City of Madrid press kit Madrid Destino City of Madrid 3 What's on offer in Madrid 4 Madrid in three itineraries 20 Madrid, month by month. 2014 25 Images 26 Contact 42 Madrid Destino’s Communications Department HOME > Contents 2 What's City on offer in Madrid of Madrid Madrid in three itineraries Madrid, month by month Welcome to Madrid, a lively cosmopolitan and friendly city where everyone feels at home. A place for business and new trends, the capital of Spain offers a safe, comfortable seing where taking time out and doing business are equally enjoyable. Its rich artistic and natural heritage, cuing-edge transport network, quality accommodation, fine cuisine and the passion locals show when enjoying their city's day and night life make it one of the most aractive cities in the world. Anyone who has been to Madrid will tell you how The selection of cuisine, shopping and leisure welcome they’ve felt. This may be down to the activities are a faithful reflection of the city's lust happy, outgoing nature of the locals thanks to the for life, its respect for tradition and its commit- city's 3,000 hours of sunshine a year, its age-old ment to the avant-garde and sustainability. With status as a cultural melting-pot and national over 3,000 restaurants offering food from around capital or, perhaps, its strategic location between the globe, a huge variety of shops for all tastes and continents; but whatever the reason, the fact is budgets, an enviable cultural and sporting calen- Madrid has a fabulous vitality which infects all dar, and all imaginable options for a great night visitors 24/7. out, Madrid is one of the most fun cities in the world. The streets are the natural seing for Madrid's special and unique way of life. Initiatives and With so many entertaining options to choose from, events crop up around the city every day, injecting it's no wonder Madrid stands out as a business yet more life into its unbeatable cultural agenda. tourism destination. In Madrid, professional meet- With ninety museums and more than two ings can be held and deals closed thanks largely to thousand historical monuments, Madrid boasts an its vanguard conference facilities, the specialisa- unrivalled artistic wealth spearheaded by the tion and professionalism of services, the efficient Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza and Reina Soa Art transport network and excellent hotel sector. museums on the renowned Paseo del Arte (Art Walk). Locals appreciate culture in its broadest sense. The city's creative drive is not limited to its many galleries and wide range of theatrical productions (Madrid is a true point of reference for Spanish language musicals), or even to its great cinemas and prominent audiovisual production. Culture in Madrid also means food, design, fashion, architec- ture, cityscaping and sport. Madrid Destino’s Communications Department HOME > City of Madrid 3 What's Gastronomy on offer in Madrid's Madrid neighbourhoods Madrid, a centre Sport for professional meetings Shopping Madrid with the kids Art & culture Madrid LGBT Natural heritage Madrid Madrid’s hotel Infrastructure in scene cinema Leisure and fun Day trips Madrid is a cosmopolitan and inviting city known for its rich artistic heritage and for the friendly and passionate nature of its inhabitants. This is a capital where the frontiers of art expand to embrace expressions as varied as gastronomy and fashion, where culture takes to the streets in the form of shows, citizen's initiatives, and new spaces for community living and sport. Madrid is a 21st-century metropolis where leisure is taken seriously and where business becomes a pleasure. Madrid Destino’s Communications Department HOME > City of Madrid > What's on offer in Madrid 4 What's on offer in Madrid Art & culture esmadrid.com Art & culture Madrid is passionate about art, and all cultural and discover the more alternative side of Madrid, a good artistic expressions have a place in the capital city. option is to take part in some of the activities organ- Gastronomy While the three great museums along Paseo del ised by the locals themselves at such places as La Arte are the true emblems of a city brimming over Tabacalera or El Campo de la Cebada. Shopping with artistic masterpieces, its new multidiscipli- nary spaces, galleries, theatres and auditoriums Madrid stage by stage Leisure and fun set the pace for the new creative trends which The Spanish capital is an international stage for emerge daily in the city. The streets have become a both theatre and performing arts. In recent years, it Natural heritage great showcase accessible to all, where historic has also become the capital of the Spanish- and vanguard architecture provides the perfect speaking world as regards musicals, offering a Sport backdrop. varied and first-class programme every single day of the year. Madrid’s hotel scene The Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza and Reina Sofia