Spain > Madrid > Madrid
Madrid
N 40°25.015', W 3°42.211'
2014-09-17
http://www.turismomadrid.es
Our rating: 8.00
Overall rating: - Rate this place - 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Madrid is in the center of Spain, it stands away from the coast and therefore less popular with tourists than other Spanish cities. In the capital we were planning to visit the largest royal palace in Europe, but due to some events it was closed, so we just walked around.
Royal Palace of Madrid ©wikipedia.org
Actually, the palace is the main attraction. But there are many other nice places. We lived on the main street Gran Via, so started our route from there. The first interesting building is Metropolis. Its height is 45 meters and in 1910 it was the tallest building in Madrid.
Metropolis building ©Yuriy Buriak
Metropolis building ©Yuriy Buriak
Nearby is a building Círculo de Bellas Artes. If you are interested, there is an observation deck there ("mirador"), entrance 3 euro, open from 11-00 to 14-00 and from 17-00 to 21-00. Next we went to the beautiful area of Plaza de Cibeles, where stands luxurious palace Palacio de Cibeles. Before it was a post office and now it is the town hall. It also has an observation deck, which is open from 11-00 to 14-00 and 16-00 to 19-00, costs 2 euro.
Cibeles Palace ©Yuriy Buriak
Cibeles Palace ©Yuriy Buriak
In 2 minutes from the square there is gate of Alcala (La Puerta de Alcalá), which are located on Independence Square. The gate built in 1778 was one of the five main gates of the city.
Puerta de Alcalá ©Yuriy Buriak
Near the gate is the entrance to the Retiro Park. If we do not take into account the wonderful park in Valencia , it is the best city park in Spain.
Monument to King Alfonso XII in Retiro Park ©Yuriy Buriak
Retiro Park ©Yuriy Buriak
Retiro Park ©Yuriy Buriak
Retiro Park ©Yuriy Buriak
In 1887 two palaces for exhibitions were built in the park. Brick palace is not interesting, but the crystal palace is just gorgeous. There are even rocking chairs inside!
Brick Palace in Retiro Park ©Yuriy Buriak
Crystal Palace in Retiro Park ©Yuriy Buriak
Crystal Palace in Retiro Park ©Yuriy Buriak
From the park we went for a walk into the old town. Passed by the Prado Museum, where is always a lot of people. Nearby is the entrance to the Botanical Garden, where usually paly cats.
Cats near the botanical garden ©Yuriy Buriak
Monument to Queen Maria Cristina ©Yuriy Buriak
Madrid ©Yuriy Buriak
Madrid ©Yuriy Buriak
Madrid ©Yuriy Buriak
Madrid ©Yuriy Buriak
Madrid has two main squares. First, Puerta del Sol, is not particularly interesting during the day, but beautiful at night. It is primarily used as a central hub of public transport interchange. Also here stands the symbol of Madrid - bear and the strawberry tree.
Puerta del Sol square ©Yuriy Buriak
Puerta del Sol square ©Yuriy Buriak
Symbol of Madrid - the bear and the strawberry tree ©Yuriy Buriak
Second one Plaza Mayor is a typical Spanish square. Earlier it was used for bullfighting and now you can find here different interesting characters.
Plaza Mayor ©Yuriy Buriak
Madrid ©Yuriy Buriak
Madrid ©Yuriy Buriak
Next we went to the royal palace to find out that it was closed for visiting today. Opposite the palace is the Almudena Cathedral. The observation deck on it is open from 10:00 until 14:30. Next we went to the Temple of Debod. Along the way, visited the Plaza de España, where stands a few high-rise buildings. Madrid Tower (142 m) until 1967 was the tallest building in Europe.
Madrid tower ©Yuriy Buriak
Temple of Debod was presented to Spain by the Egyptian authorities in 1968 in gratitude for their help in saving the temples of Abu Simbel from flooding during the construction of the Aswan Dam.
