Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Madrid shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Madrid offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Madrid at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Madrid? Wrong! If the Madrid is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Madrid then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Madrid? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Madrid and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Madrid wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Madrid then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Madrid site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Madrid, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Madrid, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

{{Infobox City|official_name = Madrid|other_name =|native_name = |nickname =|motto =
(Spanish language for "From Madrid to Heaven")|image_skyline = Puerta de Alcalá.jpg|imagesize = 285px|image_caption =Puerta de Alcalá at night with Parque del Buen Retiro gardens in the background.|image_flag = Bandera de Madrid.svg|flag_size =150px|image_seal =|seal_size =|image_shield = Escudo de Madrid.svg|shield_size =75px|image_blank_emblem =|blank_emblem_size =|image_map = CiudadMadridPosicion.PNG|mapsize = 200px|map_caption = Location|pushpin_map = |pushpin_label_position = |subdivision_type = Country|subdivision_name = Spain|subdivision_type1 = Autonomous Community|subdivision_type2 = Province|subdivision_name2 = [Community of Madrid|subdivision_type3 = Administrative Divisions|subdivision_name3 = 21|subdivision_type4 = Neighborhoods|subdivision_name4 = 127|government_type =|leader_title = Mayor|leader_name = Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón Jiménez |leader_party = People's Party (Spain)|leader_title1 = |leader_name1 =|leader_title2 =|leader_name2 =|leader_title3 =|leader_name3 =|leader_title4 =|leader_name4 =|established_title = Founded |established_date = 8th century|established_title2 = |established_date2 =|established_title3 = |established_date3 =|area_magnitude =|unit_pref = |area_footnotes =|area_total_km2 =|area_land_km2 = 607|area_water_km2 =|area_total_sq_mi =|area_land_sq_mi =|area_water_sq_mi =|area_water_percent =|area_urban_km2 =|area_urban_sq_mi =|area_metro_km2 =|area_metro_sq_mi =|population_as_of = 2005|population_footnotes =|population_note = population-ranking: 1st|settlement_type = |population_total = 3228359|population_density_km2 = 5198|population_density_sq_mi =|population_metro = 5561748|population_density_metro_km2 =|population_density_metro_sq_mi =|population_urban =|population_density_urban_km2 =|population_density_urban_mi2 =|timezone = CET|utc_offset = +1|timezone_DST = CEST|utc_offset_DST = +2|latd=40 |latm=23 |lats= |latNS=N|longd=3 |longm=43 |longs= |longEW=W|elevation_footnotes = |elevation_m = 667|elevation_ft =|postal_code_type = Postal code|postal_code = 28001-28080|area_code = 34 (Spain) + 91 (Madrid)|website = http://www.munimadrid.es/ |footnotes =-->

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain.http://www.ine.es/ Instituto Nacional de Estadística (National Statistics Institute) Residents are called Madrileños.

The city is located on the river Manzanares in the center of the country, between the autonomous community of Castile and León and Castile-La Mancha. Due to its economic output, standard of living, and market (economics) size, Madrid is considered the major finance center of the Iberian Peninsula; it hosts the head offices of the vast majority of the major Spanish companies, as well as the headquarters of three of the world's 100 largest companies. As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and Spanish royal sites of Spanish monarchy, Madrid is also the political center of Spain.{{cite news|url=http://www.tourismofspain.com/cities-in-spain/madrid.html|publisher=Tourismofspain.org|title=Madrid|date=July 10, 2006--> The current mayor is Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, of the conservative Partido Popular.

As the capital of Spain, Madrid is a city of great cultural and political importance. While Madrid possesses a modern infrastructure, it has preserved the look and feel of many of its historic neighborhoods and streets. Its landmarks include the huge Royal Palace of Madrid; the Teatro Real (Royal theatre) with its restored 1850 Opera House; the Parque del Buen Retiro, founded in 1631; the imposing 19th-century Biblioteca Nacional de España building (founded in 1712) containing some of Spain's historical archives; an National Archaeological Museum of Spain of international reputation; and three superb art museums: The Prado, which hosts one of the finest art collections in the world, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, a museum of modern art, and the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, housed in the renovated Villahermosa Palace.{{cite news|url=http://www.easyexpat.com/madrid_en/overview_geography.htm|publisher=Easy expat|title=Madrid: mmmm|date=August 11, 2006-->

The population of the city was 3.2 million (December 2005), while the estimated urban area population was 5.1 million. The entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area (urban area and suburbs) is calculated to be 5.84 million. The city spans a total of 607km² (234 square mile).{{cite news|url=http://www.map.es/documentacion/politica_autonomica/info_ecofin/indicadores/ind_madrid.html|publisher=Ministerio de Administraciones Públicas|title=Indicadores Socioeconómicos: Comunidad de Madrid|date=August 11, 2006-->

Following the restoration of democracy in 1975 and Spain's integration into the European Union, Madrid has played an increasing role in Europe, marking the city as one of the most important European metropolises. Yet each district (or barrio in Spanish language) still preserves its own feel.

Names of the city and origin of the current name

There are several theories regarding the origin of the name "Madrid". According to legend Madrid was founded by Ocno Bianor (son of King Tyrrhenius of Tuscany and Mantua) and was named "Metragirta" or "Mantua Carpetana". Others contend that the original name of the city was "Ursaria" ("land of bears" in Latin), due to the high number of these animals that were found in the adjacent forests, which, together with the Madrone tree ("madroño" in Spanish language), have been the emblem of the city from the Middle Ages.

Nevertheless, it is now commonly believed that the origin of the current name of the city comes from the 2nd Century B.C., when the Roman Empire established a settlement on the banks of the Manzanares river. The name of this first village was "Matrice" (a reference to the river that crossed the settlement). Following the invasions of the Sueves, Vandals and Alans during the fifth Century Anno Domini, the Roman Empire could not defend its territories on the Iberian Peninsula, and were therefore overrun by the Visigoths. The barbarian tribes subsequently took control of "Matrice". In the 7th Century the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula saw the name changed to "Mayrit", from the Arabic term "Mayra" (referencing water as a "mother" or "source of life") and the Ibero-Roman suffix "it" that means "place". The modern "Madrid" evolved from the Mozarabic "Matrit", which is still in the Madrilenian gentilic.{{cite news], 2006-->

History Middle Ages Although the site of modern-day Madrid has been occupied since pre-historic times, in the Roman age this territory belonged to the diocese of Complutum (present-day Alcalá de Henares). But the first historical data on the city comes from the 9th century, when Muhammad I of Córdoba ordered the construction of a small palace in the same place that is today occupied by the Palacio Real. Around this palace a small citadel, al-Mudaina, was built.Near that palace was the Manzanares, which the Muslims called (Arabic language: المجريط, "source of water"). From this came the naming of the site as Majerit, which was later rendered to the modern-day spelling of Madrid. The citadel was conquered in 1085 by Alfonso VI of Castile in his advance towards Toledo, Spain. He reconsecrated the mosque as the church of the Virgin of Almudena (almudin, the garrison granary). In 1329, the Cortes Generales first assembled in the city to advise Alfonso XI of Castile. Sephardi Jews and Moors continued to live in the city until they were expelled at the end of the 15th century.After troubles and a large fire, Henry III of Castile (1379–1406) rebuilt the city and established himself safely fortified outside its walls in El Pardo. The grand entry of Ferdinand and Isabella to Madrid heralded the end of strife between Crown of Castile and Crown of Aragon.