museums, which house three of the greatest collec- Madrid also holds large-scale cultural events which Infrastructure tions in the world, represent the true essence of the are popular among Madrilenians and which have all so-called Paseo del Arte. All located within a short gained international renown, such as ARCOmadrid, Madrid, a centre 10-minute walk of each other, they receive millions the PHotoEspaña Festival, the Book Fair and for professional of visitors every year. Veranos de la Villa Festival. This last one, a summer meetings festival, truly takes culture to the streets, which are The Prado Museum, the most important gallery of lined with historic buildings and avant-garde Madrid with the kids Spanish art in the world, offers an unrivalled journey constructions. through the works of Velázquez, Goya and El Greco. Madrid LGBT Guernica by Picasso is the flagship of the Reina Soa Museum, a centre of modern art which boasts Madrid in cinema works from the 19th century through to the present The Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza Madrid's day. The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum houses and Reina Sofia museums, which neighbourhoods innumerable masterpieces ranging from the house three of the greatest European Gothic and Renaissance periods to collections in the world, represent Hopper, Bacon and Freud. Day trips the true essence of Paseo del Arte. Paseo del Arte is home to a number of historic institutions as well as other more recent additions, such as CaixaForum, CentroCentro Cibeles, Circo Alongside the historic Hapsburg and Bourbon Price, Mapfre Foundation and Medialab Prado, districts, a series of revolutionary buildings have which have all enhanced the Paseo del Arte both been erected, completely transforming the urban qualitatively and quantitatively, creating the landscape. Barajas Airport’s Terminal 4, by Richard fabulous seing we can all enjoy today. This avenue Rogers and Estudio Lamela; Las Cuatro Torres is now regarded as a universal hub of culture Business Area, designed by Norman Foster, Cesar running from Plaza de Colón to Plaza de Emba- Pelli, Rubio & Álvarez-Sala and I.M.Pei, Cobb, Freed jadores and symbolises the city's two-fold commit- & Partners; the extension of the Reina Soa ment, to its past and to its future. Museum, by Jean Nouvel; the extension of the Prado Museum, by Rafael Moneo; and CaixaForum, Within a short walk from Paseo del Arte, lies Mata- by Herzog & de Meuron, are just a few examples of dero Madrid, a hands-on contemporary creative Madrid’s most modern architecture. space which has arisen from the City Council's refurbishment of the former municipal abaoir. To Madrid Destino’s Communications Department HOME > City of Madrid > What's on offer in Madrid > Art & culture 5 What's on offer in Madrid Gastronomy esmadrid.com Art & culture Madrid's gastronomy faithfully reflects its outgo- Casino, Sergi Arola-Gastro, Ramón Freixa Madrid, ing, diverse and innovative character. Traditional Diverxo, El Club Allard, Zalacaín, Kabuki and Gastronomy culinary delights are valued as highly as the very Kabuki Wellington. Exquisitely prepared dishes, latest tendencies. Some of the world's most meticulous service and a select ambience are the Shopping innovative chefs have placed the city firmly at the key to their success. forefront of international cuisine. Locals and Leisure and fun visitors alike sample and applaud their latest The chefs at these and many other restaurants accomplishments while still enjoying their have shown that cooking is an art form and that Natural heritage favourite traditional tapas. This approach to food is an ideal showcase for presenting Madrid to good dining has given rise to a wide variety of the world. Indeed, to further strengthen this Sport superb restaurants. Indeed, Madrid boasts over relationship between tourism and gastronomy, 3,000 such establishments, including traditional Madrid is a member of the select group of Madrid’s hotel scene taverns, century-old restaurants, gastrobars and Gourmet Cities. Michelin-star restaurants. Infrastructure Traditional markets Madrid knows how to uphold its traditions. The In Madrid, gastronomy is an increasingly impor- Madrid, a centre capital is home to several century-old restaurants tant cultural phenomenon. Many traditional for professional which can pride themselves on having survived markets have adapted to this new reality and, as meetings the passage of time, such as Casa Botín, the oldest well as offering the chance to buy and sample restaurant in the world according to the Guinness fresh seasonal products in situ, now play host to Madrid with the kids Book of Records. Such establishments, which events related to the world of food. More notable have managed to retain their original decor, still markets for delicatessen sampling are Mercado de Madrid LGBT serve the most traditional dishes: stew, tripe and San Miguel and Mercado de San Antón.