Tips For A City Break In Madrid Spain s Enchanting Capital

I f you’re looking for a          the major museums here - the       culturally rich, luxury         Prado, the Thyssen and the Reina   holiday in Spain but you        Sofia.                             don’t have much time to spare, a                                         city break in Madrid could be         One of the chief attractions on a  just the right kind of holiday.       Spanish holiday, the Prado is      The Spanish capital is compact        best known for its religious       and easy to navigate on foot, so      paintings and regal portraits by   you won’t waste precious time         Goya, El Greco and Velázquez, as   getting from place to place, and      well as works by Hieronymus        yet you’ll be able to see some of     Bosch, Titian and Rubens.          the most prestigious museums and                                         galleries in the world.               The Thyssen has a variety of                                             Western art and one of the         If you want to avoid steaming hot     largest private collections in     summers and bitterly cold winters     the world, and the Reina Sofia is  then spring is the best time to       Spain’s national gallery of        explore the squares and alleyways     modern art, devoted to 20th        on a weekend break in Madrid.         century Spanish art, with works    Here are some of the best places      by Miro, Dali and Picasso.         to visit on your luxury holiday                                          in Spain’s capital city.              Plaza Mayor                                                                                                 The Golden Triangle                   The Plaza Mayor is an elegant                                            arcaded square where the greatest  The Golden Triangle is an             festivals and ceremonies of        essential district to visit on        imperial Madrid were held, as      any city break in Madrid. Holiday     well as bullfights and carnivals.  makers with an interest in art        These days the bullfights have     and culture will want to tackle       shifted elsewhere and the square   has become a great place to relax     literary tradition lives on in     on a luxury holiday in Spain.         cafés such as El Salón del Prado,                                        an ideal place to stop off for a   Madrid’s holiday makers enjoy         coffee on your city break.         spending their time milling           Madrid’s resident author of the    around Plaza Mayor’s traditional      famous ‘Don Quixote’, Miguel de    shops, drinking coffee at the         Cervantes Saavedra, lived and was  cafés on its delightful pavement      buried nearby.                     terraces. There are market stalls                                        on Sundays as well as lively          Salamanca                          dance bands during fiestas, which                                        might coincide with your weekend      Salamanca was where the richest    break in Madrid.                      families built their houses and                                          palaces during the 19th and 20th   Sol & Gran Vía                        centuries in Madrid. Holiday                                             makers can visit the Museo de      Sol is the most photographed          Esculturas al Aire Libre, an       square in Madrid. Holiday makers      outdoor sculpture garden, with     usually recognise its well-known      works by Joan Miró and Eduardo     bear and strawberry tree statue,      Chillida.                          and Avenue C/Alcala, near to the                                         square, has some wonderful            The Retiro                         buildings and was once described                                         as the ‘grandest street in            The Retiro is the place to         Europe’.                              promenade and on Sundays there                                           are vendors hawking everything     Huertas & Santa Ana                   from wafers to etchings, tarot                                           readers, football and elderly men  In the theatre district of            playing a Spanish ball game        Huertas & Santa Ana, Madrid’s         called ‘petanca’. Below the Prado  is the botanical garden, ‘Jardín      bullfights are still held. Sports  Botánico’, great for a wander on      fanatics who fancy something a     your Spanish holiday.                 little less bloodthirsty for                                             their weekend break in Madrid can  Plaza de Toros                        head there to watch Real Madrid                                          or Atletico de Madrid, Spain's     The Plaza de Toros is Spain's         most famous football teams.        largest bullring, where regular        About the Author: Kieron Sellens is the marketing manager of the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AiTO). For autumn 2008, AiTO are offering a selection of unique luxury holidays in Spain. Published At: www.Isnare.com