Тemple of Debod ©wikipedia.org
Here is also an observation deck with views of the Royal Palace.
View of the Royal Palace ©Yuriy Buriak
This concludes our walking tour around Madrid.
Map of Madrid ©@
Useful links: Maps on the city, metro, bus lines and others in PDF can be downloaded here .http://ctm-madrid.es - public transporthttp://www.metromadrid.es - metrohttp://www.movelia.es - buseshttps://www.museodelprado.es - Prado museumhttp://www.rjb.csic.es/jardinbotanico/jardin/ - royal botanical gardenhttp://www.patrimonionacional.es/ - royal palaceGetting to Madrid Madrid Airport is 13 km from the city center. Downtown is better to reach on the buses "24 horas expres", they run often, buy tickets from the driver, stops are the following: O'Donell, Cibeles and Atocha (central railway station). A taxi to the center costs 30 euros. Madrid is connected by high-speed railway lines to many cities: Barcelona (2:30), Valencia (1:30), Malaga (2:30), Seville (2:20) and so on. We drove from Barcelona by train, it is much more convenient then car or aircraft.
Tags, Spain: city , palace Tags, all countries: city , palace
- Rate this place -
Location : ------------ 1 - Far beyond the settlements, you must spend minimum a day 2 - Near the small town, you need to walk long distance 3 - Can be reached only by car 4 - A small town with a poor public transport 5 - Outside the settlements, but with excellent transport links 6 - A small town with excellent transport links 7 - Medium-size city 8 - Suburb of the capital or major city, the ability to reach by public transport 9 - Big city 10 - Capital
Impressions : ------------ 1 - No point in visiting 2 - Boring, wasted time 3 - You can visit, if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do 4 - A lot of things, but not so interesting 5 - It seems to be interesting, but hard way to spoil the impression 6 - There is something interesting, but the rest is not worth the attention 7 - Probably interesting, but for everybody 8 - Very cool, but difficult to see everything and long-distance trails 9 - Very cool, but there are similar facilities in other locations 10 - Very cool, this is not anywhere else
Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) : ------------ 1 - Crowds, impossible to see everything normally 2 - A lot of tourists, a long wait 3 - A lot of tourists, the organization is lame 4 - A lot of tourists, but good organization 5 - There are many tourists, but they are concentrated in one place and you can walk freely 6 - Many tourists everywhere, but the large space is compensated 7 - The average number of tourists. To photograph, you must wait 8 - Tourists are, but they do not interfere 9 - There are few tourists 10 - You are alone
State : ------------ 1 - Only title left 2 - Dull ruins 3 - On restoration 4 - The picturesque ruins 5 - Have not been restored, the state is poor 6 - Partially destroyed, but the rest of the normal state 7 - Have not been restored, good condition 8 - OK, but it is possible to make better 9 - Looks good from the outside, partial repair inside or without repair 10 - In excellent condition, well-groomed area
Picturesque (for the photographer) : ------------ 1 - - 2 - - 3 - Horrible background, normal pictures only from the top 4 - wires and cars do not allow make normal photo 5 - Interfere with foreign objects 6 - In the city, but more or less normal photo can be made 7 - Beautiful, but you can take pictures with just one point 8 - Very nice, but you can only shoot at a certain time 9 - Very nice, but hard to get to the good weather or permanently interfere with tourists 10 - Very nice, but occasionally interferes with the weather or tourists
* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help
Our rating - 8.00
Location : ------------ 1 - Far beyond the settlements, you must spend minimum a day 2 - Near the small town, you need to walk long distance 3 - Can be reached only by car 4 - A small town with a poor public transport 5 - Outside the settlements, but with excellent transport links 6 - A small town with excellent transport links 7 - Medium-size city 8 - Suburb of the capital or major city, the ability to reach by public transport 9 - Big city 10 - Capital
