such as Telefónica, Iberia or Repsol. Madrid is the most touristic city of Spain, the fourth most touristic of the continent and is the 10th most livable city in the world according to Monocle magazine. Madrid also ranks among the 12 greenest European cities in 2010. Madrid is currently a Candidate City for the 2020 Summer Olympics. Madrid houses the headquarters of the World Tourism Organization, belonging to the United Nations Organization, the SEGIB and the Organization of Ibero American States. It also hosts major international institutions regulators of Spanish the Standing Committee of the Association of Spanish Language Academies, headquarters of the Royal Spanish Academy, the Cervantes Institute and the Foundation of Urgent Spanish.

Climate

Summer 31.2 °C (88.2), Winter 2.6 °C (36.7 °F)

Tourist Season

September to November is the best for visiting Madrid.

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Accommodation

Hotels and Apartments.

General Information Of Madrid

• Land Area: 233.89 sq mi (605.77 km2)
• Population: 32 Lakh.
• Capital City: Madrid.
• Language: English and Spanish.

Tourist Attraction in or Near by Madrid

Madrid Senate Square

The Museo del Prado is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It features one of the world's finest collections of European art, from the 12th century to the early 19th century, based on the former Spanish Royal Collection, and unquestionably the best single collection of Spanish art. Founded as a museum of paintings and sculpture, it also contains important collections of other types of works. A new, recently opened wing enlarged the display area by about 400 paintings, and it is currently used mainly for temporary expositions. El Prado is one of the most visited sites in the world, and it is considered to be among the greatest museums of art. The large numbers of works by Velázquez and Francisco de Goya, Titian, Rubens and Bosch are among the highlights of the collection. The collection currently comprises around 7,600 paintings, 1,000 sculptures, 4,800 prints and 8,200 drawings, in addition to a large number of other works of art and historic documents. The remainder are in storage.

Botanical Gardens

A botanical garden is a well tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names. It may contain specialist plant collections such as cacti and succulent plants, herb gardens, plants from particular parts of the world, and so on; there may be greenhouses, shadehouses, again with special collections such as tropical plants, alpine plants or other exotic plants. Visitor services at a botanical garden might include tours, educational displays, art exhibitions, book rooms, open air theatrical and musical performances and other entertainment. Botanical gardens are often run by universities or other scientific research organizations and often have associated herbaria and research programmes in plant taxonomy or some other aspect of botanical science. In principle their role is to maintain documented collections of living plants for the purposes of scientific research, conservation, display and education, although this will depend on the resources available and the special interests pursued at each particular garden. The origin of modern botanical gardens can be traced to European medieval medicinal gardens known as physic gardens, the first of these being founded during the Italian Renaissance.

Clock tower

A clock tower is a tower specifically built with one or more clock faces. Clock towers can be either freestanding or part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall. The mechanism inside the tower is known as a turret clock. It often marks the hour by sounding large bells or chimes, sometimes playing simple musical phrases or tunes. On New Year's Eve 2004 four 6.3 meter clock faces were added to the top of the Warsaw Palace of Culture and Science building in Warsaw, Poland. This building is 231 m tall and is the second tallest clock tower in the world. The Yoyogi Building is 240 meters high and is the tallest clock tower in the world. The Allen Bradley Clock Tower is the tallest non chiming four faced clock tower in the world.

Crystal Palace

The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's 990,000 square feet of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in the Industrial Revolution. Designed by Joseph Paxton, the Great Exhibition building was 1,851 feet long, with an interior height of 128 feet. Because of the recent invention of the cast plate glass method in 1848, which allowed for large sheets of cheap but strong glass, it was at the time the largest amount of glass ever seen in a building and astonished visitors with its clear walls and ceilings that did not require interior lights, thus a Crystal Palace.

