Madrid is the capital of Spain and one of the most beautiful cities in the world with a huge cultural and artistic heritage. Here modern business centers and medieval architecture, the best night clubs in Europe, the largest shops, beautiful parks and, of course, a lot of museums naturally combine. When you come to the city you haven’t been to before you should get to know some general information about it, its traditions and customs, some information what to do if you get into a trouble in unknown for you city and so on. We prepared for you some useful tips which travelers in Madrid should take into notice when visiting this beautiful and mysterious city.
1 If you are planning a lot of trips around the city, it is necessary to know that the entire city can be reached by using public transport, in particular buses. For convenience, you can buy at the bus driver a special pass ticket.
2 If you are over 21 years old, and when you already have a driver’s license, passport and credit card, you can easily rent a car. It is better to do at the special rental places located on the two railway stations of the city.
3 If you have in your wish list a cultural program with museums visiting, in order to get tickets discounts, you need to buy a card, which is called the Paso del Arte. This card also gives you the opportunity for free admission to some of the cultural institutions of the city.
4 For a free ride on some forms of public transport, as well as for discounts in museums, buying Madrid Card will be quite profitable decision; the validity of this card is 1-3 days depending on the buyers’ wishes.
5 In order to avoid confusion with the local authorities you should always have a document proving your identity or a copy of such a document. Also you can take the hotel’s card, where you are staying.
6 On the tours about outskirts of the city it is better to go together with the tourist group with a guide. Be careful in the streets – as local thieves steal bags from unwary tourists, using the so-called method of “Tyrone” (when the hooligans on motorbikes take bags from passers-by and instantly hide away).
7 If you need to call, you should not do it at the hotel – it is more advantageous to make calls from the telephone booths or special items for negotiation.
8 In the city it is forbidden to photograph strategic objects, governmental buildings, and you should not take photos of the local people and passers-by without their permission.
Now when you know how to behave yourselves in this city you can go sightseeing tour. There are a lot of beautiful must-visit places in Madrid which you can’t leave without your attention when visiting this wonderful city.
The main square of Madrid is Plaza Mayor, founded in the XVII century, it is one of the largest squares in Spain. In the old days there was held a bullfight. Heart of Madrid is considered to be the Puerta del Sol square. At this square is the zero kilometer (embedded in the pavement, half-ring of copper) from which all distances begin in Spain. It is necessary to pay attention to the royal palace-one of Madrid’s main attraction, with its various halls, attracted by their beauty. By order of Alfonso XIII here a cinema hall was equipped. It was in the early days of cinema. Dozens of monuments to kings surround East area, which is actually located in the western part of the city. Plaza of Spain surmounted by Miguel de Cervantes monument to glorify his Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. You can also note the “Spain” and “Madrid” – high-rise buildings, built in the 40-50 years of the last century. In the streets of Alcala Rose and Prado is another attraction of Madrid – fountain “Cibeles”, which is really called the hallmark of the city.
The locals are proud of the main park in the capital of Spain called “Parque del Retiro”. Here you can meet a lot of people every day. Here, in the palace of Velasquez and Glass Pavilion, numerous exhibitions take place. There are a lot of monuments in this park. Monument to Alfonso XII is one of them. The numerous ponds, surrounded by trees and the Alley of roses, inviting people with their pleasant freshness and beauty are worth seeing. In addition, Madrid is famous for its museums, such as the National Archaeological Museum, the Art Gallery “Foundation Collection Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum,” Museum of Contemporary Art Reina Sofia, and finally, the Prado Museum – one of the most famous art galleries not only in Europe but also in the whole world.