| Although not strikingly beautiful
like Paris or Venice or immediately captivating like Amsterdam
or Barcelona, Madrid creates as many addicts as any of them.
Madrid's inhabitants, Madrileños, are the
main reason for this: the city is a melting pot of people
from all over Spain and, more recently, the rest of the world.
Castizos, true-blue Madrileños, are
a definite minority, but when traditional costumes —
Cockney-like chulos and chulapas, or Goyesque
majos and majas — are donned for Madrid's
festivals, San Isidro in May or La Virgen de la Paloma in
August, no-one minds if their wearers have non-native accents
or complexions. And while Madrid's rival, Barcelona, slides
further into narrow-minded Catalonia-centrism, the Spanish
capital is more cosmopolitan than ever, without having lost
any of its own identity.
There have been populations of one sort or another more or
less where Madrid is now since prehistoric times, though not
much is known about them. As so often in Spain, it was the
Arabs who gave the place substance and name. They called it
Mayrit (perhaps a combination of the Arabic "Mayra"
(mother) and the Ibero-Romanic suffix "-it", "place"),
which soon became Matrit in Spanish-speaking mouths.
The heart of the original 9th century Arab settlement would
have been a fortress (almudena) on the top of a hill
(where the Royal Palace is now), and surrounded by scattered
Celtiberian hamlets. Matrit must have grown in importance
as the fortress attracted traders and other civilians, until
it became necessary to build walls to enclose the town - a
small part of these Arab walls has been excavated and can
be visited on the Cuesta de la Vega, a few yards to the south
of Madrid's Almudena Cathedral.
From that moment on, Madrid almost disappears from history
until 1561, when Philip II moved the court there from Toledo.
It is said that this was because he disliked the climate of
the latter, though both cities have a continental climate
(hot summers, cold winters and very short springs and autumns).
There may have been a certain sentimentalism at play, as well
- the Spanish king had been born in Madrid. But the most likely
explanation is that Madrid was, by accident rather than design,
slap-bang in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, and Philip
was a great one for bureaucratic centralism. Outside the Casa
de Correos in the Puerta del Sol, you can see a paving stone
marked "Km 0," which is the starting point for measurement
of all road distances in Spain.
Madrid's history since then can be seen in its different
districts and architecture. The historic centre, referred
to as Madrid de los Austrias, including the Plaza Mayor, dates
from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and is so called
for the Hapsburg dynasty. Madrid de los Bourbones dates from
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and includes the
Palacio Real, Royal Palace, Madrid's triumphal-type arches,
especially the Puerta de Alcalá and de Toledo, and
its fountains, particularly in or near the Paseo del Prado,
the Fuente de Neptuno and de Cibeles. Nineteenth-century Madrid
is really a scattering of different buildings: the Teatro
Real (for many years, Madrid's de facto opera house, hence
the name of the metro station), the Prado Museum (though this
really feels Bourbon), Palacio de Congresos, the Banco de
España, and the reformed Puerta del Sol. Twentieth-century
Madrid is inconsistent but some of it is much more interesting
than you might expect. On the one hand, there are earlyish
twentieth-century buildings, particularly on the Gran Vía,
including the art nouveau Telefónica Building (1929),
the first skyscraper in Spain and very reminiscent of New
York's Empire State Building (the Telefónica Building
cannot be visited, but I know at first hand that it conserves
the original interior decoration - it is like walking onto
a Tim Burton film set for Batman). On the other, there is
later twentieth-century Madrid, best seen on the Paseo de
la Castellana, running north from the Jardines del Descubrimiento
up to the impossibly inclining Torres Kio in the Plaza de
Castilla.
SPV Articles, Sections and Links
Pages
Accommodation
in Madrid
Accommodation in Madrid, including extensive listings of one-
and two-star accommodation, compiled by yours truly.
Around Madrid
Visitors often see Madrid as no more than a gateway into Spain.
But, in addition to the capital itself, there are enough places
of interest within reach - Toledo, Segovia, Avila, Aranjuez,
Alcala de Henares -to make it a good base for a stay. A page
of selected, annotated links.
Madrid
de los Austrias
A photo-illustrated article about a walk around Hapsburg
Madrid.
Madrid
Hotels
The SPV Madrid Hotel directory contains 127 establishments,
bookable online.
Madrid Museums
The big three: the Museo del Prado, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza,
and the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia. With an extra page for
Madrid's lesser known museums.
Madrid Nightlife
Madrid's nightlife is so famous, many people do not believe
it until they see it. Madrileños seem to have
an insatiable appetite for having a good time: talking, laughing,
walking, talking, eating, drinking, dancing, talking... cinema,
theatre, talking... traffic jams at 4 or 5 in the morning...
It is frankly incredible.
The Retiro Park
The Parque del Buen Retiro is a green lung in the heart
of Madrid. Here is a photoillustrated article about it and
the summer Book Fair held there, the Feria del Libro.
Madrid
Links
Bars
and Pubs
History
and Heritage
Last-Minute
Booking
Madrid
Hotels
Madrid
Museums
Nightlife
Restaurants
Shopping
Transport
Recommended Link
MadridMan
A passion for Madrid verging on the insane, communicated with
infectious enthusiasm — while there is hard information
to be found here as well, it is that zeal that gives the site
its appeal. It has been around since the dawn of the www,
hence its slightly old-fashioned look, but shows little sign
of flagging.
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