Madrid fascinates, inspires, and delights. It gives you a break, but it can also tire the most persistent hikers. It often spoils with the weather, delights with blooming almonds, attracts with colorful fiestas. It is hospitable to visitors, but also crowded and noisy. How to visit this city, how to get to know it, how to prepare for the trip? We hope that we answer a good number of these questions in our many Madrid’s posts. We invite you to discover the capital of the Catholic Kings.
📖 Introduction
The established capital
You can find Madrid in the central part of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the highest capital in Europe (over 650 meters above the sea level). Due to its location, it can be windy and rainy in winter, or dry and hot in summer. It is said that Madrid is an established capital, which means it hasn’t always been the capital.
The word capital means the throne which in today’s meaning refers to a city where the government is located. In the past, it meant the place where the royal court happened to be. Until the mid-16th century, the Spanish court was itinerant, and therefore the capital changed frequently. Finally in 1561 King Philip II of Habsburg established Madrid as the permanent residence of the court. There were a few reasons that led him to choose this city. First, its central location, second a desire to weaken the powerful bishopric of Toledo and finally his wife. Elizabeth of Valois the daughter of King Henry II of France, she did not like the cramped castle in Toledo. From that moment on, excluding the short period between 1601 to 1606 when parliament was moved to Valladolid, Madrid has served as the capital of the Kingdom of Spain.
A bear in the coat of arms
You will find Madrid on the banks of the Manzanares River, in the Castilian Plateau at the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama Mountains. The valley of the river has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Ancient forests were abundant in wildlife, especially bears. That is why to this day, the coat of arms of Madrid features a bear and a mulberry tree. A symbolic monument of a climbing bear reaching for strawberries from a tree was placed in the central point of the city – Puerta del Sol square.
The first historical mentions of the city date back to the Muslim period, the late 9th century. On a promontory near the Manzanares River, Emir Muhammad I of Cordoba (852-886) built a fortress. It was close to where the Almudena Cathedral stands today. The fortress was meant to guard the Guadarrama Pass to protect Toledo, the ancient capital of the Visigoths. One version of the city’s name origin also derives from the name of this fortress. Mayrit in Arabic means source of water probably referring to the stream that flowed around today’s Segovia Street. Another equally probable etymology is derived from the Hebrew word miakud meaning settlement on a burnt site. This association came from the magic stone from which the city walls of Madrid were built, the flint.
The city expands
The first privilege, known as the Corpus legalis, was granted to the city in 1200. In 1309 King Fernando IV established the Cortes. The successive kings of the Trestamera dynasty favored Madrid mainly as a hunting residence. After the city was retaken by Christians, many people, especially from the north, flocked to it, but the Jewish and Muslim populations were not expelled, not yet. Only a portion of the Muslim sacred buildings, including the main mosque, were confiscated, and converted, one of them into a church under the patronage of Saint Mary. It was during this early period of Christian dominance that the cult of the patron saints of Madrid the Virgin Mary of Almudena and Saint Isidore the Laborer, emerged. Saint Isidore was the patron of hardworking people, farmers, and the caretakers of domestic animals. By the end of the 15th century, the growing city already had 5,000 inhabitants, and this number continued to increase steadily. In 1492, the Jews were expelled from the city. Under the rule of the Habsburg dynasty, Madrid underwent a thorough transformation. The medieval center was relocated closer to the restored Alcazar from the vicinity of Segovia Street. Most of the essential administrative buildings appeared, including the mint on Plaza de Oriente, 🔗 the Royal Palace, and the Court Prison. The new churches emerged, including remained till today the Church of Saint Ginés, Saint Cajetan, and the hermitage of Saint Isidore.
Madrid in the 21st century
Today, Madrid is not only the capital but also the largest city in Spain. It covers an area of 604.45 km², and in 2019, the estimated population was 3,266,126. The entire autonomous region of Comunidad de Madrid has an area of 8,022 km², with a population estimated at 6.7 million in 2020. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (after Berlin) and the second monocentric urban area in the EU (after Paris).
