SPAIN - MADRID

SPAIN

Capital: Madrid

Geographical size: 505 970 km²

Population: 46 507 760 (2014)

Official EU language(s): Spanish

Political system: parliamentary constitutional monarchy

EU member country since: 1 January 1986

Currency: Euro. 

MADRID

Madrid is a south-western European city, the capital of Spain, and the largest municipality of the Community of Madrid. The population of the city is almost 3.2 million.

PLACES TO VISIT.

• The royal palace: The Palacio Real, or Royal Palace, is Madrid's largest building and possibly its most beautiful. It is located next to the equally beautiful Plaza de Oriente square.  Madrid's Royal Palace is the largest royal palace in Western Europe

• The Gran Vía street is Madrid's most famous street, mentioned in books and shown many times in films. It starts at the Plaza de Alcalá square and  finsish at to the Plaza de España. Along this street there  are hundreds of businesses - shops, stores,hotels, banks, restaurants, bars, cinemas and theatres.

• Madrid's Cathedral:  It is a relatively modern building, started in 1883 and not completed until 1993. The building is a mixture of styles with a neoclassical exterior, a gothic revival interior, and a neo-romanesque crypt.

MUSEUMS

• The Prado Museum: the Prado Museum is Madrid's top cultural sight, and one of the world's greatest art galleries. Located in the centre of Madrid, displays works by the great European masters such as Velázquez, Goya, Raphael, Rubens, and Bosch.

• The Reina Sofia Museum: Madrid's 18th century hospital was beautifully remodelled and converted into a museum in 1992. In 2005 it added an extension designed by French architect Jean Nouvel. Many of its art works were transferred from the  Prado, and it's now a treasure-house of contemporary and modern art. 

WHAT TO EAT

• Bocadillo de Calamares: No trip to Madrid is complete without tasting the city’s most famous sandwich, the bocadillo de calamares, or fried squid sandwich. Madrid’s central Plaza Mayor is the best place to eat this simple, but also delicious, sandwich.  The most basic (and most traditional) bocadillo de calamares consists of crusty fresh bread loaded with deep-fried, flour-coated rings of squid. 
• Huevos rotos: huevos rotos, which literally means “broken eggs.” This popular dish is served as a plate of fried potato strips topped with an over-easy egg, which is typically broken with the crusty edge of a piece of bread .