Renaissance The Kingdom of Castile, with its capital at Toledo, Spain, and the Crown of Aragon, with its capital at Zaragoza, were welded into modern Spain by the Catholic Monarchs (Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon).

Though their grandson Charles I of Spain (also known as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor) favored Madrid, it was Charles' son, Philip II of Spain (1527–1598) who moved the court to Madrid in 1561. Although he made no official declaration, the seat of the court was the de facto capital. Sevilla continued to control commerce with Spain's colonies, but Madrid controlled Seville.

Aside from a brief period, 1601-1606, when Philip III of Spain installed his court in Valladolid, Madrid's fortunes have closely mirrored those of Spain. During the Siglo de Oro (Golden Century), in the 16th/17th century, Madrid bore little resemblance to other European capitals, as the population of the city was economically dependent on the business of the court itself, and there was no other significant activity.

.

The 19th and 20th centuries in Madrid

In the late 1800s, Isabel II could not suppress the political tension that would lead to yet another revolt, the First Spanish Republic. This was later followed by the return of the monarchy to Madrid, then the creation of the Second Spanish Republic, preceding the Spanish Civil War.

Madrid was one of the most heavily impacted cities of Spain by the Civil War (1936–1939). Its streets became battlegrounds. Madrid was a stronghold of the Spanish Republic from July 1936. Its western suburbs were the scene of an all-out battle in November 1936. It was during the Civil War that Madrid became the first city to be bombed by airplanes, specifically targeting civilians in the history of warfare. (See Siege of Madrid (1936-39)).

During the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, especially during the 1960s, the south of Madrid became very industrialized and there were massive Human migrations from rural environments into the city. Madrid's south-eastern periphery became an extensive working class settlement, which was the base for an active cultural and political reform.

After the death of Franco, emerging democratic parties (including those of left-wing and republican ideology) accepted Franco's wishes of being succeeded by Juan Carlos I - in order to secure stability and democracy. This led Spain to its current position as a constitutional monarchy, with Madrid as capital.

Befitting from the prosperity it gained in the 1980s, the capital city of Spain has consolidated its position as the first economic, cultural, industrial, educational, and technological center on the Iberian Peninsula peninsula.

21st century towers









cite news|url=http://www.elpais.es/articulo/madrid/Madrid/2016/echa/andar/elpepiautmad/20060704elpmad_1/Tes/|publisher=Elpais.es|title=Madrid 2016 echa a andar.|date=August 11, 2006

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Geography : The Sierra de Guadarrama's highest peak.

Despite the existence of a large city of 5 million people, the Community of Madrid still retains some remarkably unspoiled and diverse habitats and landscapes. Madrid is home to mountain peaks rising above 2,000m, holm oak dehesas and low lying plains. The slopes of Guadarrama are cloaked in dense forests of Scots Pine and Pyrenean oak. The Lozoya Valley supports a large Eurasian Black Vulture colony, and one of the last bastions of the Spanish Imperial Eagle in the world is found in the Park Regional del Suroeste in dehesa hills between the Gredos and Guadarrama ranges. The recent possible detection of the existence of Iberian lynx in the area between the Cofio and Alberche rivers is testament to the biodiversity of the area.When looking at a map of the Community of Madrid, it can be seen that it is almost an equilateral triangle, in whose center would be the city. It seems that Madrid's geographic limits turn out to be those of nature: on the western side the "Sistema Central" (the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains), the south represents the desire to include (the Royal Site of) Aranjuez and finally the eastern edge of the triangle comes from the rupture of the fluvial river basins.

Community of Madrid occupies a surface area of approximately 8,028 km² (1.6% of all Spanish territory). Being more specific the exact position of Madrid is 3º 40´ of longitude west of Greenwich, England and 40º 23´ north of the equator.

Practically all of the Province is located between 600 and 1,000 m above sea level, with the highest point being Peñalara at 2,430 m and the lowest Alberche river in Villa del Prado at 430m. Other considerable heights, as well as being famous, are the Ball of the World mountain (la Bola del Mundo), in Navacerrada, at a height of 2,258m and the seven peaks, in Cercedilla, at 2,138m.

Climate The region of Madrid has a temperate Mediterranean climate with cold winters with temperatures that sometimes drop below 0 °C (32 °F). There are about 2 to 3 snowfalls each year. Summer tends to be hot with temperatures that consistently surpass 30 °C (86 °F) in July and that can often reach 40 °C (104 °F). Due to Madrid's high altitude and dry climate, nightly temperatures tend to be cooler, leading to a lower average in the summer months. These extremes give rise to the saying Nueve meses de invierno, tres meses de infierno (nine months of winter, three months of hell). Precipitation (meteorology) levels are low, but precipitation can be observed all throughout the year. Summer and winter are the driest seasons, with most rainfall occurring in the autumn and spring.

{| class="wikitable"|+ Parque del Buen Retiro Observatory|-! 1971-2000 !! Jan !! Feb !! Mar !! Apr !! May !! June !! July !! Aug !! Sep !! Oct !! Nov !! Dec !! Total|-| Maximum
temperature (°C)||9.7||12.0||15.7||17.5||21.4||26.9||31.2||30.7||26.0||19.0||13.4||10.1||19.4|-| Minimum
temperature (°C)||2.6||3.7||5.6||7.2||10.7||15.1||18.4||18.2||15.0||10.2||6.0||3.8||9.7|-| Rainfall (mm) ||37||35||26||47||52||25||15||10||28||49||56||56||436|}

Economy Economy from Middle Ages to 20th century In the Middle Ages, the village experienced a big development as a consequence of the establishment of the new capital of the Spanish Empire in Madrid. The administrative functions that it held since then, as well as the centralist character of the government found by the house of Bourbon ("Casa de Borbón" in Spanish) triggered the development of artisan activity, that turned into industrial since the middle of the 19th century, having its major expansion during the 20th century, especially after the Spanish Civil War, but never reaching levels of industrialization in other European capital cities. The economy of the city was then centered on diverse manufacturing industries such as those related to motor vehicles, aircraft, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, processed food, printed materials, and leather goods{{cite news], 2006-->

Economy from 1992 to 2006 Despite of the tendency of moving the production centers to industrial parks located in the outskirts of the metropolitan area, the city of Madrid remains as the second most important industrial center in the country, only exceeded by Barcelona.During this period, Madrid experienced a very significant growth in its tertiary activities. In this sense, the importance of the Barajas Airport for the city's economy is remarkable, adding to the administrative and financial functions associated with being the capital of Spain. Construction (housing and public works such as the ring structure of roads and trains system) has constituted a major pillar of the economy up to 2006. Nevertheless, Madrid, like the rest of the country, is lagging behind the rest of Europe in the introduction of new technologies.http://www.talesmag.com/rprweb/the_rprs/europe/realposts_madrid.shtml In addition, inflation in Spain far above European average over this period has made Madrid and the rest of the country lose competitivity.

