World renowned galleries line the streets of Madrid. The city is relatively compact, much like Manhattan or Chicago. Government buildings, five star hotels of Madrid, cultural institutions such as museums, galleries, and universities are located with the downtown area. These big businesses entice many to the city, the large palace structures. What the travelers seem to notice though, is that the smaller out of the way galleries, the ramshackle warehouses seduce them away from the larger more famous locations. Some travelers visit Spain in hopes of dancing the night away at the hip and trendy night spots, but then find themselves having more enjoyable times sitting in cafes talking to the locals. The city surprises everyone in different ways.
The city became the capital in the sixteenth century and was planned as such. The architecture and the design of the government buildings and the downtown district as well as grid of the streets and roads are extremely organized, very planned out. There are three points of reference in Madrid, the center of the city is Puerta del Sol. The area with the most extravagant and incredible architecture is the Plaza de Cibeles, and the the Plaza Mayor. There are art and theater districts, the most important one today being in the area of the Prado Museum. During the Golden Age, many writers lived and worked here, visiting cafes and putting up plays. Cervantes lived here while writing Don Quixote, and is buried in the cemetery just down the road. Of the museums, the Prado is one of the more famous, and is in the process of expanding to better house the many famous paintings in the collection. It is worth a day at the Prado, to look at work by Goya, Titian and Rubens, just to name a few. La Casa Encendida is another museum that should not be missed as not only does it have quite a collection of artworks, music and cutting edge theater is performed. And many exhibitions have children in mind, with many activities that relate to shows for them to participate in.
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