Great Cities of Europe/Great Cities of Europe - Disc 1.iso/cwrsrc/madrids.txt

Text File | 1995-12-04 | 13KB | 441 lines

<B><F16>Madrid</F> </B>

<L7><B><F14>Basic Information</F></B>

<B>Documents Required:</B>  United States and EC citizens require only a valid passport
for visits not exceeding three months.

<B>American Consulate:</B>  75 Calle Serrano; 1/577-4000

<B>Currency:</B> The peseta (pta) is the basic unit.

<B>Banks:</B> Business hours are 9 A.M.-2 P.M. Monday-Friday and 9A.M.-1P.M.
Saturday.

<B>Customs:</B>  There are no limits on the import or export of currency, and no
restriction on exports.

<B>Climate:</B>  Madrid experiences frequent spells of rain from late fall to early spring.
Daytime temperatures average 74  degrees in the summer, while winter brings an
average daytime temperature of 42 degrees.

<B>Tipping:</B> Ten  to 12  percent is an adequate tip in smaller, less expensive
restaurants, but a 20 percent tip is expected in upscale locations.  Leave 5-10
percent for drinks or  tapas served at a bar.

<B>Tourist Information:  </B>Oficinas de Informacion Turisticas de la Comunidad de
Madrid, 2 Duque de Medinaceli; 1/429-4951.

<B>Airports:</B> Aeopuerto de Barajas, an international hub, is 10 miles east of Madrid.
Yellow airport buses take passengers to the depot on Plaza Colon on the Paseo de
la Castellana.  Taxis from the airport aren't expensive except during rush hours.

<B>Getting Around:  </B>Madrid is best explored by foot, but the public transportation
system is quick and reliable.

<I>By taxi:</I>  Cabs are white with a red strip on their doors.  Available taxis are
indicated by a green light on the roof.  Hail them on the street or at taxi stands
around the city.

<I>By bus:</I> There are 150 routes throughout the city, and buses run from 6
A.M.-midnight.  Special night buses operate on 20 routes.  Buy tickets at
newsstands and kiosks around the city, as drivers do not usually carry change.

<I>By metro: </I> The simplest way to navigate Madrid.  Ten lines are identified by
number and color, and trains run daily from 6 A.M.-1:30 A.M.  Buy tickets from
machines and staffed ticket booths at all stations.

<I>By train:</I> <I> Cercanφas</I>, the local network of Spanish railways, has eight lines radiating
from Madrid's center.  Several connect directly to metro lines.  Trains are useful
for trips to the suburbs.

<B>Postal and Telephone Service:</B>  Post offices are labeled with the word  <I>correos</I>, and
mail boxes, similarly marked, are yellow.  To call Madrid  from the United States,
dial 011-34, the city code (Madrid is 1), and the local number.

<B>Public Holidays:</B>  New Year's Day, Epiphany (January 6),  St. Joseph's Day (March
19), Good Friday,  Labor Day (May 1), Corpus Christi (June 25), Feast of St. Peter
and St. Paul (June 29), Feast of St. James (July 25), Assumption (August 15),
National Day (October 12), All Saints' Day (November 1), Feast of the Immaculate
Conception (December 8), and Christmas Day (December 25).

<B>Electric Current:</B> Plugs are standard European, with two round pins. The current is
220V.


<B><F14>Time Line </F></B>

<B>Moorish Rule</B>
860
Emir Mohammed I of Cordoba founds Madrid.
1109
Moors overtake Madrid.
1202
Madrid's  population reaches 3,000.
1212
Battle of Navas de Tolosa.  Muslims are defeated.
1360
Alcazar is rebuilt by King Pedro the Cruel.
1478
Spanish Inquisition.  Pope grants Spain ecclesiastical power to deal with  Jews and
Muslims.
1492
All Jews refusing to be baptized are expelled or killed.
Discovery of America.
1494
New World is divided between Spain and Portugal.

<B>Golden Empire </B>
1561
Philip II moves his court to Madrid from Toledo.
1588
British defeat of the Armada begins Spain's decline as a world power.
1605
Cervantes publishes <I>Don Quixote</I>.
1607
Philip III declares Madrid the nation's capital.
1700
Charles II dies without an heir.

<B>Bourbon Rule</B>
1700
Philip V founds the Bourbon dynasty in Spain and sets off the War of Spanish
Succession against Britain and Austria.
1734
Alcazar is destroyed by fire.
1775
Carlos III launches a public works program that includes the building of the Paseo
del Prado.
1800
Madrid's population climbs to 180,000.