Nevertheless, regarding the city's Economic environment, it has also been stated that despite the growth of the economy of the country as a whole has been moderated compared to the last two quarters, the economy of the Autonomous Region of Madrid continued to grow in the second quarter of the year, above the rate for Spain as a whole, and for the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union, reaching a year-on-year increase of 4.2%. The growth outlook for the city of Madrid points to a year-on-year increase of 4.0% in 2006{{cite news|url=http://www.esmadrid.com/wps/portal/_pagr/107/_pa.107/130/.reqid/-1?pmcodnav=inne1210&pmlang=en&pmtexto1=Business&pmtexto2=Economic+Observatory&pmtexto3=Economy+Barometer&pmtexto4=&pmtipo=htm&pmurl=inne1210.13112006143307.html|publisher=www.esmadrid.com|title=Economic Barometer|date=January 25, 2007--> which makes Madrid one of the most dynamic and thriving cities in the European Union.{{cite news], 2007-->

Demographics {| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="float:left; margin:0 1em 0 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"|- align=center| Year| Total
municipality| Total
province| Percent
(%)|- align=left|1897|542,739|730,807|74.27|- align=left|1900|575,675|773,011|74.47|- align=left|1910|614,322|831,254|73.90|- align=left|1920|823,711|1.048.908|78.53|- align=left|1930|1,041,767|1,290,445|80.73|- align=left|1940|1,322,835|1,574,134|84.04|- align=left|1950|1,553,338|1,823,418|85.19|- align=left|1960|2,177,123|2,510,217|86.73|- align=left|1965|2,793,510|3,278,068|85.22|- align=left|1970|3,120,941|3,761,348|82.97|- align=left|1975|3,228,057|4,319,904|74.73|- align=left|1981|3,158,818|4,686,895|67.40|- align=left|1986|3,058,812|4,780,572|63.98|- align=left|1991|3,010,492|4,647,555|64.78|- align=left|1996|2,866,850|5,022,289|57.08|- align=left|2001|2,938,723|5,423,384|54.19|- align=left|2004|3,099,834|5,804,829|53.40|- align=left|2005|3,155,359|5,964,143|52.90|}



The population of Madrid has been generally increasing ever since the city became the national capital several hundred years ago.

From around 1970 until the mid 1990s, the city's population dropped (see chart). This phenomenon, which also affected Barcelona and other European cities, was caused in part by the growth of satellite suburbs at the expense of the downtown. Another reason might have been the slowdown in the rate of growth of the European economy.

The demographic Population growth accelerated in the late 1990s and early 2000s due to international immigration, in response to a strong pick-up in Spanish economic growth. For example, according to census data, the population of the city grew by 271,856 between 2001 and 2005.

As the capital city of Spain, the city has attracted many immigrants from around the world. While less than 85% of the inhabitants are Spain of different backgrounds and ethnicities, there are many recent immigrants who come from Latin America, Europe, Asia, North Africa and West Africa.

The largest immigrant groups include: Ecuadorian: 83,967, Moroccan: 51,300, Han Chinese: 48,973, Colombian: 37,218 and Peruvian: 32,791. There are also important communities of Guinean, Romanian and Filipino people.

Names The natives of the city are called Madrileños; they were once nicknamed gatos (cats), although nowadays the vast majority of Spaniards would not recognize the term. Its origin possibly comes from the popular legend that the conquest of the city by Alfonso VI of Castile was achieved by the assault of the walls that protected the city. Apparently the Kingdom of Castile troops climbed the defense walls as if they were cats.

Another possible source of the name is the fact that the residents were known during the Middle Ages for their ability to climb walls with their bare hands.{{cite news|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-12045|publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica|title=Madrid: the people|date=July 10, 2006-->

Government and List of mayors of Madrid

Contemporary Madrid came into its own after the death of general Francisco Franco. The years of Spain under Franco left Madrid and much of the country in economic shambles due to its isolation. With Franco's death, Madrid, and Spain as a whole, began to reassert itself on the international stage. There was a reaction against the dictatorial bureaucracy centered in Madrid. Spain had a history of 'centralisation' that predated Franco. The new democracy heralded a successful movement towards increased Autonomous entity for the regions of Spain, considered as Autonomous communities of Spain, under the umbrella of Spain.

The Municipal Corporation is comprised of 55 Concejales (councillors), one of them being the Alcalde (Mayor)- Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón Jiménez.

The Plenary session, integrated by the Mayor and the Councillors, is the organ of political representation of the citizens in the municipal government. Some of its attributions are: fiscal matters, the election and destitution of the Mayor, the approval and modification of decrees and regulations, the approval of budgets, the agreements related to the limits and alteration of the municipal term, the services management, the participation in supramunicipal organizations, etc.

Culture Madrid is one of Spain's most popular destinations and is renowned for its quantity of cultural attractions. Galleries Madrid is considered one of the top European destinations concerning art museums. Best known is the Golden Triangle of Art, located along the Paseo del Prado and comprising three museums. The most famous one is the Museo del Prado, the most popular Golden Triangle of Art member known for such highlights as Diego Velázquez's Las Meninas and Francisco de Goya's La maja vestida and La maja desnuda. The other two museums are the Museo Thyssen Bornemisza, established from a mixed private collection, and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia. This is where Pablo Picasso's Guernica (painting) hangs, after returning to Spain from New York more than two decades ago.

Museums

Art and literature study centers

Classical Music and Opera

City attractions



Other nearby towns are popular as day trips from Madrid, including Toledo, Spain, Segovia, Ávila, Aranjuez, Alcalá de Henares, the monastery and palace complex of El Escorial, the former summer home of the royal family at Aranjuez, El Atazar Dam, El Pardo and Chinchón.

Nightlife Madrid is noted for its nightlife and night clubs. On weekends, Madrilenian youth are famous for dancing all night long, stopping only to have some chocolate con churros at dawn, go home, take a shower, shave (or not), and go to work. What is also popular is the practice of meeting in parks or streets with friends and drinking alcohol together (that is called 'botellón', from 'botella', bottle), but since a few years ago, drinking in the street is sanctioned with a fine and now young madrileños drink together all around the city instead of in some well known places. Many places host bands (concerts in Madrid Mondosonoro - Bandas en Madrid). Nightlife and young cultural awakening flourished after the death of Francisco Franco, especially during the 80s while Madrid's mayor Enrique Tierno Galván was in office. This fresh movement was called la movida and it initially gathered around Plaza del Dos de Mayo (Malasaña area). Some of the most popular night destinations include the neighbourhoods of: Bilbao, Tribunal, Alonso Martinez or Moncloa, apart from Puerta del Sol area (including Opera and Gran Via, both adjacent to the popular square) and Huertas (barrio de Las Letras), destinations which are also filled with tourists day and night. The gay district of Chueca has also become a hot spot in the Madrilenian night life, not only for gay people but also for straights looking for fun in their crowded clubs and popular discos.

Bullfighting Madrid hosts the largest Plaza de Toros (bullring) in Spain, Las Ventas, established in 1929. Las Ventas is considered by many to be the world center of bullfighting and has a seating capacity of almost 25,000. Madrid's bullfighting season begins in March and ends in October. Bullfights are held everyday during the festivities of Isidore the Farmer (Madrid's patron saint) from the middle of March to the middle of June, and every Sunday, and public holiday, the rest of the season. The style of the plaza is Neomudéjar. Las Ventas also hosts music concerts and other events outside of the bullfighting season.

