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Madrid OVERVIEW
While Madrid is known around the world for its art, this city is far more than that. High cuisine, shady street-side cafes, lots of shopping, and a pulsing nightlife make this a destination for more than just the aesthetes. But most people come for the art, so let’s talk about that first. Spain’s capital city is justly famous for its “golden triangle” of art museums—The Prado, the Reina Sofía and the Thyssen-Bornemisza. Each is a major destination in its own right, and taken together provide a complete course in the history of highbrow beauty. Add to this hundreds of private galleries, large and small, and you have a feast for your eyes. Then there’s the feast for your stomach. Spain has one of the world’s great cuisines, and a Madrid vacation includes everything from simple tapas (appetizers) at a noisy bar to fresh seafood at a formal restaurant. Wash it all down with robust local wine or refreshing sangria. Madrileños know how to enjoy life. Most dwell in undersized apartments, so the ...See More street becomes their living room. In good weather the streets are lined with terrazas, outdoor cafes where families and friends while away the hours enjoying each other’s company. While the wine is fine and the food fantastic, they come for the company. A Spaniard can nurse a glass of wine for an hour or more, and nibble on some tapas for just as long. Get into the feel of the place by doing the same. A Madrid vacation is a chance to slow down or, at least, to slow down until nightfall. After dark the bars and discos come alive and madrileños release all that energy they’d been saving all day, partying until the early hours in raucous hot spots. Don’t wear yourself out walking around the museums if you want to do as the Spaniards do and dance all night. See Less
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