Madrid

Madrid, the capital of Spain, is an elegant and sophisticated city, and one of the urban centers of Europe. We stayed in the Chueca neighborhood, not far from the Gran Via, which is a huge boulevard built a century ago to be Madrid's "main street." From our hotel, we were able to walk to all of the major sights in Madrid, so it was very convenient.


A "beaux arts" style apartment building near the Plaza de España.


The Plaza de España.


The Templo de Debod, an Egyptian temple complex transported to Spain
to thank the country for its technical assistance in the building of the Aswan Dam
in Egypt in the 1960s (which flooded the site where this temple had been built).


Apartment buildings and shops along the Gran Via.


The Royal Palace, built in the 18th century when the Bourbon dynasty gained
the throne in Spain, intended as a smaller version of Versailles. (Shortly before we
arrived in Spain, the Crown Prince, Felipe de Bourbon, was married to a TV newswoman,
Letizia, and there were lots of "Royal Wedding" souvenirs all over Madrid.)


The Cathedral of Madrid.


Remnants of the Moorish town walls, the only thing that
survives of
medieval Madrid (which was only a small town then).


The oldest buildings in Madrid are these 16th-century Hapsburg era ones.


One of the buildings on the Plaza Mayor or Main Square has beautiful painted murals.


The Reina Sofia or Queen Sophia Museum of Modern Art (with a modern
glass elevator on the exterior of a former hospital from the 18th century).


The symbol of Madrid is a bear eating from an arbutus or strawberry tree.

One of our favorite sights in Madrid was the large urban park, called
the Parque del Retiro. Click here to see some photos from the park
.