Sports {| class="wikitable"|-!Club!Sport!League!Venue|-|Real Madrid C.F.|Soccer|La Liga|-|[Atlético Madrid|[La Liga|-|[Rayo Vallecano|[Segunda División B Groups 1-4|Teresa Rivero|[Basketball|[Palacio Vistalegre|[Basketball|[Madrid Arena, the world's most successful [football (soccer) club in the 20th Century (according to FIFA), Real Madrid stays at the top Deloitte Football Money League which plays in the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. Its supporters are referred to as vikingos, vikings, or, more commonly, merengues, meringues. Its hometown rival, Atlético Madrid, is also well supported in the city, and its supporters are called los sufridores, the sufferers. The players are referred to as colchoneros, mattresses, in reference to the teams red & white jerseys having been determined by mattress material being the cheapest at the time of the club's formation. Madrid's contribution to the sport is further noticed by the fact that it hosted the 1982 FIFA World Cup final. Along with Glasgow, Lisbon and Istanbul, Madrid is one of three cities in Europe to contain two UEFA_Stadia_List: Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu and Atlético Madrid's Vicente Calderón both meet the criteria.

The city is also host to two basketball teams in the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB league), and the Circuito Permanente Del Jarama, a motorsport race circuit which formerly hosted the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix.

Historically, the city serves as the last stage of the Vuelta a España cyclist classic in the same way as Paris does in the Tour de France.

Skiing is possible in the nearby mountains of the Sierra de Guadarrama, where the ski resorts of Valdesqui and Navacerrada are located.

The city bid for hosting the 1972 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Olympics, which were lost to Munich and London respectively. Nevertheless, Madrid is currently bidding to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Local festivities

Universities Madrid is home to a large number of public and private universities. Some of them are among the oldest in the world.

The Complutense University of Madrid is one of the most prestigious, and the largest, university in Spain and one of the oldest universities in the world. It has 10,000 staff members and a student population of 117,000. Nearly all academic staff are Spanish. It is located on two campuses, in the university quarter Ciudad Universitaria at Moncloa in Madrid, and in Somosaguas.{{cite news], 2006--> The Complutense University of Madrid was founded in Alcala de Henares, old Complutum, by Cardinal Cisneros in 1499. Nevertherless, its real origin dates back from 1293, when King Sancho IV of Castile built the General Schools of Alcalá, which would give rise to Cisnero's Complutense University. During the course of 1509-1510 five schools were already operative: Artes y Filosofía (Arts & Philosophy), Teología (Theology), Derecho Canónico (Canonical Laws), Letras (Liberal Arts) and Medicina (Medicine). In 1836, during the reign of Isabel II, the University was moved to Madrid, where it took the name of Central University and was located at San Bernardo Street. Subsequently, in 1927, a new university area was planned to be built in the district of Moncloa-Aravaca, in lands handed over by the King Alfonso XIII to this purpose. The Spanish Civil War turned the "Ciudad Universitaria" into a war zone, causing the destruction of several schools in the area, as well as the loss of part of its rich scientific, artistic and bibliographic heritage.In 1970 the Government reformed the High Education, and the Central University become the Complutense University of Madrid. It is then when the new campus at Somosaguas is created in order to house the new School of Social Sciences. The old Alcala campus was reopened as the independent University of Alcalá in 1977.{{cite news], 2006-->

Another important university is the Autonomous University of Madrid, perhaps Spain's best university for research along with Complutense, was instituted under the leadership of the famous physicist, Nicolás Cabrera. The Autonoma is widely recognised for its research strengths in theoretical physics. Known simply as la Autónoma in Madrid, its main site is the Cantoblanco Campus, situated 15 kilometers to the north of the capital (M-607) and close to the municipal areas of Madrid, namely Alcobendas, San Sebastián de los Reyes, Tres Cantos and Colmenar Viejo.Located on the main site are the Rectorate building and the Faculties of Science, Philosophy and Fine Arts, Law, Economic Science and Business Studies, Psychology, Higher School of Computing Science and Engineering, and the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education. The Medical School is sited outside the main site and beside the Hospital Universitario La Paz.{{cite news], 2006-->

Other local universities, among many others, are the Technical University of Madrid, as the result of merging the different Technical Schools of Engineering; the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, founded in 1499; the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, whose philosophy is to create responsible free-thinking people with a sensitivity to social problems and an involvement in the concept of progress based on freedom, justice and tolerance and the Comillas Pontifical University, involved in a number of academic exchange programmes, work practice schemes and international projects with over 200 Higher Education Institutions in Europe, Latin America, North America and Asia.

Other universities in Madrid: Rey Juan Carlos University (public), Universidad Alfonso X, Universidad Alfonso de Lebrija, Universidad Camilo José Cela, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Universidad Europea de Madrid and Universidad San Pablo (all of them private).

Madrid is also home to the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, the Madrid Conservatory and many other private educational institutions.

Transportation Air Madrid is served by Barajas International Airport. Barajas is the main Airline hub of Iberia Airlines. It consequently serves as the main gateway to the Iberian peninsula from Europe, America and the rest of the world. Current passenger volumes range upwards of 40 million passengers per year, putting it in the World's busiest airport busiest airports in the worldhttp://www.airports.org/aci/aci/file/Press%20Releases/2007_PRs/PR060307_PrelimResults2006.pdf Preliminary Air Traffic Results for 2006 from Airports Council International. Given annual increases close to 10%, a new fourth terminal has been constructed. The new Terminal 4 is the biggest European airport terminalhttp://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite?cid=1049727006329&pagename=Estandar%2FPage%2FAeropuerto&SMO=1&SiteName=MAD&c=Page&MO=5&lang=EN_GB AENA facts about T4. It has significantly reduced delays and doubled the capacity of the airport to more than 70 million passengers per year. Two additional runways have also been constructed, making Barajas a fully operational four-runway airport.

National Rail

Spain's railway system, the Red Nacional de Ferrocarriles Españoles (Renfe) operates the vast majority of Spain's railways. In Madrid, the main rail terminals are Atocha in the south and Chamartín in the north.

The crown jewel of Spain's next decade of infrastructure construction is the Spanish high speed rail network, Alta Velocidad Española AVE. Currently, an ambitious plan includes the construction of a 7,000 kilometre (4,350 Mile) network, centered on Madrid. The overall goal is to have all important provincial cities be no more than 4 hours away from Madrid, and no more than 6 hours away from Barcelona. As of 2005, AVE high-speed trains link Atocha station to Seville (to be extended to Málaga in 2007) and Toledo, Spain in the south and to Zaragoza and Tarragona in the east (to be extended to Barcelona at the end of 2007). AVEtrains will arrive to Valladolid by the end of 2007. http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=86&story_id=1929 Living and Working in Spain, by David Hampshire. Published by Survival Books.

RENFE offers:

Metro map



Serving the city's population of some six million, the Madrid Metro is one of the most extensive and fastest-growing metro networks in the world.{{cite news], 2006--> With the addition of a loop serving suburbs to Madrid's south-west "Metrosur", it is now the second largest metro system in Western Europe, second only to London's London Underground. In May 2007, Madrid's metro system will be expanded and it will have more than 280 kilometres (175 mi). The province of Madrid is also served by an extensive commuter rail network called Cercanías.

