MADRID HOTELS

Museum Del Prado
Located in an 18th building designed by Juan de Villanueva, the Prado is considered one of the most important art galleries in the world. It houses masterpieces by Vel?zquez, Goya, El Greco, Zurbar?n, Ribera, Titian, Raphael, Botticelli, Fra Ang?lico, Rubens, Bosch, Van der Weyden, Poussin, Lorrain, Watteau, Rembrandt, D?rer and Mengs, among others.

Reina Sofia National Museum and Art Centre
The Museum, located in an 18th century building, houses the most important collection of contemporary art in the Spanish State. A wide selection of its collection, which covers the end of the 19th century until the present day, shows the artistic work developed above all throughout the 20th century.

Palacio Real
The royal palace is no longer used as a residence, but it has been kept intact since it last functioned as home to the king, primarily serving as a tourist attraction. The entire palace is not open to the public, but most of the more important rooms can be visited. The palace is interesting in its own right, in particular its architecture and gardens (there are two, the Jardines del Moro and the Sabattini gardens). There are also some excellent frescos inside the palace by Ti?polo, and paintings by Vel?zquez, Goya, Rubens, El Greco, Juan de Flandes and Caravaggio, among others.

The Puerta del Sol
The Puerta del Sol is regarded as the true geographical heart of Spain - lying right in the middle of Madrid. All distance markers along the roads on the national Spanish highway system use Puerta del Sol as their reference point and on New Year's Eve each year Puerta del Sol becomes Spain's "Times Square" with thousands of revelers packing the square swallowing grapes at each of the twelve strokes of midnight. The Puerta del Sol is the most popular meeting place in Madrid.

Parque del Retiro
The largest and most beautiful of all Madrid's parks is the Retiro. It has 130 hectares of woodland which form a green, tree-clad (more than 15.000 trees) island in the middle of an asphalt sea. One may enter it through any of the fine gateways. These are located in the Plaza de la Independencia, the Calle de Alcala, the Calle de O'Donnell, and the Calle de Alfonso XII. White stone figures of the Kings and Queen of Spain peep out from the avenues of lofty tees and thick bushes, and just inside the park there is a large artificial lake where row-boats can be hired. The park also has its rose garden, as well as the Cecilio Rodriguez gardens and many delightful secluded nooks where strollers can enjoy a little privacy. In the middle of the park there are two buildings known as the Palacio de Velazquez and Palacio de Cristal, where art exhibitions are sometimes held.

Jardin Botanico
The entrance to the Botanical Gardens is the Glorieta de Murillo right beside the Prado Museum. These gardens, which contain about 30.000 different species of trees and plants from all over the world, were founded by Charles III for the Faculty of Totany. The different sections are divided by magnificent avenues and each tree and plant is labeled with its Latin name and species.

Casa de Campo
Located on the right bank of the Manzanares River to the west of Madrid, the Casa de Campo is a large park with an area of about 4.000 acres. Rowboats can be rented for a ride around the artificial lake. Swimming and tennis can also ve enjoyed. The Parque Zoologico or Zoo and Parque de Atracciones, a large amusement park, are found in the southern part.

Las Ventas
Bullfights in Madrid take place in the Las Ventas bullring, often referred to as the Mecca of bullfighting. The season in Madrid is from March to October, with bullfights at Las Ventas every Sunday at 7:00 PM. During the Feria de San Isidro, (from about mid-May to mid-June) and the Feria de Otoo (which begins toward the end of September) there are bullfights everyday, often with well known bullfighters. Tickets can be purchased at Las Ventas itself, with tickets going on sale two days before the bullfight. Tickets can also be bought at a small outlet (indicated as such in English) on calle Victoria.

The Madrid Planetarium
It was inaugurated in 1986 with a view to becoming an educational and promotional centre for astronomy and science. Its projection room is equipped with a planetarium that reproduces 9,000 stars, and audiovisual means to show 45 minute programmes on astronomical matters. It also has two exhibition rooms.

Estacion de Atocha
The Atocha Station was the first railway station in Spain. It was initiated in 1951 when Spain's second railroad connected Madrid with Aranjuez, a town some 47km from Madrid. The first railroad in Spain was built three years earlier and connected Barcelona with Mataro. The railway station was originally named Estacion de Mediodia but it is now known as Estacion de Atocha or Atocha Station.

Real Madrid Stadium — Santiago Bernabeu
It is named after the chairman of the Board of Directors, Santiago Bernabeu, who had the vision to borrow the money to buy this plot of land and start building. At that time it was the most modern stadium in the country and it has since undergone various expansion and improvement projects.

Vicente Calderon Stadium
The Vicente Calderon Stadium is home of the Club Atletico de Madrid, which seats 57,000 spectators. The stadium was inaugurated in 1966, named after the then-president of the club. This stadium is also used for concerts.

Palacio de Congresos de Madrid
Very well located, near the most exclusive hotels. Madrid Congress Hall is Spain's most prestigious conference venue located in the heart of the city. With a magnificent auditorium of 2.000 seats and many other facilities. Halls capacity from 35 to 1.909 pax.

IFEMA Exhibitions
Madrid's trade fair activity dates back to 1980, when the region's four most important organizations - the Regional Government, City Council, Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Saving & Loan Company - put their faith in the city as the best site for putting on trade shows, thus setting the foundations for what is now IFEMA, Feria de Madrid. The evolvement of this Institution was spectacular, spurring the construction of what can be considered as one of the most modern and best equipped fairgrounds in Europe: the Juan Carlos I Exhibition Centre. This facilitated communication among the 150,000 square meters of exhibition space, which is distributed among the ten ample halls and other facilities that provide participants with meeting rooms in a wide range of sizes, carparks, and an array of services. It is in a privileged location, just 3 kilometers from Barajas International Airport and surrounded by the major motorways of the city (M-30, M-40). Furthermore, a modern underground station, "Campo de las Naciones", connects the Juan Carlos I Exhibition Centre promptly with the heart of the city and the Barajas Airport.

Madrid Airport Barajas
Madrid airport is conveniently located close to the city and has 3 terminals. The airport's three terminals stand side by side, linked by corridors and moving walkways. Terminal 1 is for most international flights. Terminal 2 is for domestic Spanish flights plus Iberia European services to Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Italy, Luxembourg and Portugal; also Air Europa flights to France, Italy and Portugal. Terminal 3 is for Iberia domestic shuttle and Iberia/Air Nostrum regional flights. Barajas operates a no smoking policy in the terminals, except for designated areas in the food outlets.