Shopping In Madrid - A Travellers Guide To The City Of Spain

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On the Eastern part of the city you find the classy Paseo des Arte, with its beautiful foliage and three enormous museums, The Prado, the Centro de Arte de Reina Sofia, and the Thyssen Bornemisza, all clumped together just a conveniently short walk from each other. Small, seedy museums create the perfect ambiance to showcase the exclusive restaurants and apartment buildings in this area. To the rear of the Prado is the luxurious length of the retiro gardens, all covered with ponds and fountains, glass pavilions and flower gardens full of roses, a beautifully shaded area to take some respite from the heat of the summer.

If your looking for tapas bars and eateries go west of Paseo del Arte. It is a down to earth, upbeat bohemian area, and has been since Cervantes and Lope de Vega made their mark on history. At one point in time, the theatres used to compete with the brothels for customer but even today, its a happening spot to be when the sun goes down. Standing room only crowds. It is less noisy during the daytime where the older locals lounge on benches and watch with amusement as the neighbourhoods new population of trendy professionals take their fashionable dogs out for a stroll.

This wonderful looking plaza is the center of old Madrid. It is a vast and imposing square, once used to crown royalty, to burn heretics, and now, unfortunately, home to nothing more than plastic covered menus at grimy tourist cafes. The twisted and bent lanes that curve away from the square and the oldest lanes in the city, a final distant echo of the past of this beautiful city. Located on both sides with steeples, palaces, convents, and masterpiece shops that make ancestral guitars or sharpen knives, all seem to never age as the time goes by. East of this place stands the Palacio Real, an elegant sample of ornate elegance, as well as the recently renewed Opera House.

Sprinkled below the Plaza Mayor, you will find the customary working class neighborhoods. Rejuvenation is present even though most of the region is delapitated. Immigrants from North Africa and South America, native people from Madrid and eclectic young artists opening up pubs and coffee shops make for an enticing combination. Don't miss out on the notable Sunday morning flea market as well as a tapas crawl.

The Gran Via is an entertainment and retail mecca. The neighbourhoods that are located to Gran Via's north, both have split personalities, being sweet and old fashioned during the sunny days, and wild and crazy in the darkness of night; that is the duplicity of Chueca and Malasana. The hip and trendy shops and bars meshing hand in hand with the famous endless nightlife makes these places the coolest areas in Madrid to hand out in.

In the northeast section of the city, Swanky Salamanca is comprised of broad avenues containing chic apartments and fine restaurants. As soon as you spot the Ferraris, exclusive clubs and designer boutiques, it becomes obvious that money is in no short supply in Calle Serrano. Some mansions from the nineteenth century only add to the upscale atmosphere, and the glossy towers lining the Paseo Castellano are an excellent attraction for those interested in modern architecture.

About the Author:
Lucy is a part-time columnist who pens occasional pieces on tourism and holidays, whilst working on holiday airport transfers.

Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com

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