Impressions : ------------ 1 - No point in visiting 2 - Boring, wasted time 3 - You can visit, if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do 4 - A lot of things, but not so interesting 5 - It seems to be interesting, but hard way to spoil the impression 6 - There is something interesting, but the rest is not worth the attention 7 - Probably interesting, but for everybody 8 - Very cool, but difficult to see everything and long-distance trails 9 - Very cool, but there are similar facilities in other locations 10 - Very cool, this is not anywhere else
Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) : ------------ 1 - Crowds, impossible to see everything normally 2 - A lot of tourists, a long wait 3 - A lot of tourists, the organization is lame 4 - A lot of tourists, but good organization 5 - There are many tourists, but they are concentrated in one place and you can walk freely 6 - Many tourists everywhere, but the large space is compensated 7 - The average number of tourists. To photograph, you must wait 8 - Tourists are, but they do not interfere 9 - There are few tourists 10 - You are alone
State : ------------ 1 - Only title left 2 - Dull ruins 3 - On restoration 4 - The picturesque ruins 5 - Have not been restored, the state is poor 6 - Partially destroyed, but the rest of the normal state 7 - Have not been restored, good condition 8 - OK, but it is possible to make better 9 - Looks good from the outside, partial repair inside or without repair 10 - In excellent condition, well-groomed area
Picturesque (for the photographer) : ------------ 1 - - 2 - - 3 - Horrible background, normal pictures only from the top 4 - wires and cars do not allow make normal photo 5 - Interfere with foreign objects 6 - In the city, but more or less normal photo can be made 7 - Beautiful, but you can take pictures with just one point 8 - Very nice, but you can only shoot at a certain time 9 - Very nice, but hard to get to the good weather or permanently interfere with tourists 10 - Very nice, but occasionally interferes with the weather or tourists
* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help
Visitor's rating - 0.00
Location : ------------ 1 - Far beyond the settlements, you must spend minimum a day 2 - Near the small town, you need to walk long distance 3 - Can be reached only by car 4 - A small town with a poor public transport 5 - Outside the settlements, but with excellent transport links 6 - A small town with excellent transport links 7 - Medium-size city 8 - Suburb of the capital or major city, the ability to reach by public transport 9 - Big city 10 - Capital
Impressions : ------------ 1 - No point in visiting 2 - Boring, wasted time 3 - You can visit, if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do 4 - A lot of things, but not so interesting 5 - It seems to be interesting, but hard way to spoil the impression 6 - There is something interesting, but the rest is not worth the attention 7 - Probably interesting, but for everybody 8 - Very cool, but difficult to see everything and long-distance trails 9 - Very cool, but there are similar facilities in other locations 10 - Very cool, this is not anywhere else
Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) : ------------ 1 - Crowds, impossible to see everything normally 2 - A lot of tourists, a long wait 3 - A lot of tourists, the organization is lame 4 - A lot of tourists, but good organization 5 - There are many tourists, but they are concentrated in one place and you can walk freely 6 - Many tourists everywhere, but the large space is compensated 7 - The average number of tourists. To photograph, you must wait 8 - Tourists are, but they do not interfere 9 - There are few tourists 10 - You are alone
State : ------------ 1 - Only title left 2 - Dull ruins 3 - On restoration 4 - The picturesque ruins 5 - Have not been restored, the state is poor 6 - Partially destroyed, but the rest of the normal state 7 - Have not been restored, good condition 8 - OK, but it is possible to make better 9 - Looks good from the outside, partial repair inside or without repair 10 - In excellent condition, well-groomed area
Picturesque (for the photographer) : ------------ 1 - - 2 - - 3 - Horrible background, normal pictures only from the top 4 - wires and cars do not allow make normal photo 5 - Interfere with foreign objects 6 - In the city, but more or less normal photo can be made 7 - Beautiful, but you can take pictures with just one point 8 - Very nice, but you can only shoot at a certain time 9 - Very nice, but hard to get to the good weather or permanently interfere with tourists 10 - Very nice, but occasionally interferes with the weather or tourists
* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help