Frommer's Madrid
Chapter One
The Best of Madrid
Madrid is a rich amalgam of differing worlds. Narrow-laned old
quarters and handsome plazas filled with regal statues are bordered by wide avenues and
modern skyscrapers. World-class art galleries and museums vie for attention with secretive
convents and tiny 17th-century churches. The Plaza Mayor, the city's photogenic
main plaza, was once the stage for the Inquisition's horrific autos de fe; today it is filled
with strolling families, tourists, lively cafes, and souvenir shops.
Yet hedonism has always played a vital part in the city's lifestyle, and in a spontaneous
nonstop way that leaves you breathless. It is said that Madrid has more bars and cafes
than Belgium or Holland. And the bars here not only open early but also close late (or
never shut at all if you include the after-hours bars), and weekend dawn traffic jams of
cars and night buses block the city thoroughfares as revelers weave their way to, from, or
between their favorite spots. Madrilenos also love to eat well-be it at a favorite neighborhood
tasca or a fab ... read full excerpt from Frommer's Madrid (Frommer's Complete #643) ebook
