Madrid

Madrid, the capital of Spain, sits right in the centre of the country and is the fifth-largest city in Europe. Four days could easily go by, and still half of this metropolis would remain unexplored! Madrid is a city that never sleeps. Really! There is a lively nightlife, tapeo, fancy restaurants, and chic rooftop hangouts. There are crowded plazas and boulevards packed with shops. All of this is Madrid.

As the seat of the Spanish Royal Court for almost 200 years, Madrid has long been the political, cultural, and social heart of Spain. That is Madrid too. World-class museums house masterpieces we have all seen in books: Las Meninas, Guernica, Las Pinturas Negras, and El Jardín de las Delicias, to name a few. That is Madrid as well. The biggest Royal Palace in Europe, or the famous Bocadillo de Calamares—all this, with the fascinating contrasts it creates—defines Madrid.

And what’s the story of the bear and the strawberry tree (El Oso y el Madroño), which stands proudly in the city’s main square, Puerta del Sol: with its red, cherry-like berries, symbolises Madrid’s harmony with the nature that once surrounded the city.