<B>Revolution </B>
1808
Napoleon conquers Spain and declares his brother  king.
Spanish War of Independence begins.
1814
Napoleon is defeated.  Ferdinand VII takes the throne and rules as an absolute
monarch.
1833
Carlist Wars pit church-supported royalists against liberal constitutionalists.
1873
First Spanish republic is established.
1874
Alfonso XII is declared king.
1898
Spanish-American War proves disastrous for Spain.

<B>World and Civil Wars</B>
1914
Spain remains neutral  during WWI.
1923
King Alfonso XIII approves the military dictatorship of General Miguel Primo de
Rivera after Barcelonian rebellion.
1931
Second republic of Spain.
1936
Battle of Madrid and civil war.  General Franco is proclaimed head of state.
1939
England and France recognize the Franco regime.  Spain's population is reduced by
nearly a million people through civil war deaths and emigration.
1947
Spain is excluded from United Nations, NATO, and Marshall Plan aid.
1953
Cooperation treaty with the United States.

<B>Today </B>
1975
Juan Carlos succeeds Franco and is named king.
1977
Spain's first free parliamentary elections since 1936.
1980
Pedro Almodovar makes his first feature film.
1986
Spain joins the European Community.
 </L7>

<L6><B><F14>Hotels </F></B>

<B>Hotel Wellington  $$$ </B>
8 Velazquez
1/575-4400
Lavishly furnished, adjacent to upscale shopping in Calle Goya.

<B>Hotel Villa Real   $$$</B>
10 Plaza de las Cortes
1/420-3767
Romantic; exemplary service.

<B>Galiano Residencia  $$</B>
6 Alcala Galiano
1/319-2000
Airy rooms set on a quiet street.

<B>Hotel  Alcala  $$ </B>
66 Alcala
1/435-1060
Mostly Spanish clientele.  Many rooms overlook the garden.

<B>Hotel Monaco  $</B>
5 Barbieri
1/522-4630
Thirty-two kitschy rooms.

<B>Hotel Suecia  $ </B>
4 Marques de Casa Riera
1/531-6900
Prime location near the Puerta del Sol, but rooms are small.


<B><F14>Restaurants</F></B>

Restaurants usually serve meals 1:30 P.M.-4 P.M. and 9 P.M.-midnight.

<B>Tapas </B>

<B>Bar Vina P </B>
3 Plaza Santa Ana
1/531-8111
Well-prepared and moderately priced.

<B>El Aguiolucho</B>
18 Hermosilla
1/575-6040
Fantastic shellfish.


<B>Restaurants</B>

<B>Cabo Mayor  $$$</B>
37 Juan Ramon Jimenez
1/350-8776
Seafood in the Basque-Cantabrian style.

<B>La Taberna de Liria  $$$ </B>
9 Duque de Liria
1/541-4519
Sophisticated, traditional cuisine.

<B>Restaurante Botin  $$</B>
17 Casa de Cuchilleros
1/366-4217
Best suckling pig in the city; a favorite of Hemingway's.

<B>Casa Lucio  $$</B>
35 Cava Baja
1/365-3252
Local dishes in a historic inn.

<B>La Bola Taberna  $</B>
5 Calle de la Bola
1/547-6930
Try the famous <I>cocido</I>, a thick stew.

<B>Casa Mingo  $ </B>
2 Paseo de la Florida
1/547-7918
Cavernous and loud, known for its spit-roasted chicken and natural house cider.
 </L6>


<L1><B><F14>Sites</F> </B>

<B>Faro de Madrid</B>
Avenida de los Reyes Catolicos
1/544-8104
Take the glass elevator to the top of the 275-foot tower.

<B>Plaza Mayor</B>
Madrid's main plaza.  The site of bullfights, carnivals, and festivals since the late
16th century.

<B>Capilla del Obispo</B>
1 Plaza de San Andres
1/365-4871
The  "Bishop's Chapel" is the best preserved Gothic building in Madrid.  It
contains the tombs of 15th-century aristocrats.

<B>Plaza de la Villa </B>
The marketplace of Madrid's Moorish and early medieval eras.  Flanking the
square are three distinguished buildings: the Casa de la Villa (City Hall); the Casa de
Cisneros, a 16th-century palace turned municipal office; and the Torre de los
Lujanes, a 15th-century aristocrat's residence.

<B>Palacio Real</B>
Plaza de Oriente and Calle Bailen
1/542-0059
The 3,000-room official residence of the Spanish royal family.
 </L1>

<L2><B><F14>Museums And Culture </F></B>

<B>Prado </B>
Paseo del Prado
1/429-0770
One of the world's greatest galleries, with works by Durer, Bosch,  Raphael,
Titian, El Greco, Velazquez, and Goya.

