Spain Spain Madrid Madrid MINISTERIO DE INDUSTRIA, TURISMO TURESPAÑA Y COMERCIO I TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction traveller down to the beaches of the Mediterranean. Introduction 1 THE TERRITORY Madrid stands on the Castilian high plateau or tableland City tours 8 Majestic and stylishly dignified, (meseta) at a height of 646 the archway known as the Puerta metres (2,119 ft.) above sea level, Art and culture 34 de Alcalá (puerta; gate), where Barajas Airport is one of designed by the architect Side-trips through the region 38 the most popular focal points for Ireland Sabatini in Spain’s Age of the forty-nine million tourists United Enlightenment, is at once a Leisure and entertainment 46 Dublin who flock to Spain every year. Kingdom symbol of a city eager to Radiating out from the city’s welcome the world, and a Three World Heritage Cities inner hub is a complex rail and London veritable gateway to Spain for an hour from Madrid 52 road network that speeds millions of visitors from all travellers to any corner of Spain, Useful information 56 around the globe. to neighbouring France and Portugal, or to the sea frontier Paris Five and half million people live with North Africa. Surrounded by in the Madrid Region mountains and impressive (Comunidad de Madrid), with France scenery, the Madrid Region approximately three million Bay of Biscay enjoys a temperate continental concentrated in the metropolitan climate, with spectacular springs, area. This region is situated at hot summers, long, mild, brilliant the geographical centre of autumns, and winters that, while mainland Spain, and is bordered not overly cold, bring snow to Portugal Madrid by Castile & León, whose the nearby summits, thereby domains extend northwards as providing additional leisure far as the Cantabrian Range and Lisbon and fun. westwards to nearby Portugal. SPAIN Stretching away to the south and Atlantic Ocean east are the plains of Castile-La Mediterranean Puerta de Alcalá Sea Mancha, which convey the Ceuta Melilla Font cover: Text: Printed by: Cibeles y Puerta de Alcalá Back cover: Carlos Aganzo GRAFOFFSET, S.L. San Lorenzo de El Escorial Translation: Michael D. Benedict Published by: D.L.: M-26117-2009 © Turespaña Photographs: NIPO: 704-09-325-6 Secretaría de Estado TURESPAÑA de Turismo Photographic Archives Printed in Spain Ministerio de Industria, Layout and design: Turismo y Comercio P&L MARÍN 4th Edition city of Madrid harks back to domains (Comunidad de Villa y (main square) or Retiro Park. In settlements on the banks of the Tierra, villa being equivalent to Bourbon company, on the other River Manzanares in the remote the French ville). hand, you can take in the Royal past, its foundation as such did Palace, Prado Museum, Cibeles not take place until the arrival in Madrid witnessed the court fountain or Puerta de Alcalá, on the 9th century, of Mohammed I, intrigues to secure the throne of which the enlightened Charles III - the fifth Omayyad Emir of Castile, initially for Juana la nicknamed “Madrid’s best Cordoba. Testimony to that era Beltraneja, and only subsequently mayor”- left his indelible mark. of conquest and splendour of for Isabella the Catholic. The In addition, there are just so Moorish Spain is still visible so-called Comuneros (16th-century many streets and avenues steeped in the remains of the Segovian insurgency movement) in history, and so many lovely Moorish walls, now passed through Madrid at the churches, under the protective converted into a venue that time of King Charles I of Spain, umbrella of in summer stages zarzuela better known as the Holy Roman La Almudena Cathedral and the (Spanish operetta), drama and Emperor Charles V, and it was Church of St. Isidore, the legacy of outdoor shows. It was King here too that the Court sat in a city that for centuries was the Alfonso VI, two hundred 1561, under Philip II, with the very image of spirituality for the years later, who won the town becoming the capital of an Christian kingdoms. citadel for the Kingdom of empire on which the sun never Castile, a citadel that, with its set, the centre of the then Madrid, city of kings, is also the long-vanished alcázar (fortress- “civilised” world. Two principal starting point for the highways palace) was thenceforth to royal houses, the Hapsburgs and and byways that lead to the Royal become one of the bastions in the Bourbons (present to this day residences, namely, palaces, HISTORY AND ARTISTIC the line held by the Christian in the person of the present King mansions or lodges that the HERITAGE kingdoms against the Moors. In Juan Carlos I), experienced the monarchs had built in exquisite 1110, the fortress courageously vagaries of fortune in the capital settings, and whose grandeur has Behind the modern region that