Sightseeing
Overview
Madrid is best known for its Golden Triangle of
art museums, Prado, Reina Sofía and Thyssen-Bornomisza.
The celebrated Art Walk, Paseo del Arte, links
the three.
The city’s focal point remains the Puerta del Sol,
the eastern gate of the city during the 15th century. The monument
of the bear and madroño, in the centre of the square, symbolises
Madrid. The Calle Mayor leads west from Sol, to
the Plaza Mayor, which evokes the splendour of Spain’s 17th-century
Golden Age. The Calle de Alcalá, a grandiose
thoroughfare constructed in the reign of Charles III, leads east
of Sol, towards Plaza de Cibeles. The fountain,
with its statue of a Greco-Roman fertility goddess astride a lion-drawn
chariot, is a landmark instantly recognisable to all Spaniards.
Visitors might be less impressed with the crazy merry-go-round of
traffic encircling her. Overlooking Plaza de Cibeles is the imposing
Palacio de Comunicaciones, the main post office,
dating from 1904.
The Madrid cityscape is softened by numerous green spaces, the lovely
squares, such as the Plaza de Oriente, in front
of the Royal Palace, and parks, most obviously
the landscaped Parque del Buen Retiro and Jardín
Botánico (Botanical Gardens) near the Prado.
Further west is the wilder Casa de Campo, which
also contains the Parque de Atraciones funfair
and leisure grounds. More unusual is the greenhouse in the Atocha
Station, the entrance at concourse, gate 14, popular with
Madrileños and tourists alike.
Tourist
Information
Oficina Municipal de Turismo
Plaza Mayor 3
Telephone number: (91) 588 1636 or (91) 366 5477. Fax number: (91)
588 2930.
E-mail: inforturismo@munimadrid.es
Website: www.munimadrid.es
Opening hours: Monday–Saturday 1000
hrs–2000 hrs, Sunday 1000 hrs–1500 hrs.
The
Comunidad de Madrid (regional tourist information office)
has branches at Calle Duque de Medinaceli 2, Barajas airport, Chamartín
Station, Atocha Station and Mercado Puerta de Toledo, Ronda de Toledo
1.
Passes
The Paseo del Arte (Art Walk) ticket allows entry
to the Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza and Reina
Sofía museums, valid for one trip to each gallery
within a year of the first visit. The pass costs €7.60 and
is available for purchase at any of these 3 galleries.
The Madrid Card,
valid for 1, 2 or 3 days and, costing between €28 and €55,
gives visitors to free admission to 40 major museums, use of public
transport, Madrid Vision bus tour (see Tours of
the City), a guided walking tour (Saturday), as well as discounts
in selected shops, restaurants, theatres and more. They can be purchased
from main tourist offices or online.
The state museums, including the Prado and Reina
Sofía, are free on Saturday 1430 hrs –1900
hrs and Sunday. Monuments managed by the Patrimonio Nacional,
including the Palacio Real, Monasterio de las Descalzas
Reales and Monasterio de la Encarnacion,
are free (officially for EU nationals only) at least one day a week
(usually Wednesday).
Key Attractions
Museo del Prado (Prado Museum)
The Prado Museum, founded in 1819, is undergoing an extensive programme
of renovation, to reclaim its position among Europe’s greatest
galleries. Within its 4000-strong collection of 16th to early 19th
century paintings, are masterpieces by Fra Angelico, Botticelli,
Bosch (El Bosco), Titian, Rembrandt and
Velázquez, as well as evidence of the astonishing
development of Goya, from his sun-soaked early
paintings of dances and festivities to the grim madness of his black
period.
Paseo del Prado
Telephone number: (91) 330 2800. Fax number: (91) 330 2856.
E-mail: museo.nacional@prado.mcu.es
Website: http://museoprado.mcu.es
Transport: Metro Atocha or Banco de España; bus 9, 10, 14,
27, 34, 37 or 45.
Opening hours: Tuesday–Sunday 0900 hrs–1900 hrs.