See also

References External links
{{Template group|title = Madrid in the European Union|list =-->

{{Infobox City|official_name = Madrid|other_name =|native_name = |nickname =|motto =
(Spanish language for "From Madrid to Heaven")|image_skyline = Puerta de Alcalá.jpg|imagesize = 285px|image_caption =Puerta de Alcalá at night with Parque del Buen Retiro gardens in the background.|image_flag = Bandera de Madrid.svg|flag_size =150px|image_seal =|seal_size =|image_shield = Escudo de Madrid.svg|shield_size =75px|image_blank_emblem =|blank_emblem_size =|image_map = CiudadMadridPosicion.PNG|mapsize = 200px|map_caption = Location|pushpin_map = |pushpin_label_position = |subdivision_type = Country|subdivision_name = Spain|subdivision_type1 = Autonomous Community|subdivision_type2 = Province|subdivision_name2 = [Community of Madrid|subdivision_type3 = Administrative Divisions|subdivision_name3 = 21|subdivision_type4 = Neighborhoods|subdivision_name4 = 127|government_type =|leader_title = Mayor|leader_name = Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón Jiménez |leader_party = People's Party (Spain)|leader_title1 = |leader_name1 =|leader_title2 =|leader_name2 =|leader_title3 =|leader_name3 =|leader_title4 =|leader_name4 =|established_title = Founded |established_date = 8th century|established_title2 = |established_date2 =|established_title3 = |established_date3 =|area_magnitude =|unit_pref = |area_footnotes =|area_total_km2 =|area_land_km2 = 607|area_water_km2 =|area_total_sq_mi =|area_land_sq_mi =|area_water_sq_mi =|area_water_percent =|area_urban_km2 =|area_urban_sq_mi =|area_metro_km2 =|area_metro_sq_mi =|population_as_of = 2005|population_footnotes =|population_note = population-ranking: 1st|settlement_type = |population_total = 3228359|population_density_km2 = 5198|population_density_sq_mi =|population_metro = 5561748|population_density_metro_km2 =|population_density_metro_sq_mi =|population_urban =|population_density_urban_km2 =|population_density_urban_mi2 =|timezone = CET|utc_offset = +1|timezone_DST = CEST|utc_offset_DST = +2|latd=40 |latm=23 |lats= |latNS=N|longd=3 |longm=43 |longs= |longEW=W|elevation_footnotes = |elevation_m = 667|elevation_ft =|postal_code_type = Postal code|postal_code = 28001-28080|area_code = 34 (Spain) + 91 (Madrid)|website = http://www.munimadrid.es/ |footnotes =-->

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain.http://www.ine.es/ Instituto Nacional de Estadística (National Statistics Institute) Residents are called Madrileños.

The city is located on the river Manzanares in the center of the country, between the autonomous community of Castile and León and Castile-La Mancha. Due to its economic output, standard of living, and market (economics) size, Madrid is considered the major finance center of the Iberian Peninsula; it hosts the head offices of the vast majority of the major Spanish companies, as well as the headquarters of three of the world's 100 largest companies. As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and Spanish royal sites of Spanish monarchy, Madrid is also the political center of Spain.{{cite news|url=http://www.tourismofspain.com/cities-in-spain/madrid.html|publisher=Tourismofspain.org|title=Madrid|date=July 10, 2006--> The current mayor is Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, of the conservative Partido Popular.

As the capital of Spain, Madrid is a city of great cultural and political importance. While Madrid possesses a modern infrastructure, it has preserved the look and feel of many of its historic neighborhoods and streets. Its landmarks include the huge Royal Palace of Madrid; the Teatro Real (Royal theatre) with its restored 1850 Opera House; the Parque del Buen Retiro, founded in 1631; the imposing 19th-century Biblioteca Nacional de España building (founded in 1712) containing some of Spain's historical archives; an National Archaeological Museum of Spain of international reputation; and three superb art museums: The Prado, which hosts one of the finest art collections in the world, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, a museum of modern art, and the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, housed in the renovated Villahermosa Palace.{{cite news|url=http://www.easyexpat.com/madrid_en/overview_geography.htm|publisher=Easy expat|title=Madrid: mmmm|date=August 11, 2006-->

The population of the city was 3.2 million (December 2005), while the estimated urban area population was 5.1 million. The entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area (urban area and suburbs) is calculated to be 5.84 million. The city spans a total of 607km² (234 square mile).{{cite news|url=http://www.map.es/documentacion/politica_autonomica/info_ecofin/indicadores/ind_madrid.html|publisher=Ministerio de Administraciones Públicas|title=Indicadores Socioeconómicos: Comunidad de Madrid|date=August 11, 2006-->

Following the restoration of democracy in 1975 and Spain's integration into the European Union, Madrid has played an increasing role in Europe, marking the city as one of the most important European metropolises. Yet each district (or barrio in Spanish language) still preserves its own feel.

Names of the city and origin of the current name

There are several theories regarding the origin of the name "Madrid". According to legend Madrid was founded by Ocno Bianor (son of King Tyrrhenius of Tuscany and Mantua) and was named "Metragirta" or "Mantua Carpetana". Others contend that the original name of the city was "Ursaria" ("land of bears" in Latin), due to the high number of these animals that were found in the adjacent forests, which, together with the Madrone tree ("madroño" in Spanish language), have been the emblem of the city from the Middle Ages.

Nevertheless, it is now commonly believed that the origin of the current name of the city comes from the 2nd Century B.C., when the Roman Empire established a settlement on the banks of the Manzanares river. The name of this first village was "Matrice" (a reference to the river that crossed the settlement). Following the invasions of the Sueves, Vandals and Alans during the fifth Century Anno Domini, the Roman Empire could not defend its territories on the Iberian Peninsula, and were therefore overrun by the Visigoths. The barbarian tribes subsequently took control of "Matrice". In the 7th Century the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula saw the name changed to "Mayrit", from the Arabic term "Mayra" (referencing water as a "mother" or "source of life") and the Ibero-Roman suffix "it" that means "place". The modern "Madrid" evolved from the Mozarabic "Matrit", which is still in the Madrilenian gentilic.{{cite news], 2006-->

History Middle Ages Although the site of modern-day Madrid has been occupied since pre-historic times, in the Roman age this territory belonged to the diocese of Complutum (present-day Alcalá de Henares). But the first historical data on the city comes from the 9th century, when Muhammad I of Córdoba ordered the construction of a small palace in the same place that is today occupied by the Palacio Real. Around this palace a small citadel, al-Mudaina, was built.Near that palace was the Manzanares, which the Muslims called (Arabic language: المجريط, "source of water"). From this came the naming of the site as Majerit, which was later rendered to the modern-day spelling of Madrid. The citadel was conquered in 1085 by Alfonso VI of Castile in his advance towards Toledo, Spain. He reconsecrated the mosque as the church of the Virgin of Almudena (almudin, the garrison granary). In 1329, the Cortes Generales first assembled in the city to advise Alfonso XI of Castile. Sephardi Jews and Moors continued to live in the city until they were expelled at the end of the 15th century.After troubles and a large fire, Henry III of Castile (1379–1406) rebuilt the city and established himself safely fortified outside its walls in El Pardo. The grand entry of Ferdinand and Isabella to Madrid heralded the end of strife between Crown of Castile and Crown of Aragon.