Temple of Debod

The Temple of Debod is an ancient Egyptian temple which was rebuilt in Madrid, Spain. The temple was built originally 15 km south of Aswan in southern Egypt very close to the first cataract of the Nile and to the great religious center dedicated to the goddess Isis, in Philae. In the early 2nd century BC, Adikhalamani, the Kushite king of Meroë, started its construction by building a small single room chapel dedicated to the god Amun. It was built and decorated on a similar design to the later Meroitic chapel on which the Temple of Dakka is based. Later, during the reigns of Ptolemy VI, Ptolemy VIII and Ptolemy XII of the Ptolemaic dynasty, it was extended on all four sides to form a small temple, 12 by 15 mt, which was dedicated to Isis of Philae. The Roman emperors Augustus and Tiberius completed its decorations. From the quay there is a long processional way leading to the stone built enclosure wall, through three stone pylon gateways and finally to the temple itself.

Thyssen Bornemisza Museum

The Thyssen Bornemisza Museum, or in Spanish Museo Thyssen Bornemisza, is an art museum near the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain. It is known as a part of the Golden Triangle of Art, which also includes the Prado and the Reina Sofia galleries. The Thyssen Bornemisza fills the historical gaps in its counterparts' collections in the Prado's case this includes Italian primitives and works from the English, Dutch and German schools, while in the case of the Reina Sofia it includes Impressionists, Expressionists, and European and American paintings from the second half of the 20th century. With over 1,600 paintings the Thyssen Bornemisza collection was once the second largest private collection in the world after the British Royal Collection. A competition was held to house the museum in 1986 after Baron Thyssen, having tried to enlarge his Museum in Villa Favorita, searched for a location in Europe.

Puerta del Sol

The Puerta del Sol is one of the best known and busiest places in Madrid. This is the centre of the radial network of Spanish roads. The square also contains the famous clock whose bells mark the traditional eating of the Twelve Grapes and the beginning of a new year. The New Year's celebration has been broadcast live. The House of the Post Office was built by French Architect Jacques Marquet between 1766 and 1768. The building was the headquarters of the Ministry of Interior and State Security during the Francisco Franco dictatorship. It is currently the seat of the Presidency of the Madrid Community.

Plaza Mayor

The Plaza Mayor was built during the Habsburg period and is a central plaza in the city of Madrid, Spain. It is located only a few Spanish blocks away from another famous plaza, the Puerta del Sol. The Plaza Mayor is rectangular in shape, measuring 129 by 94 metres, and is surrounded by three story residential buildings having 237 breathtaking balconies facing the Plaza. It has a total of nine entranceways. The Casa de la Panadería, serving municipal and cultural functions, dominates the Plaza Mayor.

El Rastro

El Rastro de Madrid or simply el Rastro is the most popular open air flea market in Madrid. It is held every Sunday and public holiday during the year and is located along Plaza de Cascorro and Ribera de Curtidores, between Calle Embajadores and the Ronda de Toledo. A great variety of products can be found at el Rastro. A number of antique shops in the local area are also open on Sunday. Transporting the slaughtered cattle from the abattoir to the tannery left a trail of blood along the street. An alternative etymology suggests el Rastro once meant outside, referring to the fact el Rastro was once outside the jurisdiction of the mayor's court.

Santceloni

Sant Celoni is a municipality in the comarca of the Vallès Oriental in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the valley of the Tordera river between the ranges of Montseny and Montnegre. The main part of the town is on the left bank of the river. The former municipalities of Montnegre and Olzinelles now form part of the municipality of sant Celoni, which is the largest in the comarca in terms of area. The municipality is served by the AP 7 Motorway and the C 251 road, as well as by a station on the railway line between Barcelona and Girona.

Accessibility

Bus Terminal in or Near by

Clement Barajas

Av General, 43
Madrid, Spain

Claridge

Plaza del Conde de Casal, 6
Madrid, Spain

Intercambiador de Transportes Avenida de America SA

Av de América, 2
Madrid, Spain

Estación Sur de Autobuses

Calle de Méndez Álvaro, 83
Madrid, Spain

Airport

Madrid Barajas Airport: For International and Domestic flights.

Railway Stations

Chamartín Train Station

Calle de Agustín de Foxá
Madrid, Spain