Admission: €3.01 (concessions available); free Saturday 1430
hrs –1900 hrs and Sunday.
Museo
Thyssen-Bornemisza (Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum)
Madrid purchased the private collection of Hans-Heinrich
Thyssen-Bornemisza after a nine-and-a-half-year loan, instantly
enriching the city’s fund of art treasures. The Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
collection contains over 800 paintings, sculptures, carvings and
tapestries, ranging from primitive Flemish works to contemporary
pieces. Highlights include works by Fra Angelico, Van Eyck,
Dürer, Caravaggio, Rubens, Dürer
and Caravaggio.
Palacio de Villahermosa, Paseo del Prado 8
Telephone number: (91) 369 0151. Fax number: (91) 420 2780.
E-mail: mtb@museothyssen.org
Website: www.museothyssen.org
Transport: Metro Banco de España; bus 9, 10, 14, 27, 34,
37 or 45.
Opening hours: Tuesday–Sunday
1000 hrs–1900 hrs.
Admission: €4.81 (permanent exhibitions); €3.60 (temporary
exhibitions); €6.60 (permanent and temporary exhibitions combined),
concessions available.
Museo
Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Reina Sofia National
Art Centre Museum)
Housed in a former hospital, built by Francesco Sabatini
for Carlos III in the late 18th century but never completed, the
museum was designed by the Spanish architect, Antonio Fernánez
Alba, in 1977 and completed in 1990. Officially opened
by the King and Queen in 1992, it is dedicated
to Spanish 20th-century art, pride of place belonging to Picasso’s
disturbing Civil War canvas, Guernica. Dalí, Juan Gris and
Miró are among the other artists on show
Calle Santa Isabel 52
Telephone number: (91) 467 5062. Fax number: (91) 467 3163.
Transport: Metro Atocha; bus 9, 10 14, 27, 34, 37 or 45.
Opening
hours: Monday, Wednesday–Saturday 1000 hrs–2100
hrs, Sunday 1000 hrs–1430 hrs.
Admission: €3.01; concessions available; free Saturday 1430
hrs –1900 hrs and Sunday.
Palacio
Real (Royal Palace)
With the opulence of Versailles in mind, Philip V
commissioned Italian architects Francesco Sabatini and Giambattista
Sacchetti and to build the Royal Palace, following a fire
that destroyed the medieval Alcázar in 1764.
The present king, Juan Carlos I, resides in the
more subdued Zarzuela Palace outside Madrid, so
Philip’s 3000-room extravaganza is only used for state functions.
The rest of the time, the startling white building in granite and
Colmenar stone is open for tours and individual visits. Highlights
include the Hall of Halberdiers and Hall
of Columns with their splendid frescoes, the Throne
Room with its 17th-century sculptures, and the lavish private
apartments of Charles II. Just off the courtyard
is the Royal Armoury and Pharmacy among one of
Europe’s oldest. Visits take approximately 2 hours. There
are spectacular views over Madrid from the surrounding gardens and
park.
Plaza de Oriente and Calle Bailén
Telephone number: (91) 542 0059.
Website: www.patrimonionacional.es
Transport: Metro Opera; bus 3, 25, 39 or 148.
Opening
hours: Monday–Saturday 0900 hrs–1800 hrs, Sunday
0900 hrs–1500 hrs (April–September), Monday–Saturday
0930 hrs–1700 hrs, Sunday 0900 hrs–1400 hrs (October–Mar),
closed during official ceremonies.
Admission: €6 (concessions available).
Plaza
Mayor (Main Square)
This beautifully proportioned cobbled square was started by Philip
II and completed by Philip III during
1619 and his statue stands proudly at the centre. Plaza Mayor was
both a marketplace and the setting for public spectacles, everything
from the ritual condemnation of heretics to bull fights and pageants.
Today, visitors and tourists outnumber the locals but Plaza Mayor
is still as lively as it was in the past, with shops and cafés
in the covered arcades.
Plaza Mayor
Transport: Metro Sol, any bus route to Sol.
