Madrid City Guide A Quick Overview Of Madrid s Must see Sites

T he following guide to            your visit to Madrid.              Madrid I assembled while                                           living and studying in the      On the other side of Puerta del    city. This guide should be useful     Sol are some other newer shopping  to first-time visitors to the         streets which have been blocked    city, as it gives a brief             off to traffic. If you walk        overview of Madrid's major            through these streets, you will    tourist sites.                        come to Gran Via, one of the                                             biggest shopping streets in the    Must See Sites                        city. Gran Via has a good                                                assortment of department stores    -Puerta del Sol/ Plaza Mayor/         and chain restaurants, alongside   Calle Gran Via:                       strip clubs and sex shops. Gran                                          Via is the most lively street in   Puerta del Sol is literally in        the city and is worth checking     the center of the city, and this      out.                               area serves as the hub of tourist                                        activity. There is a main plaza,      -Reina Sofia art museum/ Prado     touristy shops, and plenty of         art museum:                        restaurants and bars. From the                                           main plaza you can walk to Plaza      The Reina Sofia is the more        Mayor, which is another big plaza     interesting of the two museums in  surrounded by outdoor cafes and       my opinion, as it houses works     filled with street performers and     from Picasso, Dali, and some       tourists. Narrow cobblestone          other wild artists. Unless you     streets surround Plaza Mayor, and     are an art fanatic, you can do     they are cool to check out. Plaza     the entire museum in less than     mayor is probably the most            two hours and feel like you have   “touristy” place to go in the         seen everything. The museum is     city and is a good place to start     free on Saturdays.                                                       especially if you come on Sunday   The Prado is the older and more       afternoon. As long as the          famous of the two museums. It is      weather’s good, there is always a  mostly filled with classical          big group in this area kicking     Spanish paintings, but you can        around the soccer ball, juggling,  also find Rembrandts and              smoking hash, etc.                 Renaissance works in the museum.                                         The Prado is free on Sundays.         -Palacio Real:                                                                                              These museums are a short walk        Palacio Real used to be the royal  from each other and it would be       palace of Spain, and it is now     easy to do both in one day.           used only for government                                                 functions. The façade of the       If art is your thing, you can         building is impressive and the     also check out the Thyssen and        interior is nice as well. If       the Sarollo museum, both of which     you’ve done Versaille before, you  I’ve heard are pretty good.           can skip the tour of the palace,                                         since they are really similar.     -Parque Retiro:                       Next to Palacio Real is a huge                                           cathedral that you can peek into   Retiro is a big park done in the      for free.                          French style, and it is basically                                        the Central Park of Madrid. When      -El Rastro Flea Market:            the weather is good, the park                                            fills with people, and you can        El Rastro is a big flea market at  find the young people by the huge     metro stop La Latina. It is best   statue of a man on a horse. The       on Sundays. Here you can buy       crowd here is pretty bohemian,        cheap souvenirs and other junk     and you’ll likely find a drum         (nothing of any quality). The      circle around the statue,             cafes in this area are pretty      nice and a good place to go to        nicest residential and commercial  escape the crowds of the flea         area in the city. Here you’ll      market.                               find upscale restaurants and all                                         the shops you would find on Rodeo  -Barrio Salamanca:                    Drive. This area is easily                                               accessible by metro stops          The Salamanca district is the         Velasquez and Serrano.             About the Author: click here for a free list of more interesting things to do in Madrid, and an overview of the Madrid nightlife. Published At: www.Isnare.com