Hi! This is Sara and I will be your personal travel guide.
History, art, fun, food, sun, nature, Madrid is all of that and much more.
Discover Madrid with me and experience a great way of life.
Madrid offers a wide range of accommodation suitable for every type of tourists. In Madrid Traveling, you will find my personal recommendations for hotels, hostels, and apartments in the city center as well as the best boroughs and neighborhoods to stay. Visit now the accommodation section to take advantage of my tips and save money on your travel to Madrid.
Madrid is a reference in art and culture, not just in Spain and Europe, but also worldwide. Many of the most important artists ever have left their mark in this wonderful city throughout its rich history. In Madrid Traveling, you will easily find the most interesting museums, monuments and many other cultural spaces and landmarks which you must not skip in your breaks to Madrid.
Tired after a whole day of sightseeing? you have well earned some time for fun. In Madrid city, you will find a wide offer of shows and spectacles, and Madrid Traveling will advice you to choose the best entertainment offers and to get more for less. Flamenco shows, theater, opera, musicals, and concerts are essential to understand the Spanish culture. And if you love sports, you cannot miss a soccer match with some of the best players in the world. You will not find any other place gathering two top soccer teams like Real Madrid and Atletico de Madrid.
There is nothing like drinking a glass of wine while tasting Spanish ham in a nice terrace. In our Madrid Traveling guide, you will find information about the most traditional food in Spain as well as recommendations of the best restaurants in the city. The high diversity and quality of the Spanish wines derive from a unique climate and soil. Read now my eat, drink and nightlife section to find out the best value wines.
Toledo is really close to Madrid and is one of the most beautiful and historic cities in Spain. It is usually referred as the city of the three cultures due to the strong influences of Christians, Jews, and Muslims. I am sure that you will not be disappointed with the Cathedral, the Alcazar, and the rest of the points of interest specified in our Madrid Traveling guide.
Segovia is famous for the Roman aqueduct, built in the second half of the first century. You will also be amazed by the Cathedral, the Alcazar, churches, monasteries, and many other astonishing landmarks.
As you can see in the image, the medieval walls are the main landmark in Avila, they are 2,5 kilometers long and they are perfectly preserved. Please do not skip the Avila trip in your travel to Madrid, you can find more details in the Madrid Traveling one-day trips section.
I usually read about the history of the countries I am traveling to, it helps me to better understand the local culture and traditions. That is why I want to share with you in Madrid Traveling a few global highlights of the history of Spain and Madrid you will find interesting before your travel.
The caves in the Sierra of Atapuerca, 250 kilometers from Madrid, contain the first evidence of the earliest human beings in Europe, from more than one million years ago. It is believed that these humans in Europe arrived from Africa.
Since then, many different cultures have left their mark and are part of the current Spanish culture. Iberians, Celts, Lusitanians, Tartessians, Phoenicians, Greek, and Carthaginians established settlements in the Iberian Peninsula previous to the Roman conquest in the second century BC. Some of the greatest military commanders in history like Hannibal Barca or Scipio Africanus battled in these territories.
The final conquest of Hispania, the name given by the Romans to the Iberian Peninsula, took 200 years and the Iberian population and infrastructure were romanized along the 600 years they held the control. The Roman Empire provided the land with roads, aqueducts, temples, and theaters. Furthermore, most of the Spanish present languages, religion and the basis of its laws were born in this period.
It is believed that the origin of the current name of the city comes from the 2nd century BC when the Roman Empire established a settlement called “Matrice” on the banks of the Manzanares river.
The Visigoths, a Germanic tribe, invaded Hispania as the Roman Empire decayed in the fifth century and stayed until the Muslim invasion in the eighth century. Cordoba, Sevilla, and Granada are examples of key locations for the Muslims.
At the end of the IX century, Muhammad I built a castle in the same place where the Royal Palace of Madrid stands today, as well as a citadel around the castle. The Arab walls surrounding this settlement can still be visited today. The Moors controlled the citadel until Alfonso VI conquered them in 1085 in his advance towards Toledo.
The Christian reconquest started in Covadonga (Asturias) and in 1492 the Moors were expelled from the Peninsula with the final fall of Granada, the expulsion of the Jews from Hispania, the arrival of Christopher Columbus to America and the beginning of the Spanish empire.
In 1561 the Spanish Court was transferred by Philip II from its location in Toledo to Madrid. The Court moved again to Valladolid in 1601, but it returned definitively to Madrid five years later.
The Spanish empire is considered the first global empire in History, controlling huge territories of Europe, America, Africa, and Oceania. It was called the “empire where the sun never sets”. The invasion of Spain by Napoleon in 1808 was the beginning of the end, and Spain lost along the nineteenth century its most valuable colonies.
On 2 May 1808, the Madrid citizens revolted against the French forces. The rebellion was quickly put down by Napoleon´s army but hundreds of Spanish men and women and French soldiers were killed. The French army was finally expelled from Madrid in 1813.
The Spanish civil war in 1936 was one of the darkest points in the history of Spain, like all the wars especially within the same country, confronting families and friends. The rebel forces, led by Francisco Franco, and supported by the Nazi Germany, were victorious in 1939. After the war, killings and imprisonments continued. During the dictatorship, especially after the sixties, the south of Madrid became very industrialized and experienced massive migrations from rural environments into the city.
When Franco died in 1975, Spain moved from a dictatorship to a democratic state and the 1978 Constitution confirmed Madrid as the capital of Spain. Due to this rich history, Madrid has become one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. For Madrid Traveling it is, besides, an attractive city with modern infrastructures and one of the most important financial hubs in Europe.