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The city of Madrid
- Learning Spanish in Madrid
- Students' opinions
Reasons to study Spanish in Madrid
THE CITY:
- Population: 3.600.000
- Location: centre of Spain (in the autonomous region of the same name).
- Madrid is the largest city and the capital of Spain, and home of the Spanish Royal Family.
- Spain's main airport, Madrid-Barajas International, is 13km northeast of Madrid.
- Madrid is a city full of contrast where modern architecture mixes well with old town character.
CULTURAL/RECREATIONAL:
- Madrid has a remarkable collection of museums (Museo del Prado, Museo Reina Sofía, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, etc) and plenty of art galleries.
- If you need to relax, you can take a stroll or just lie on the grass in the Parque del Buen Retiro, the most popular and authentic of Madrid's parks with 119 hectares and 15.000 trees.
- Nightlife is an essential part of Madrid: you can find hundreds of pubs and bars; traffic jams at 4 a.m., lights, shows, etc. There are several essential hotspots around the city, each one with its own particular style.
- Madrid has over 54.000 shops, where you can find everything you are looking for.
- The famous monastery of El Escorial, where most of the kings of Spain are buried, is located near Madrid and is a must-visit.
- Due to its central location, lots of Spanish cities can be visited without travelling for hours on end. In one hour you can reach the cities of Ávila, Toledo, Segovia, and the town of Aranjuez.
More information about Madrid
The capital of Spain is located in the heart of the Iberian Peninsula and right in the centre of the Castilian plain 646 metres above sea level; it has a population of over three million. It is a very cosmopolitan city while having a great business centre, Public Administration, Government, and Spanish Parliament headquarters, and the home of the Spanish Royal Family. Madrid also plays a major role in both the industrial and banking sectors. Most of its industry is located in the Southern fringe of the city, where important food, textile, and metal working factories are clustered. Madrid is characterised by an intense artistic and cultural activity. It also has huge green areas and a continuous flow of architectural structures, business people and students. The nightlife is particularly lively with much taking place in its thousands of traditional bars. Madrid is well worth visiting - and getting lost in - if you're looking to enjoy a unique experience.
The grand metropolis of Madrid can trace its origins to the times of the Arab Emir Mohamed I (852-886), who ordered the construction of a fortress on the left bank of the Manzanares Rriver. Later Madrid became the subject of a dispute between Christians and Arabs until Alonso VI conquered it in the 11th century. At the end of the 17th century, a defensive wall was built to protect the city´s new outlying areas, tracing the roads of Toledo, Segovia, and Valencia. During the 18th century, the great “arteries” of the city, such as the Paseo del Prado and Paseo de las Acacias were designated under the reign of Carlos III.
 Plaza Mayor (Main square) |
 Puerta de Alcalá |
At the beginning of the 19th century, Joseph Bonaparte (Napoleon´s stepbrother, also known as Pepe Botella) undertook the reform of the Puerta del Sol and its vicinity. The Gran Vía, a long commercial street was built as an east-west avenue at the start of the 20th century. In the 1950's the Paseo de la Castellana, a north-south boulevard, was extended and modern buildings were erected on it, housing the major financial institutions. Remains of the distant past are mainly the Baroque and neoclassical structures of the 17th and 18th centuries, such as the Palacio Real (Royal Palace), the Plaza Mayor (Main Square), and others described later during our city tour.
Fiestas and celebrations in Madrid
On the 15th of May Madrid honours San Isidro, the patron saint of the city, with a fiesta. The celebrations are accompanied by typical Madrid folklore, including fair and dances organised on the meadow of San Isidro, where the people of Madrid sing, dance and enjoy themselves next to their patron saint´s hermitage. Meanwhile, there are opera and ballet performances as well as the traditional bullfights at Las Ventas´s bullring.
