Conveniently located in the center of Spain, Madrid is a city that offers many cultural activities. Visitors will be able to explore the museums, try local food and walk around the historic city center.
Art Museums.
The city’s art museums are one of its main attractions. The main museums are the Prado Museum, known for its Goya masterpieces, the Reina Sofia Museum, which has several galleries dedicated to Miró, and the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum, known for being one of the largest private art collections. The city has many other museums, including the Caixa Forum science center which has many temporary exhibitions.
Markets and Tapas.
Food is a large part of the local culture. The city’s traditional markets have been remodeled and are now filled with stalls specializing in fresh fruit, local vegetables, meat and fish. Many of these markets, including the iron San Miguel Market and the centric Antón Martín Market, offer several bars that serve tapas. Tapas are appetizers that are usually accompanied by caña beer and tinto de verano wine served with fruits. Typical tapas that can be found in most bars around the city include cheeses and cured hams from nearby provinces, croquetas fried rolls with minced meat, huevos rotos eggs served with fries and ham and tortilla de patata omelet.
Parks.
The city of Madrid, with its ancient churches, high rise buildings and streets filled with bars, restaurants and shops, has its share of green spaces. The Retiro Park is an ancient Royal garden located near the city’s three main art museums and the chic Serrano shopping district. The park has many gardens adorned with fountains and sculptures, and there are many terraces where visitors will be able to relax and enjoy views towards the pond. Boats can be rented in the pond. The park is filled with couples and families out for a stroll and there are many performers near the pond. Another main park, located to the west of the city, is the Casa de Campo. There is a lake, several picnic areas, a theme park and a zoo.
Royal Palace.
The Royal Palace, with its more than two thousand rooms, is one of the city’s symbols. The palace is only used for official functions. Visitors will be able to explore more than fifty of the palace’s rooms, including a large throne hall, several royal apartments decorated with antiques and a Column Hall. After a tour around the palace visitors can enjoy a stroll in the Sabatini Gardens, where many cultural events are organized. Next to the palace is the grand Almudena Cathedral, which has several chapels, mosaics and statues.
Santiago Bernabéu.
The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is the stadium of the Real Madrid Football Club. Visitors will be able to buy tickets for an upcoming match. If there are no matches, visitors can still enjoy a guided tour around this historic stadium, the changing rooms, the hall where the team’s trophies are exhibited, the presidential box, the press room and the tunnels. The stadium’s café has views towards the football pitch and there is an official shop selling Real Madrid’s merchandise next to the stadium.
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