Madrid - Madrid visitor guide showing a virtual tour of 'Madrid' linked to an interactive map with local and travel information. 360° panoramas from Madrid.

Madrid is the capital, and largest, city of Spain. It boasts a very lively night-life, is well known for great cultural and artistic heritage and is a major travel destination in Europe. Madrid is situated near the middle of the Iberian Peninsula next to the river Manzanares. People from Madrid refer to themselves as 'Madrileños'.

Though settled in prehistoric times and with evidence of Roman habitation, Madrid grew in prominence under the Moors who named it al-Majrīṭ (Arabic: المجريط, 'source of water'). The name later developed into 'Majerit' before becoming 'Madrid'. The Moors in Madrid were defeated by Christian king Alfonso VI of Castile in 1085 as he moved towards Toledo.

In the 16th century, King Philip II moved the Royal Court, and thereby the capital city to Madrid from Seville. Thereafter, the prosperity of Madrid was closely tied to the prosperity of Spain itself and thus began the great periods of expansion and building of the many national treasures found in Madrid today.

Madrid - Tourist Attractions

This map shows some of the tourist attractions, squares and plazas to be found in Madrid. They provide a growing virtual tour of the city from the eyes of independent, travelling photographers and writers. Madrid has many great museums. Most of the top attractions in Madrid are clustered around the city center:

• Museo del Prado - contains one of the finest art collections on earth and the best collection of classical art in Madrid.
• Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum of Art - with a focus on art by Bacon, Goya, Degas, Lichtenstein, Mondrian, Monet, Picasso, Renoir and Van Gogh.
• Reina Sofía National Museum and Art Center - art museum with a focus on modern art and containing the most famous works by Picasso.
• Palacio Real - enormous palace with 30 state rooms filled with art, the two storey Real Armorial (Royal Armory) and 44 stairways.
• Plaza Mayor - the most famous square in Madrid, site of bullfights, markets, concerts and symphonies, tournaments and, previously, executions.
• Puerta del Sol - the heart of Madrid, place of the Kilometre Zero from which all highways are measured and the oso (bear) of Madrid.
• National Archeology Museum - covers archaeology from the Iberian Peninsula through the Iberian, Phoenician, Greek, Roman, Visagoth and Arab times and then into the modern age.
• Museo de América - hundreds of artefacts from the Americas.
• Real Academia de Bella Artes de San Fernando - good collection of art, paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints as well as several Goya masterpieces.
• Catedral de la Almudena - massive cathedral church on the Palacio Real.
• Templo de Debod - Egyptian temple set in one of the most pretty parks in Madrid.
• La Casa de Campo - former Royal Park near Palacio Real now open to the public with lakes and a zoo.
• El Retiro Park - large park with boating lakes, the 'Forest of the Absent' memorial to the Madrid 3/11 terrorist bombings, and a large glass sculpture called the 'Crystal Palace'.

Madrid Tourist Information Office
Plaza Mayor 27
Madrid
Phone: 915881636

Tourist Information: Barajas Airport
s/n. International Arrives (T1)
Phone: 913058656

Tourist Information: Atocha Railway Station
Phone: 902100007

Flight: Madrid-Barajas Airport
Rail: Atocha station with AVE high-speed links to Seville, Málaga, Toledo, Zaragoza, Lleida, Tarragona and Barcelona.