Renaissance The Kingdom of Castile, with its capital at Toledo, Spain, and the Crown of Aragon, with its capital at Zaragoza, were welded into modern Spain by the Catholic Monarchs (Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon).

Though their grandson Charles I of Spain (also known as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor) favored Madrid, it was Charles' son, Philip II of Spain (1527–1598) who moved the court to Madrid in 1561. Although he made no official declaration, the seat of the court was the de facto capital. Sevilla continued to control commerce with Spain's colonies, but Madrid controlled Seville.

Aside from a brief period, 1601-1606, when Philip III of Spain installed his court in Valladolid, Madrid's fortunes have closely mirrored those of Spain. During the Siglo de Oro (Golden Century), in the 16th/17th century, Madrid bore little resemblance to other European capitals, as the population of the city was economically dependent on the business of the court itself, and there was no other significant activity.

.

The 19th and 20th centuries in Madrid

In the late 1800s, Isabel II could not suppress the political tension that would lead to yet another revolt, the First Spanish Republic. This was later followed by the return of the monarchy to Madrid, then the creation of the Second Spanish Republic, preceding the Spanish Civil War.

Madrid was one of the most heavily impacted cities of Spain by the Civil War (1936–1939). Its streets became battlegrounds. Madrid was a stronghold of the Spanish Republic from July 1936. Its western suburbs were the scene of an all-out battle in November 1936. It was during the Civil War that Madrid became the first city to be bombed by airplanes, specifically targeting civilians in the history of warfare. (See Siege of Madrid (1936-39)).

During the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, especially during the 1960s, the south of Madrid became very industrialized and there were massive Human migrations from rural environments into the city. Madrid's south-eastern periphery became an extensive working class settlement, which was the base for an active cultural and political reform.

After the death of Franco, emerging democratic parties (including those of left-wing and republican ideology) accepted Franco's wishes of being succeeded by Juan Carlos I - in order to secure stability and democracy. This led Spain to its current position as a constitutional monarchy, with Madrid as capital.

Befitting from the prosperity it gained in the 1980s, the capital city of Spain has consolidated its position as the first economic, cultural, industrial, educational, and technological center on the Iberian Peninsula peninsula.

21st century towers









cite news|url=http://www.elpais.es/articulo/madrid/Madrid/2016/echa/andar/elpepiautmad/20060704elpmad_1/Tes/|publisher=Elpais.es|title=Madrid 2016 echa a andar.|date=August 11, 2006

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Geography : The Sierra de Guadarrama's highest peak.

Despite the existence of a large city of 5 million people, the Community of Madrid still retains some remarkably unspoiled and diverse habitats and landscapes. Madrid is home to mountain peaks rising above 2,000m, holm oak dehesas and low lying plains. The slopes of Guadarrama are cloaked in dense forests of Scots Pine and Pyrenean oak. The Lozoya Valley supports a large Eurasian Black Vulture colony, and one of the last bastions of the Spanish Imperial Eagle in the world is found in the Park Regional del Suroeste in dehesa hills between the Gredos and Guadarrama ranges. The recent possible detection of the existence of Iberian lynx in the area between the Cofio and Alberche rivers is testament to the biodiversity of the area.When looking at a map of the Community of Madrid, it can be seen that it is almost an equilateral triangle, in whose center would be the city. It seems that Madrid's geographic limits turn out to be those of nature: on the western side the "Sistema Central" (the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains), the south represents the desire to include (the Royal Site of) Aranjuez and finally the eastern edge of the triangle comes from the rupture of the fluvial river basins.

Community of Madrid occupies a surface area of approximately 8,028 km² (1.6% of all Spanish territory). Being more specific the exact position of Madrid is 3º 40´ of longitude west of Greenwich, England and 40º 23´ north of the equator.

Practically all of the Province is located between 600 and 1,000 m above sea level, with the highest point being Peñalara at 2,430 m and the lowest Alberche river in Villa del Prado at 430m. Other considerable heights, as well as being famous, are the Ball of the World mountain (la Bola del Mundo), in Navacerrada, at a height of 2,258m and the seven peaks, in Cercedilla, at 2,138m.

Climate The region of Madrid has a temperate Mediterranean climate with cold winters with temperatures that sometimes drop below 0 °C (32 °F). There are about 2 to 3 snowfalls each year. Summer tends to be hot with temperatures that consistently surpass 30 °C (86 °F) in July and that can often reach 40 °C (104 °F). Due to Madrid's high altitude and dry climate, nightly temperatures tend to be cooler, leading to a lower average in the summer months. These extremes give rise to the saying Nueve meses de invierno, tres meses de infierno (nine months of winter, three months of hell). Precipitation (meteorology) levels are low, but precipitation can be observed all throughout the year. Summer and winter are the driest seasons, with most rainfall occurring in the autumn and spring.

{| class="wikitable"|+ Parque del Buen Retiro Observatory|-! 1971-2000 !! Jan !! Feb !! Mar !! Apr !! May !! June !! July !! Aug !! Sep !! Oct !! Nov !! Dec !! Total|-| Maximum
temperature (°C)||9.7||12.0||15.7||17.5||21.4||26.9||31.2||30.7||26.0||19.0||13.4||10.1||19.4|-| Minimum
temperature (°C)||2.6||3.7||5.6||7.2||10.7||15.1||18.4||18.2||15.0||10.2||6.0||3.8||9.7|-| Rainfall (mm) ||37||35||26||47||52||25||15||10||28||49||56||56||436|}

Economy Economy from Middle Ages to 20th century In the Middle Ages, the village experienced a big development as a consequence of the establishment of the new capital of the Spanish Empire in Madrid. The administrative functions that it held since then, as well as the centralist character of the government found by the house of Bourbon ("Casa de Borbón" in Spanish) triggered the development of artisan activity, that turned into industrial since the middle of the 19th century, having its major expansion during the 20th century, especially after the Spanish Civil War, but never reaching levels of industrialization in other European capital cities. The economy of the city was then centered on diverse manufacturing industries such as those related to motor vehicles, aircraft, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, processed food, printed materials, and leather goods{{cite news], 2006-->

Economy from 1992 to 2006 Despite of the tendency of moving the production centers to industrial parks located in the outskirts of the metropolitan area, the city of Madrid remains as the second most important industrial center in the country, only exceeded by Barcelona.During this period, Madrid experienced a very significant growth in its tertiary activities. In this sense, the importance of the Barajas Airport for the city's economy is remarkable, adding to the administrative and financial functions associated with being the capital of Spain. Construction (housing and public works such as the ring structure of roads and trains system) has constituted a major pillar of the economy up to 2006. Nevertheless, Madrid, like the rest of the country, is lagging behind the rest of Europe in the introduction of new technologies.http://www.talesmag.com/rprweb/the_rprs/europe/realposts_madrid.shtml In addition, inflation in Spain far above European average over this period has made Madrid and the rest of the country lose competitivity.

