Madrid

This is about the Spanish capital Madrid. For other entries, see Madrid (disambiguation).

The Puerta del Sol square, in the heart of the city   The Plaza de Cíbeles square and the Palacio de Comunicaciones   The Prado Museum   Madrid, the capital of Spain, is located in the centre of the country at 40°25'N, 3°45'W. The municipality has a population of 3,016,788. Madrid is the capital not only of the country but also of the province and autonomous community of Madrid. History After being situated in Toledo and Valladolid, in the 16th century, the capital city of the Spanish Empire was finally established in Madrid. Madrid's fortunes have closely mirrored those of Spain. Befitting its new found prosperity, the capital city of Spain has consolidated its position as the leading economic, cultural, industrial, educational, and techological center on the Iberian peninsula. Madrid is also the undisputed link between the Americas, especially South America, and Europe. Culture and sights Important cultural and tourist spots include the famous Prado Museum, the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum, the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (where Pablo Picasso's Guernica hangs), the Casón del Buen Retiro, the Palacio Real, the Templo de Debod, the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales, the Puerta del Sol, the Parque de Retiro. Other nearby towns are popular as day trips from Madrid, including Toledo, Segovia, Avila, Aranjuez, Alcalá de Henares, the monastery and palace complex of El Escorial, and Chinchón. As you have already seen, Madrid is particularly noted for its nightlife and discotheques; it's not uncommon for madrileños to dance all night, head to the Chocolateria San Ginés for chocolate y churros at dawn, go home, shower, shave, and go to work. This nightlife, called la movida, flourished after the death of Franco. A particular hub for this night activity is the gay village of Chueca Transportation Air Madrid is served by Barajas International Airport. Barajas serves as the main hub of recently privatized Iberia Airlines. It consequently serves as the main gateway to the Iberian peninsula from Europe and the rest of the world. Current passenger volumes range upwards of 40 million passengers per year. Given annual increases of 10%, a new fourth terminal is in the process of being constructed. It is expected to significantly improve delays and double the capacity of the airport. Additional runways are also being constructued. National Rail Spain has not privatized its railways. Currently, Red Nacional de Ferrocarriles Españoles (Renfe) operates the vast majority of Spain's railways. In Madrid, the main rail terminals are Atocha and Chamartín. The crown jewel of Spain's next decade of infrastructure construction is the Spanish high speed rail network, Alta Velocidad Española AVE. Currently, an ambitious plan includes the construction of a 7000 km network, centered naturally on Madrid. The overall goal is to have all important provincial cities be no more than 4 hours away from Madrid, and no more than 6 hours away from Barcelona. Currently, AVE high-speed trains link Atocha station to Seville in the south and Lleida in the east (to be extended to Barcelona). Metro Despite the city's population of some three million the Madrilenians (or madrileños) have one of the most extensive and fastest-growing metro networks in the world. It is now the second largest metro system in Western Europe, second only to London's Underground. The city is also served by extensive commuter rail called Cercanias. See also Real Madrid Atlético de Madrid 11 March, 2004 Madrid attacks This is the "Madrid" reference article from the English Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.