withstood the siege of the city of Madrid, an “old rambling come down to us intact. The meets the eye today, there lies a Almoravids, and in 1202 Alfonso town” transformed over the years Monastery of El Escorial, a short significant body of history, which VIII granted Madrid its Charter, into a royal and illustrious city. drive from Madrid on the Royal is undoubtedly one of its main thereby formally constituting the Today, with the Hapsburgs as your Way to Avila, is indisputably the attractions. Although the capital commonwealth of the city and its guide, you can visit the Madrid of jewel in the crown. Ensconced in the Plaza Mayor Aranjuez Palace the mountains, it is an impressive sight, the power base from which A place that, without a shadow of Philip II held sway over his a doubt, warrants a quick side- boundless domains. Altogether trip is Alcalá de Henares, which more stylish, flanking the enjoyed a pinnacle of splendour romantic delights of the Tagus from the latter part of the 15th riverside, Aranjuez Palace stands century (coinciding with the as the prime example of the foundation of the university) up splendour and refinement of a until the 17th century. Birthplace Spanish Court that set the of Cervantes, the universally standard in Europe in matters of acclaimed author of Don Quixote, lineage. Standing in part of what Alcalá de Henares is a university were once extensive hunting city that has produced some of grounds in the environs of the the most superlative examples of capital is the Pardo Palace: in Spanish culture of all times. It has Franco’s Spain it was the centre of joined the ranks of the select Peñalara Tarn power but now, aside from being group of officially declared a popular sight visited by scores UNESCO World Heritage Cities, say that Madrid, as a region, is a this part of Spain into one of the of tourists, is reserved for the use just recompense indeed for the genuine ecological paradise. It has most ecological areas in Europe. of visiting foreign dignitaries. It effort made by this town in recent impressive natural areas and a There are innumerable green lies very close to both the years to rescue its enormous booming agricultural sector, which routes criss-crossing the region, Zarzuela Palace, the residence of heritage. When travelling in recent years has developed a and the wide range of activities King Juan Carlos, and the through Madrid Province, be sure number of foodstuffs bearing on offer includes Moncloa Palace, the official not to miss certain gems, such as Madrid’s own seal of origin. hiking, mountain climbing, residence of the Spanish Prime the town squares of Chinchón Likewise, if Madrid is the mountain biking and cycling, Minister. and Colmenar de Oreja, or the institutional capital that is the seat horse and pony trekking. The countless Madrid mountain of the country’s parliament, Peñalara cirque and tarn villages and hamlets that have government and king, then it is possess a silent high-mountain somehow managed to conserve no less true that the city is the beauty, in which the crystal-clear their rustic charm despite their greenest capital in Europe, with its air and omnipresent greenery proximity to the capital. two magnificent oases -Retiro compete with the curiously Park (Jardines del Buen Retiro) weathered rocks and glinting and the heath-like Casa de sheen of the water. The same NATURAL HERITAGE Campo- which together head a applies to the La Pedriza area, long list of parks and gardens. where delightful spots are to be If the Madrid metropolitan area is found along the Manzanares the indisputable administrative A stone’s throw from the major River. For tree lovers, autumn in and business centre of Spain, with sights and bustling the Montejo Beech Tree Grove its core centred on the AZCA thoroughfares, the Madrid (hayedo) is a riot of colour, as it is complex, Castellana boulevard region also boasts singularly in Fuenfría Valley and Herrería and industrial belt to the south, scenic spots that are being ever Woods (bosque). Without an idea La Pedriza then it would be no less true to better protected and have made of the evocative natural areas 4 5 that surround the city, it is leads from the Prado Museum to of one or more of them at some difficult to form an accurate the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia via café or cultural event. picture of Madrid. the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum and contains one of the finest Yet , beyond all of this –the collections in the world- street sights, the parks and the culture– ESSENTIAL MADRID artists form a living art gallery in Madrid’s main charm lies in the Plaza Mayor. Coexisting with Madrid itself, i.e., the city and its Exploring its various routes, sure in the Theatre Royal (Teatro Real) people.