<B>Sorolla</B>
37 Paseo del General Martinez Campos
1/310-1584
Once the elegant home of Spain's foremost Impressionist artist Joaquin Sorolla,
the museum houses his art and  personal belongings.

<B>Museo Arqueologico Nacional </B>
13 Serrano
1/577-7912
One of Madrid's oldest museums, established  in 1867, it contains the most
comprehensive archaeological collection in Spain of artifacts from the Iberian
peninsula.

<B>Bullfighting</B>

<B>Las Ventas</B>
237 Calle Alcala
1/726-4800
Madrid's mecca for bullfights, held  March-October.


<B>Dance </B>

<B>Teatro Albeniz</B>
11 Calle de la Paz
1/531-8311
Venue for the Festival de Otono and regional dance troupes.

<B>Sala Olimpia</B>
Plaza de Lavapies
1/527-4622
Madrid's alternative dance theater.


<B>Music </B>

<B>Auditorio Nacional de Musica </B>
146  Principe de Vergara
1/337-0100
Symphonic hall, home to the Orquesta Nacional de Espana.

<B>Teatro Real</B>
Plaza de Isabel II
Madrid's opera house.

<B>Teatro de la Zarzuela </B>
4  Jovellanos
1/429-8225
Ballet and Zarzuela, Spain's own form of light opera.
 </L2>

<L5><B><F14>Shopping</F> </B>

<B>El Rastro Flea Market</B>
Ribera de Curtidores
From dawn until 2 P.M. Sunday.

<B>Galerias Piquer</B>
29 Ribera de Curtidores
Small antiques vendors.

<B>Ceramica El Alfar </B>
112 Claudo Coello
1/441-3587
Traditional ceramic and tiles.
 </L5>

<L3> <B> <F14>Children</F></B>

<B>Bazar Mila</B>
33 Gran Via
1/531-8728
Traditional toy shop.

<B>Tren de la Fresa</B>
Estacion de Atocha
1/527-3121
Travel by steam train to Aranjuez to take in  palaces, gardens, and fresh produce
(especially strawberry) stands.

<B>Parque del Retiro</B>
Madrid's principal park, in which you'll find a boating lake, buskers,  puppet
shows, and fortune tellers.

<B>Aquapalace </B>
48 Paseo de la Ermita del Santo
1/526-1779
Waterpark with indoor and outdoor pools, slides, and wave machines.


<B><F14>Night Spots </F></B>

<B>Cafes </B>

<B>Cafe Comercial</B>
7 Glorieta de Bilbao
1/521-5655
A  Madrid institution since before the Civil War.

<B>Cafe de Ruiz</B>
11 Ruiz
1/446-1232
Old-fashioned, known for coffee and Cuban cigars.


<B>Clubs </B>

<B>Revolver </B>
26 Galileo
1/564-2705
Monday is Flamenco night.

<B>Pena Flamenca Chaqueton</B>
39 Canarias
The best of the Madrid <I>penas</I>, small not-for-profit clubs that stage Flamenco
recitals.

<B>Cafe Central</B>
10  Plaza del Angel
1/468-0844
Madrid's best jazz.

<B>ObaoOba</B>
4  Jacometrezo
1/531-0640
Hopping Brazilian bar that opens at 1 A.M.

<B>Villa Rosa</B>
15 Plaza de Santa Ana
1/521-3689
Late-night dance club with a young crowd and international music.
 </L3>

<L4><B><F14>Excursions </F></B>

<B>Toledo </B>
42 miles south of Madrid
Enter Toledo through the Puerta de Bisagra, the only Moorish gate remaining in
the city's walls.   Plaza de Zocodover is lined with cafes.  Off the Plaza is the
Alcazar, the enormous fort that towers over Toledo.

<B>El Escorial </B>
28 miles northwest of Madrid
King Philip II's monastery/mausoleum in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.
Made of Guadarrama granite, El Escorial has 16 inner courtyards, 1,200 doors,
2,675 windows, 15 miles of passageways, and 86 staircases.

<B>Avila</B>
68 miles northwest of Madrid
Spain's highest provincial capital  is 3,711 feet above sea level.   Visit the
perfectly  preserved medieval-style wall, with its 22 watchtowers and nine gates,
that surrounds the city.  The walls can be climbed from the gardens of the Parador.
Avila is also famous as the home of Saint Teresa,  the great Spanish mystic, writer,
and reformer of the Renaissance.

<B>Segovia </B>
55 miles northwest of Madrid
The city is noted for its Castillian gold buildings with red tile roofs.  Note the
Roman Aqueduct, from the second century, made of rough hewn blocks assembled
without mortar.
</L4>
(c) 1995 Leisure and Travel