Madrid in brief

Ever since Felipe II decreed Madrid to be the capital of Spain in 1651 the city has been a melting pot of peoples and culture.  It is famous for the warmth of its people, its passion for football, for the diversity of its cuisine from traditional tapas to cutting-edge culinary delights and its stamina-testing nightlife.  Culturally the capital boasts 3 world-class museums, is home to the Oscar-winning director, Pedro Almodóvar as well as providing watering holes for the likes of writers such as Hemmingway and Cervantes (Don Quixote).

The capital’s candidacy for the 2016 Olympic Games has also helped the city’s profile and we are looking forward to a whole range of improvements of planned for the city regardless of whether Madrid is successful in its bid or not.

Madrid is one of the 17 autonomous regions into which Spain was divided under  the Constitution of 1978.  Unlike most of the others it has but one province with a total of just over 5 million.  3 million live within the city itself.

Most stores in Madrid open for business at 10am with smaller, family-run establishments closing for lunch between 2pm and 5pm.  Closing time can be anywhere between 8pm and 10pm.  Again, smaller shops and also food markets tend not to open on  Saturday afternoons and on the first Sunday of every month chain stores and the omnipresent Corte Inglés open for business all day.

Eating in Madrid, as indeed the whole of Spain, is a sacrosanct experience – wholly sociable and not to be rushed.  Lunchtime is typically from 2pm-4pm and dinner from 9pm-11pm.