Nevertheless, regarding the city's Economic environment, it has also been stated that despite the growth of the economy of the country as a whole has been moderated compared to the last two quarters, the economy of the Autonomous Region of Madrid continued to grow in the second quarter of the year, above the rate for Spain as a whole, and for the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union, reaching a year-on-year increase of 4.2%. The growth outlook for the city of Madrid points to a year-on-year increase of 4.0% in 2006{{cite news|url=http://www.esmadrid.com/wps/portal/_pagr/107/_pa.107/130/.reqid/-1?pmcodnav=inne1210&pmlang=en&pmtexto1=Business&pmtexto2=Economic+Observatory&pmtexto3=Economy+Barometer&pmtexto4=&pmtipo=htm&pmurl=inne1210.13112006143307.html|publisher=www.esmadrid.com|title=Economic Barometer|date=January 25, 2007--> which makes Madrid one of the most dynamic and thriving cities in the European Union.{{cite news], 2007-->

Demographics {| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="float:left; margin:0 1em 0 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"|- align=center| Year| Total
municipality| Total
province| Percent
(%)|- align=left|1897|542,739|730,807|74.27|- align=left|1900|575,675|773,011|74.47|- align=left|1910|614,322|831,254|73.90|- align=left|1920|823,711|1.048.908|78.53|- align=left|1930|1,041,767|1,290,445|80.73|- align=left|1940|1,322,835|1,574,134|84.04|- align=left|1950|1,553,338|1,823,418|85.19|- align=left|1960|2,177,123|2,510,217|86.73|- align=left|1965|2,793,510|3,278,068|85.22|- align=left|1970|3,120,941|3,761,348|82.97|- align=left|1975|3,228,057|4,319,904|74.73|- align=left|1981|3,158,818|4,686,895|67.40|- align=left|1986|3,058,812|4,780,572|63.98|- align=left|1991|3,010,492|4,647,555|64.78|- align=left|1996|2,866,850|5,022,289|57.08|- align=left|2001|2,938,723|5,423,384|54.19|- align=left|2004|3,099,834|5,804,829|53.40|- align=left|2005|3,155,359|5,964,143|52.90|}



The population of Madrid has been generally increasing ever since the city became the national capital several hundred years ago.

From around 1970 until the mid 1990s, the city's population dropped (see chart). This phenomenon, which also affected Barcelona and other European cities, was caused in part by the growth of satellite suburbs at the expense of the downtown. Another reason might have been the slowdown in the rate of growth of the European economy.

The demographic Population growth accelerated in the late 1990s and early 2000s due to international immigration, in response to a strong pick-up in Spanish economic growth. For example, according to census data, the population of the city grew by 271,856 between 2001 and 2005.

As the capital city of Spain, the city has attracted many immigrants from around the world. While less than 85% of the inhabitants are Spain of different backgrounds and ethnicities, there are many recent immigrants who come from Latin America, Europe, Asia, North Africa and West Africa.

The largest immigrant groups include: Ecuadorian: 83,967, Moroccan: 51,300, Han Chinese: 48,973, Colombian: 37,218 and Peruvian: 32,791. There are also important communities of Guinean, Romanian and Filipino people.

Names The natives of the city are called Madrileños; they were once nicknamed gatos (cats), although nowadays the vast majority of Spaniards would not recognize the term. Its origin possibly comes from the popular legend that the conquest of the city by Alfonso VI of Castile was achieved by the assault of the walls that protected the city. Apparently the Kingdom of Castile troops climbed the defense walls as if they were cats.

Another possible source of the name is the fact that the residents were known during the Middle Ages for their ability to climb walls with their bare hands.{{cite news|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-12045|publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica|title=Madrid: the people|date=July 10, 2006-->

Government and List of mayors of Madrid

Contemporary Madrid came into its own after the death of general Francisco Franco. The years of Spain under Franco left Madrid and much of the country in economic shambles due to its isolation. With Franco's death, Madrid, and Spain as a whole, began to reassert itself on the international stage. There was a reaction against the dictatorial bureaucracy centered in Madrid. Spain had a history of 'centralisation' that predated Franco. The new democracy heralded a successful movement towards increased Autonomous entity for the regions of Spain, considered as Autonomous communities of Spain, under the umbrella of Spain.

The Municipal Corporation is comprised of 55 Concejales (councillors), one of them being the Alcalde (Mayor)- Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón Jiménez.

The Plenary session, integrated by the Mayor and the Councillors, is the organ of political representation of the citizens in the municipal government. Some of its attributions are: fiscal matters, the election and destitution of the Mayor, the approval and modification of decrees and regulations, the approval of budgets, the agreements related to the limits and alteration of the municipal term, the services management, the participation in supramunicipal organizations, etc.

Culture Madrid is one of Spain's most popular destinations and is renowned for its quantity of cultural attractions. Galleries Madrid is considered one of the top European destinations concerning art museums. Best known is the Golden Triangle of Art, located along the Paseo del Prado and comprising three museums. The most famous one is the Museo del Prado, the most popular Golden Triangle of Art member known for such highlights as Diego Velázquez's Las Meninas and Francisco de Goya's La maja vestida and La maja desnuda. The other two museums are the Museo Thyssen Bornemisza, established from a mixed private collection, and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia. This is where Pablo Picasso's Guernica (painting) hangs, after returning to Spain from New York more than two decades ago.

Museums

Art and literature study centers

Classical Music and Opera

City attractions



Other nearby towns are popular as day trips from Madrid, including Toledo, Spain, Segovia, Ávila, Aranjuez, Alcalá de Henares, the monastery and palace complex of El Escorial, the former summer home of the royal family at Aranjuez, El Atazar Dam, El Pardo and Chinchón.

Nightlife Madrid is noted for its nightlife and night clubs. On weekends, Madrilenian youth are famous for dancing all night long, stopping only to have some chocolate con churros at dawn, go home, take a shower, shave (or not), and go to work. What is also popular is the practice of meeting in parks or streets with friends and drinking alcohol together (that is called 'botellón', from 'botella', bottle), but since a few years ago, drinking in the street is sanctioned with a fine and now young madrileños drink together all around the city instead of in some well known places. Many places host bands (concerts in Madrid Mondosonoro - Bandas en Madrid). Nightlife and young cultural awakening flourished after the death of Francisco Franco, especially during the 80s while Madrid's mayor Enrique Tierno Galván was in office. This fresh movement was called la movida and it initially gathered around Plaza del Dos de Mayo (Malasaña area). Some of the most popular night destinations include the neighbourhoods of: Bilbao, Tribunal, Alonso Martinez or Moncloa, apart from Puerta del Sol area (including Opera and Gran Via, both adjacent to the popular square) and Huertas (barrio de Las Letras), destinations which are also filled with tourists day and night. The gay district of Chueca has also become a hot spot in the Madrilenian night life, not only for gay people but also for straights looking for fun in their crowded clubs and popular discos.

Bullfighting Madrid hosts the largest Plaza de Toros (bullring) in Spain, Las Ventas, established in 1929. Las Ventas is considered by many to be the world center of bullfighting and has a seating capacity of almost 25,000. Madrid's bullfighting season begins in March and ends in October. Bullfights are held everyday during the festivities of Isidore the Farmer (Madrid's patron saint) from the middle of March to the middle of June, and every Sunday, and public holiday, the rest of the season. The style of the plaza is Neomudéjar. Las Ventas also hosts music concerts and other events outside of the bullfighting season.

