Madrid

The city’s cultural and architectural legacy is spectacular, with not just large avenues, plazas, buildings, and monuments, but also world-class art galleries and museums. Furthermore, Madrid is known for its gourmet pleasures and a vibrant, energetic nightlife that lasts till morning.

With over seven million visitors in 2006, Madrid was the fourth most visited city in Europe and the first in Spain. It also serves as the headquarters of the World Tourism Organization and hosts the International Tourism Fair – FITUR. The majority of Madrid’s tourist attractions are in the old town and the Ensanche, which correspond to the Centro, Salamanca, Chamber, Retiro, and Arganzuela districts. The Puerta del Sol, the beginning point for the numbering of all city streets and all of the country’s roads, is the city’s nerve center.

Madrid’s nightlife is one of the city’s key attractions. Tapas restaurants, cocktail bars, clubs, jazz lounges, live music venues, flamenco theaters, and other institutions cater to all tastes. Every night, venues affiliated with the Live Music Venues Association La Noche en Vivo feature a diverse array of live music performances. Everything from renowned to up-and-coming performers, singer-songwriters to rock bands, jazz performances or electronic music sessions to present the finest of music.

Madrid is regarded as one of the top European locations for art museums. The Golden Triangle of Art, which includes three museums and is situated along the Paseo del Prado, is the most well-known. The Prado Museum is the most well-known, with masterpieces including Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas and Francisco de Goya’s La maja vestida and La maja desnuda. The other two museums are the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum, which was founded on a mixed private collection, and the Reina Sofa Museum, which houses Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, which was returned to Spain after more than two decades in New York.

The Prado Museum (Museo del Prado) is a museum and art gallery in Madrid, Spain, that houses one of the world’s best collections of European art dating from the 12th to the early 19th centuries, based on the previous Spanish Royal Collection. El Prado is one of the most visited museums in the world, and it is regarded as one of the finest art museums in the world. It houses the most important collection of artworks by Goya, Velázquez, El Greco, Rubens, Titian, Hieronymus Bosch, José de Ribera, and Patinir, as well as works by Rogier van der Weyden, Raphael Sanzio, Tintoretto, Veronese, Caravaggio, Van Dyck, Albrecht Dürer, Claude Lorrain, Murillo, and Zurbarán.

The Madrid area has a Mediterranean climate with continental traits, with moderate to cold winters owing to its height of 667 m (2,188 ft) above sea level and distance from the sea, as well as infrequent snowfalls and minimum temperatures that sometimes reach below freezing.

Summers are mild to hot, with typical daytime temperatures ranging from 32 to 33 °C (90 to 91 °F) depending on location in the hottest month, July. During the city’s heatwaves, summer temperatures may reach above 35 °C (95 °F). Summer diurnal variations are frequently substantial due to Madrid’s altitude and dry environment.

Precipitation is concentrated in the fall and spring, and it is among the lowest of any European city. It is especially scarce during the summer, with just around two showers and/or thunderstorms each month.

Madrid is situated approximately northeast of the Iberian Peninsula’s geographical center, in the heart of Spain’s central Castillian plateau (Meseta central), at an elevation of 650 meters. Almost all of the city’s most notable tourist attractions, including as Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor, Palacio Real, and Plaza de Colón, are situated in the city center. The Gran Via, Alcalá Street, and Paseo de la Castellana are among Madrid’s principal thoroughfares.

Madrid, being the national capital, focuses on activities directly related to power (central and regional government, headquarters of Spanish firms, regional offices of international corporations, financial institutions) as well as knowledge and technical innovation (research centres and universities). It is one of Europe’s major financial centers, as well as Spain’s largest. The city is home to 17 institutions and approximately 30 research institutes.

Madrid’s economy is increasingly centered on the service sector. In 2011, services accounted for 85.9% of total value added, while industry contributed 7.9% and construction contributed 6.1 percent.

“Locutorios” (Call Shops) are common in Madrid, especially around tourist attractions. It’s pretty simple to locate one in Madrid. Calling from “Locutorios” is substantially cheaper, particularly for international calls (usually made through VoIP). They are typically a fantastic choice for making a phone call home.

When traveling in Spain, it is difficult to stay connected; nevertheless, Internet pre-paid cards may be acquired with a few formalities. Wi-Fi is accessible after ordering at Madrid’s restaurants and cafeterias, and most hotels provide Wi-Fi in common areas for their guests.

Prepaid mobile WiFi A hot spot service (provided by trip NETer) is now accessible in Spain, allowing users to connect to any WiFi device.