It is possible that the city that never sleeps has calmed down a little in recent years. However, even though the bars close a bit earlier these days, you can still count on finding a party atmosphere at all times of the day and in all situations. And then, once you have had enough of socialising, you can take a few days out and enjoy the best kilometre of art to be found in Europe.

Población:3.3 Million

Información al turista:
Oficina Municipal de Turismo
Address: Plaza Mayor 3
Tel. +34 915 881 636

La Taberna de Antonio Sánchez
A classic tapas bar with the right kind of zinc counter and the appropriate associations with bullfighting. What distinguishes this establishment from others like it is that they make really good tapas. They also serve a good salad with your drink (there was a time when all tapas were free accompaniments).

Casa Matute
Joaquín Campos makes tapas that are wonderful and slightly different at this seemingly rather traditional bar and restaurant. Try duck's liver in sherry or fried goat's cheese with honey. And to drink, there are something over 80 Spanish wines to choose from.

Juana la Loca
A fairly trendy place with both traditional and newly created tapas – ostrich with plum and crispy-fried bacon, for example.

Nature
A cool club with a (for Madrid) varied range of music and a good dance show on stage. Thursdays from midnight.

Horario de apertura:
Traditionally 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., then 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., though these times may vary. Nowadays however it is more usual for shops to open from 10.00 or 11.00 in the morning until 10.00 in the evening.

Put simply, there are three shopping areas in Madrid: Centro, located between Puerta del Sol and Gran Vía, Chueca, directly to the north and east of Centro, and Salamanca, slightly further to the east. These represent three different types of shopping, especially with regard to the range of clothes on offer: middle-of-the-road in Centro, trendy in Chueca and expensive designer labels in Salamanca. In Centro, for example, you will find El Corte Inglés, Spain's largest department store chain, as loved as it is hated, but used by all. Carry on to the Chueca district and Fuencarral – the hottest street in the area. Here you can visit El Mercado de Fuencarral, an entire gallery of clothes to go clubbing in, cool accessories and branded clothes with cred. Close by you can also find The Deli Room, which sells a selection of hip Spanish designer labels displayed in a delicatessen setting. In Salamanca, further to the east, the streets are lined with high-end boutiques: Camper, with the full range of men's and ladies' footwear from Spain's shoe success story, Mercado de La Paz, which is Madrid's most mouth-watering fresh produce market, and Lavinia – Europe's self-proclaimed biggest wine shop. Still not satisfied? Finish off your shopping trip at ABC Serrano in Salamanca, an eight-floor shopping centre with four floors devoted to fashion. Here hot new designers such as Amaya Arzuaga rub shoulders with reliable stand-bys like Zara. There are also cafés, restaurants and a gym.

The Three Big Art Galleries
Madrid's three major art galleries are all within a short walk of each other, and together they make up a magnificent display showing the history of western art. The fact is that each of them individually is so large that the Paseo del Arte triple ticket may seem an invitation to exhaustion – but once you have visited one of the three, you then have the rest of the year to take in the other two. The Prado is the best known. Since the gallery first opened almost two hundred years ago, its collections have grown, though the best known works in this extravagant collection of masterpieces were already present in the original collection: Goya and Velázquez, Tizian, Rubens and especially Bosch.

Palacio Real
Madrid's royal palace is a magnificent creation dating from 1764, built to replace the Alcázar castle that had burned down thirty years before. Visitors are given access to almost the entire palace, together with the armoury and pharmacy.

Toledo
Toledo was formerly the capital of Castile, but that all changed when King Philip II decided to build El Escorial and move the institutions of government to Madrid. Be sure not to miss the Alcázar and the cathedral!

El Escorial
Approximately sixty kilometres north of Madrid is the royal palace that houses, amongst other things, the mausoleum where all the rulers of Spain are interred.

Santceloni
Expensive but delicious food is served at this establishment run by Oscar Velasco, apprentice to one of the giants of Catalonian cuisine, Santi Santamaria. His influence can be seen in dishes such as shrimp ravioli stuffed with ceps. It has one star from the Guide Rouge.

La Terraza del Casino
The chef Pedro Roncero ahs joined forces with Ferrán Adrià, the legendary creator of Catalonia's nouvelle cuisine, in order to teach the residents of Madrid to eat mousse, parmesan ice lollys and liquid tortilla.

El Sobrino de Botín
A restaurant that really does live up to the epithet “classic”. With a history going back almost 300 years, this must surely be the world's oldest restaurant. The food is also classical: Spanish steaks of lamb and sucking-pig, for example.

Maldeamores
Modern decor in a three hundred year-old vault, and with an unusual menu drawing inspiration from Asia. Cool, intimate, relaxed.

Café del Círculo de Bellas Artes
An elegant café with ceilings at the right height and a timeless atmosphere amongst the pillars, housed in the Bellas Artes cultural centre.

Delic
A pleasant al fresco establishment in the very heart of Madrid serving a large selection of well-prepared pastries and interesting tapas. Also popular for cocktails.

Mendocino Café
A relaxed café with laid-back music and serving coffee with excellent sandwiches and salads, also with long opening hours. Brunch served on Sundays.

Madrid's airport, Barajas, is a little over ten kilometres northeast of the city. The cheapest way to get to Madrid is by metro: line 8 goes to Nuevos Ministerios. Journey time: 30 minutes. The taxi ride costs about €20 (more at nights and on Sundays) and takes 30-60 minutes. There is also the bus, departing at least every twenty minutes for Plaza de Colón. Journey time 30-60 minutes. Cost: €2.50.

Salud:
All chemists’ have a list or a sign in the window with details of the duty chemists’, with the nearest one highlighted. There are two chemists’ that are open at all times: Farmacia Central (does not take credit cards)

Moneda: Euro

Teléfono de emergencias: 112

Electricidad: 220V AC, 50Hz

Idioma: Spanish

Telefonía: Country code: +34

Transporte:
Madrid's metro system consists of 13 lines that serve both the city and its suburbs. The metro is also the most efficient way of getting around, and it runs between 06:00 a.m. and 02:00 a.m. daily. The EMT bus network is made up of about a hundred lines, including a useful “circle route” (the busses are marked with a C). Busses run from 06:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. daily. Night busses leave from Plaza de Cibeles.

Taxi:

Radio-Taxi Asociación Gremial
tel. +34 914 475 180

Radio-Taxi Independiente
tel. +34 914 051 213

Teletaxi
tel. +34 913 712 131