Article by AJ Yeakel

The following guide to Madrid I assembled while residing and learning in the metropolis. This manual really should be beneficial to initial-time website visitors to the city, as it gives a brief overview of Madrid’s major tourist web sites.

Ought to See Internet sites

-Puerta del Sol/ Plaza Mayor/ Calle Gran Via:

Puerta del Sol is virtually in the middle of the town, and this area serves as the hub of tourist activity. There is a main plaza, touristy retailers, and plenty of eating places and bars. From the main plaza you can walk to Plaza Mayor, which is yet another big plaza surrounded by out of doors cafes and stuffed with street performers and tourists. Narrow cobblestone streets surround Plaza Mayor, and they are awesome to check out. Plaza mayor is almost certainly the most “touristy” location to go in the metropolis and is a great location to start off your visit to Madrid.

On the other facet of Puerta del Sol are some other newer searching streets which have been blocked off to traffic. If you stroll via these streets, you will come to Gran By way of, a single of the greatest buying streets in the metropolis. Gran Through has a excellent assortment of division stores and chain eating places, alongside strip clubs and intercourse retailers. Gran Via is the most lively street in the town and is worth checking out.

-Reina Sofia art museum/ Prado artwork museum:

The Reina Sofia is the a lot more exciting of the two museums in my opinion, as it homes performs from Picasso, Dali, and some other wild artists. Except if you are an art fanatic, you can do the whole museum in less than two hours and sense like you have witnessed everything. The museum is totally free on Saturdays.

The Prado is the older and a lot more well-known of the two museums. It is mainly filled with classical Spanish paintings, but you can also uncover Rembrandts and Renaissance operates in the museum. The Prado is totally free on Sundays.

These museums are a brief walk from each and every other and it would be simple to do each in one particular day.

If art is your point, you can also check out out the Thyssen and the Sarollo museum, equally of which I’ve heard are pretty great.

-Parque Retiro:

Retiro is a large park performed in the French fashion, and it is essentially the Central Park of Madrid. When the weather is great, the park fills with individuals, and you can find the young individuals by the enormous statue of a guy on a horse. The crowd right here is rather bohemian, and you’ll likely uncover a drum circle close to the statue, especially if you arrive on Sunday afternoon. As prolonged as the weather’s good, there is often a large group in this region kicking close to the soccer ball, juggling, cigarette smoking hash, etc.

-Palacio Genuine:

Palacio Actual employed to be the royal palace of Spain, and it is now utilized only for government capabilities. The façade of the building is outstanding and the interior is nice as effectively. If you’ve completed Versaille before, you can skip the tour of the palace, given that they are truly equivalent. Subsequent to Palacio Actual is a enormous cathedral that you can peek into for totally free.

-El Rastro Flea Market place:

El Rastro is a massive flea market place at metro cease La Latina. It is finest on Sundays. Here you can get inexpensive souvenirs and other junk (absolutely nothing of any high quality). The cafes in this area are rather great and a excellent area to go to escape the crowds of the flea market.

-Barrio Salamanca:

The Salamanca district is the nicest residential and commercial area in the town. Right here you’ll discover upscale restaurants and all the stores you would find on Rodeo Drive. This location is effortlessly available by metro stops Velasquez and Serrano.

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click right here for a no cost list of much more interesting factors to do in Madrid, and an overview of the Madrid nightlife.