🚶The Visit
Streets of Madrid
Madrid is a city that is very pleasant to explore. The distances between most of the major attractions are not long. The public transportation network is very well developed. Sometimes the streets undulate up and down and you might get tired, but the reward comes quickly with spectacular viewpoints. Mild winters attract tourists throughout the year, although the weather can be unpredictable, especially when heavy rainfall is accompanied by gusty wind. In 2021, Madrid even had some heavy snowfalls with up to 40-50 cm of snow covering the streets. Fortunately, snow is not too common there. There are many tourist information spots in the city center. You can also join a free guided tour, get on a hop-on hop-off bus or take a private tour in a small electric car. When planning sightseeing, you need to have in mind long queues to the most popular attractions, especially on weekends and during free admission hours. Many places, despite offering free admission, require prior reservation or to collect a free ticket from a ticket office. Their quantity is often limited. In many locations, free drinking water is available, so remember to carry your bottle always with you. The city shares a useful 🌐 map with all the water fountains. There are not never enough benches to rest, so it’s worth taking breaks whenever you find them. The historic center is heavily paved, which means that many dogs are walked directly on the sidewalks, unfortunately with its consequences. Look literally everywhere!
Flavors of Madrid 🍽️
While visiting the city you should indulge yourself with the most famous Spanish dessert churros with hot chocolate. A typical set per person consists of 2 churros and 1 cup of hot chocolate and it’s never enough. Don’t forget to dip your churro in chocolate before you eat it. The second thing you should try are local almonds, they grow in Spain and taste completely different from their Californian counterparts found in most European stores. If you want to take some flavors of Madrid home, you should take Turrón. You will come across this sweet delicacy at almost every corner of the city center. It is usually made of almonds, honey, sugar, and eggs, and it comes in a wide variety of flavors.
If you look for something savory, you will be satisfied with the vast range of tapas. Tapa in Spanish means top or lid and that was what the snack initially was used for. People from southern Spain were using it to cover the glass of wine to protect it from flies. Soon it turned out that the guests loved the snacks, and the bars started to offer them in different varieties. Today you can choose from mini sandwiches, wraps, salads, dumplings, or sausages at almost every bar. Tapas usually go with wine and Spain is known for its various types and appellations. The most basic one is vino tinto it is a red table wine, often served as house wine in small glasses or carafes during meals. Enjoy exploring the culinary delights of Madrid!
✔ Planner
🌍 Transport
🛫Airplane: The most convenient way to reach Madrid is by plane. The Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, which was opened in 1928, has four terminals. It is located 13 kilometers northeast of central Madrid, and there is a direct metro line (L8) that gets to the airport.
🚇Metro: Traveling by metro is comfortable, fast, and intuitive and highly recommended. The most cost-effective option is to purchase a 10-journeys card. It is a single card loaded with 10-journeys and it can be shared among people within the journey limit. Each person taps the same card to the validator, reducing the remaining journey limit. A low balance card or an empty one can be recharged at any metro station’s vending machine. There is also an additional fee for the card issuing added to your first purchase. When your journey starts or ends at the airport you must pay an airport fee. This fee needs to be added to your ticket on the same day you travel to or from the airport. This fee cannot be pre-purchased for a different day. Add it as many times as there are people traveling with you on a single card to or from the airport.
Before your trip, please check out the 🌐 Madrid metro maps and download an 🌐 app with the map to your phone. Remember that the direction of each metro line is determined by its final stop.
🚕Taxi: In Madrid, taxis are white with a red stripe on the front doors. The ride from the airport to the city center costs approximately 30 Euros. Popular ride-hailing apps like FreeNow are also in operation.
Ready-made Walking Routes 👣
Places worth visiting 🎭
🎫 Tickets online
Weather ⛅
Links and sources:
Rufino Miranda “Toledo-Madryt Dolina Poległych i Eskorial…Ich Sztuka, …Ich Historia”
Antony Beevor „Walka o Hiszpanię 1936-1939. Pierwsze starcie totalitaryzmów” – Wydawnictwo Znak
Tadeusz Zubiński „Generał Franco i jego Hiszpania (1892-1975). Biografia niepoprawna politycznie” – Fronda
Zuzanna Jakubowska „Madryt, 11 marca” – Wydawnictwo Akademickie Dialog
🌐 Historia de Madrid – Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre
🌐 Madryt – Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia
🌐 Muzeum Historyczne | Turystyka w Madrycie (esmadrid.com)
🌐 Fondo histórico | Senado de España
🌐 Museos del Metro de Madrid – Museos del Metro de Madrid (museosmetromadrid.es)