Further
Distractions
Parque del
Buen Retiro (Retiro Park)
This lush 118-hectare (292-acre) park in the centre of Madrid was
originally the private garden of Philip IV. Visitors
can enjoy a stroll along the shady avenues and formal gardens and
take a rowing boat out on the lake or picnic in the extensive wooded
areas. Madrileños come here in their thousands on Sunday
mornings, where entertainment is provided by fortune tellers, pavement
artists and circus acts. There is a children’s puppet theatre
and numerous refreshment places. Temporary art exhibitions are held
in the Palacio de Velázquez, Palacio
de Cristal and the Casa de Vacas.
Puerta de Alcalá, Plaza de la Independencia
Transport: Metro Retiro, Atocha or Ibiza, bus 2, 14, 19, 20, 26,
28, 51, 52, 68 or 69.
Opening hours: Daily
0600 hrs–2200 hrs.
Admission: Free.
Monasterio de
las Descalzas Reales (Convent of the Royal Barefoot Sisters)
Founded by Juana de Austria, the daughter of Charles
V, in 1559, as a retreat for noblewomen, the Convento de
las Descalzas Reales is still a functioning convent. A superb example
of 16th to 17th century Baroque architecture, it contains a magpie’s
hoard of artistic treasures, including Flemish tapestries, Italian
and Flemish sculptures, paintings and religious artefacts and more.
The convent is open for guided tours only. Tours are in Spanish,
although questions are taken in English.
Plaza de las Descalzas Reales 3
Telephone number: (91) 454 8800.
Website: www.patrimonionacional.es
Transport: Metro Callao or Sol; bus to Puerta del Sol 3, 5, 15,
20, 51, 52 or 150.
Opening hours: Tuesday–Thursday
and Saturday 1030 hrs–1245 hrs and 1600 hrs –1745 hrs
, Friday 1030 hrs –1245 hrs, Sunday 1100 hrs–1330 hrs.
Admission: €4.01 (concessions available).
Faunia
Parque Biológico de Madrid (Environmental Park)
The theme of this new, attractively landscaped theme park is bio-diversity.
Each of the 10 pavilions has been specially designed to recreate
a different natural environment, with the aim of demonstrating how
life, animal life in particular, has learned to adapt to a variety
of ecosystems. Thanks to the latest high-tech wizardry, visitors
can ‘experience’ a tropical storm, take a stroll through
the rain forest, visit the polar regions with temperatures of -
5ºC, or watch rivers of molten lava flowing 1000m (3281ft)
beneath the earth’s surface.
Avenida de las Comunidades 28
Telephone number: (91) 301 6210. Fax number: (91) 301 6229.
Transport: Metro Valdebernardo or Cercanías Vicálvaro,
bus 8, 71, 130 or E.
Opening hours: Daily
1000 hrs–1800 hrs(March), daily 1000 hrs–2000 hrs(1
April–June), daily 1000 hrs–2200 hrs (July–16th
September), daily 1000 hrs–1800 hrs (17th September–30th
September), Wednesday–Sunday 1000 hrs–1800 hrs (October–February).
Admission: €16.90 (concessions available).
Faro
de Moncloa (Light of Moncloa)
The Faro de Moncloa observation tower, located in the university
district, is open to the public, offering visitors panoramic views
of Madrid from the flying-saucer-shaped viewing deck, 92m (302ft)
high. The tower was designed by architect Salvador Arroyo,
during 1992, to monitor traffic congestion.
Avenida de los Reyes Católicos/Plaza del Arco de la Victoria
Telephone number: (91) 544 8104.
Transport: Metro Moncloa, bus 1, 16, 44, 46, 61, 82, 83, 132, 133
or C.
Opening hours: Tuesday–Sunday
1000 hrs–1400 hrs and 1700 hrs–2100 hrs (June–August),
Tuesday–Friday 1000 hrs–1400 hrs and 1700 hrs–1900
hrs, Saturday–Sunday 1000 hrs–1800 hrs (September–May).
Admission: €1 (concessions available). |
