Coscan

A Travel Guide to Madrid

A trip to Madrid will sound like the perfect weekend break for many people. There are plenty of attractions to visit in the Spanish capital and the pleasant climate will be to tourists’ liking as well. Added to this there are a number of luxurious and comfortable Madrid hotels for visitors to stay in, which provide an ideal base from which to explore what the city has to offer. There is certainly plenty for tourists to explore and the large amount of attractions on offer will ensure that visitors have an exciting weekend ahead of them.

Madrid has a very strong cultural heritage and culture vultures will be looking to experience as much of this as possible during their visit. Two things that are famously part of Spanish culture are flamenco performances and bullfighting, both of which can be enjoyed in abundance in Madrid.

The Spanish capital’s San Isidro festival is the highlight of the bullfighting season and the entertainment on offer will definitely get the adrenaline flowing. A high-quality flamenco performance is a slightly more relaxing experience, and there is no better place to see this aspect of traditional culture up close than in one of Madrid’s top restaurants.

Seeing a bullfight and watching flamenco are among some of the activities that every visitor to Madrid should try to do. While you are watching flamenco you can indulge yourself in some more Spanish culture by trying tapas. Tapas is quintessentially Spanish and you can tuck into tasty tapas dishes in many restaurants across the city. You can also enjoy the traditional dessert chocolate con churros, which will give you some much-needed energy after a hard day’s sightseeing.

Another aspect of Spanish culture that can be enjoyed in Madrid is football. Going to the Santiago Bernabeu is an experience in itself, and the atmosphere during a Real Madrid match has to be seen and heard to be believed. Watching one of the world’s best football teams is the ideal way to spend an evening and it will really give you a feel for the passion of the city and its people.

After a night of entertainment you will be after a good night’s sleep so that you are refreshed and ready to go again the next day. There are many hotels in Madrid that will give you a comfortable base for your trip and provide you with a great location from which to explore the city at your own pace.

One Madrid hotel that is ideally located is the Hotel Regina. This 3-star accommodation is situated in the city’s main shopping and tourist area on Alcala Street. There are some great deals available online for a night’s accommodation in this hotel and with many places of interest nearby, tourists will not have to venture too far.

A more luxurious accommodation option is the 5-star Hotel Wellington. This hotel provides a feel of exclusivity for guests and even features an English-style pub. Hotel Wellington is situated in the Salamanca district of Madrid, and many attractions such as the Art Triangle area and Retiro Park are within walking distance.

A walk in Retiro Park is a relaxing way to spend an afternoon in Madrid and will be particularly enjoyable if the sun is shining. This beautiful park is ideal for people looking for stunning scenery in which to walk and the boating lake is also very popular. There is even more Spanish culture to consume in the park, and the street theatre is a worth a visit to the park alone.

Retiro Park is beautiful to look at, but Madrid’s attractiveness doesn’t stop there. The Spanish capital is home to a number of architectural sights that are just as stunning. The Royal Palace is arguably the city’s most beautiful building and the Plaza de Oriente located in front of the palace is also easy on the eye. Unsurprisingly, the plaza is a popular place for tourists to visit and is an ideal place to enjoy a coffee, with the Cafe de Oriente offering spectacular views of the square from its roof terrace.

Madrid is home to a number of other squares that draw in visitors. The Puerta del Sol is one of the city’s most famous and fortunately, it has a very central location. There are hundreds of shops nearby that are perfect for finding a souvenir to take home and the vibrant area is also home to some of Madrid’s best nightlife.

There are many landmarks in the Spanish capital that are worth visiting if you get the chance. The Puerta de Alcala is a Madrid icon and the old city gate has even had a song written about it. The city’s cathedral is architecturally stunning, and compared to much of the Spanish capital is relatively modern. The same cannot be said about the Templo de Debod. The Egyptian temple dates back to the 2nd century BC, but was dismantled stone by stone and shipped from the Nile Valley to Spain in the 20th century.

There are so many landmarks in Madrid that are worth getting a glimpse of that it makes sense to embark on a bus tour of the city. Madrid’s greatest sights can all be seen on a two hour open-top bus journey that promises to provide a whistle-stop of the Spanish capital.

The Spanish capital certainly offers visitors plenty of things to do and a sightseeing weekend in Madrid promises to be a very busy one for tourists. The parks give visitors an opportunity to relax in beautiful surroundings, and when it comes to the evening there is some great food to tuck into and vibrant nightlife to enjoy.