Sports {| class="wikitable"|-!Club!Sport!League!Venue|-|Real Madrid C.F.|Soccer|La Liga|-|[Atlético Madrid|[La Liga|-|[Rayo Vallecano|[Segunda División B Groups 1-4|Teresa Rivero|[Basketball|[Palacio Vistalegre|[Basketball|[Madrid Arena, the world's most successful [football (soccer) club in the 20th Century (according to FIFA), Real Madrid stays at the top Deloitte Football Money League which plays in the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. Its supporters are referred to as vikingos, vikings, or, more commonly, merengues, meringues. Its hometown rival, Atlético Madrid, is also well supported in the city, and its supporters are called los sufridores, the sufferers. The players are referred to as colchoneros, mattresses, in reference to the teams red & white jerseys having been determined by mattress material being the cheapest at the time of the club's formation. Madrid's contribution to the sport is further noticed by the fact that it hosted the 1982 FIFA World Cup final. Along with Glasgow, Lisbon and Istanbul, Madrid is one of three cities in Europe to contain two UEFA_Stadia_List: Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu and Atlético Madrid's Vicente Calderón both meet the criteria.

The city is also host to two basketball teams in the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB league), and the Circuito Permanente Del Jarama, a motorsport race circuit which formerly hosted the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix.

Historically, the city serves as the last stage of the Vuelta a España cyclist classic in the same way as Paris does in the Tour de France.

Skiing is possible in the nearby mountains of the Sierra de Guadarrama, where the ski resorts of Valdesqui and Navacerrada are located.

The city bid for hosting the 1972 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Olympics, which were lost to Munich and London respectively. Nevertheless, Madrid is currently bidding to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Local festivities

Universities Madrid is home to a large number of public and private universities. Some of them are among the oldest in the world.

The Complutense University of Madrid is one of the most prestigious, and the largest, university in Spain and one of the oldest universities in the world. It has 10,000 staff members and a student population of 117,000. Nearly all academic staff are Spanish. It is located on two campuses, in the university quarter Ciudad Universitaria at Moncloa in Madrid, and in Somosaguas.{{cite news], 2006--> The Complutense University of Madrid was founded in Alcala de Henares, old Complutum, by Cardinal Cisneros in 1499. Nevertherless, its real origin dates back from 1293, when King Sancho IV of Castile built the General Schools of Alcalá, which would give rise to Cisnero's Complutense University. During the course of 1509-1510 five schools were already operative: Artes y Filosofía (Arts & Philosophy), Teología (Theology), Derecho Canónico (Canonical Laws), Letras (Liberal Arts) and Medicina (Medicine). In 1836, during the reign of Isabel II, the University was moved to Madrid, where it took the name of Central University and was located at San Bernardo Street. Subsequently, in 1927, a new university area was planned to be built in the district of Moncloa-Aravaca, in lands handed over by the King Alfonso XIII to this purpose. The Spanish Civil War turned the "Ciudad Universitaria" into a war zone, causing the destruction of several schools in the area, as well as the loss of part of its rich scientific, artistic and bibliographic heritage.In 1970 the Government reformed the High Education, and the Central University become the Complutense University of Madrid. It is then when the new campus at Somosaguas is created in order to house the new School of Social Sciences. The old Alcala campus was reopened as the independent University of Alcalá in 1977.{{cite news], 2006-->

Another important university is the Autonomous University of Madrid, perhaps Spain's best university for research along with Complutense, was instituted under the leadership of the famous physicist, Nicolás Cabrera. The Autonoma is widely recognised for its research strengths in theoretical physics. Known simply as la Autónoma in Madrid, its main site is the Cantoblanco Campus, situated 15 kilometers to the north of the capital (M-607) and close to the municipal areas of Madrid, namely Alcobendas, San Sebastián de los Reyes, Tres Cantos and Colmenar Viejo.Located on the main site are the Rectorate building and the Faculties of Science, Philosophy and Fine Arts, Law, Economic Science and Business Studies, Psychology, Higher School of Computing Science and Engineering, and the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education. The Medical School is sited outside the main site and beside the Hospital Universitario La Paz.{{cite news], 2006-->

Other local universities, among many others, are the Technical University of Madrid, as the result of merging the different Technical Schools of Engineering; the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, founded in 1499; the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, whose philosophy is to create responsible free-thinking people with a sensitivity to social problems and an involvement in the concept of progress based on freedom, justice and tolerance and the Comillas Pontifical University, involved in a number of academic exchange programmes, work practice schemes and international projects with over 200 Higher Education Institutions in Europe, Latin America, North America and Asia.

Other universities in Madrid: Rey Juan Carlos University (public), Universidad Alfonso X, Universidad Alfonso de Lebrija, Universidad Camilo José Cela, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Universidad Europea de Madrid and Universidad San Pablo (all of them private).

Madrid is also home to the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, the Madrid Conservatory and many other private educational institutions.

Transportation Air Madrid is served by Barajas International Airport. Barajas is the main Airline hub of Iberia Airlines. It consequently serves as the main gateway to the Iberian peninsula from Europe, America and the rest of the world. Current passenger volumes range upwards of 40 million passengers per year, putting it in the World's busiest airport busiest airports in the worldhttp://www.airports.org/aci/aci/file/Press%20Releases/2007_PRs/PR060307_PrelimResults2006.pdf Preliminary Air Traffic Results for 2006 from Airports Council International. Given annual increases close to 10%, a new fourth terminal has been constructed. The new Terminal 4 is the biggest European airport terminalhttp://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite?cid=1049727006329&pagename=Estandar%2FPage%2FAeropuerto&SMO=1&SiteName=MAD&c=Page&MO=5&lang=EN_GB AENA facts about T4. It has significantly reduced delays and doubled the capacity of the airport to more than 70 million passengers per year. Two additional runways have also been constructed, making Barajas a fully operational four-runway airport.

National Rail

Spain's railway system, the Red Nacional de Ferrocarriles Españoles (Renfe) operates the vast majority of Spain's railways. In Madrid, the main rail terminals are Atocha in the south and Chamartín in the north.

The crown jewel of Spain's next decade of infrastructure construction is the Spanish high speed rail network, Alta Velocidad Española AVE. Currently, an ambitious plan includes the construction of a 7,000 kilometre (4,350 Mile) network, centered on Madrid. The overall goal is to have all important provincial cities be no more than 4 hours away from Madrid, and no more than 6 hours away from Barcelona. As of 2005, AVE high-speed trains link Atocha station to Seville (to be extended to Málaga in 2007) and Toledo, Spain in the south and to Zaragoza and Tarragona in the east (to be extended to Barcelona at the end of 2007). AVEtrains will arrive to Valladolid by the end of 2007. http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=86&story_id=1929 Living and Working in Spain, by David Hampshire. Published by Survival Books.

RENFE offers:

Metro map



Serving the city's population of some six million, the Madrid Metro is one of the most extensive and fastest-growing metro networks in the world.{{cite news], 2006--> With the addition of a loop serving suburbs to Madrid's south-west "Metrosur", it is now the second largest metro system in Western Europe, second only to London's London Underground. In May 2007, Madrid's metro system will be expanded and it will have more than 280 kilometres (175 mi). The province of Madrid is also served by an extensive commuter rail network called Cercanías.

See also

References External links
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