Spain - Community of Madrid - Madrid

Fountain of Cybele (Fuente de Cibeles), Major Square (Plaza Mayor), Puerta de Alcalá, Royal Palace (Palacio Real), Temple of Debod (Templo de Debod), Las Ventas Bullring (Plaza de Toros de las Ventas), Almudena Cathedral and Gran Via (Catedral de la Almuneda y Gran Via).

Sent by Puri from Madrid, Spain.

Madrid (/məˈdrɪd/ mə-DRID; Spanish: [maˈðɾið]) is the capital and most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), second only to Berlin, Germany, and its metropolitan area is the second-largest in the EU. The municipality covers 604.3 km² (233.3 sq mi) geographical area. Madrid lies on the River Manzanares in the central part of the Iberian Peninsula at about 650 m (2,130 ft) above mean sea level. The capital city of both Spain and the surrounding autonomous community of Madrid (since 1983), it is also the political, economic, and cultural centre of the country.

The primitive core of Madrid, a walled military outpost, dates back to the late 9th century, under the Emirate of Córdoba. Conquered by Christians in 1083 or 1085, it consolidated in the Late Middle Ages as a sizeable town of the Crown of Castile. The development of Madrid as administrative centre fostered after 1561, as it became the permanent seat of the court of the Hispanic Monarchy. The following centuries were characterized by the reinforcement of Madrid's status within the framework of a centralized form of state-building.

The Madrid urban agglomeration has the second-largest GDP in the European Union. Madrid is ranked as an alpha world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.^[ The metropolitan area hosts major Spanish companies such as Telefónica, Iberia, BBVA and FCC. It concentrates the bulk of banking operations in the country and it is the Spanish-speaking city generating the largest number of webpages. Madrid houses the headquarters of UN Tourism, the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB), the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), and the Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB). Pursuant to the standardizing role of the Royal Spanish Academy, Madrid is a centre for Spanish linguistic prescriptivism. Madrid organises fairs such as FITUR, ARCO, SIMO TCI and the Madrid Fashion Week. Madrid is home to football clubs Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid (read more).

Spain - Madrid (3)

Calle de Alcalá or Alcalá Street in Madrid.

Sent by Eva, a postcrosser from Zaragoza, Spain.

This is from Wikipedia : Calle de Alcalá is the longest street in Madrid. It starts at the Puerta del Sol and goes on for 10.5 km, to the northeastern outskirts of the city.

Calle de Alcalá is also one of the oldest streets in the city. It was the old road which led to the city of Alcalá de Henares (from which it takes the name) and continued to Aragón; today, this route is covered by the A-2 motorway. Along this street it is possible to find landmarks such as Edificio Metrópolis, Plaza de Cibeles, Puerta de Alcalá, the Spanish Ministry of Education, the Instituto Cervantes HQ building, the Bank of Spain building, Parque del Buen Retiro and Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas.

Spain - Madrid - Alcalá & Grand Vía

The Metropolis Building located in Gran Vía and Alcalá Street.

Sent by Alice from Madrid, Spain.

This is from Wikipedia : Gran Vía (literally "Great Way") is an ornate and upscale shopping street located in central Madrid. It leads from Calle de Alcalá, close to Plaza de Cibeles, to Plaza de España.

The lively street is one of the city's most important shopping areas, with a large number of hotels and large movie theaters; it is also noted for the grand architecture prevalent among many of its buildings. Now, most of the theaters are being replaced by shopping malls.

It is considered a showcase of early 20th century architecture, with patterns ranging from Vienna Secession style, Plateresque, Neo-Mudéjar, Art Deco and others.

Spain - Madrid (2)

Different places in Madrid, Spain.
Top from left : Las Ventas (bullfighting), Palacio de Oriente (Royal Palace), and Grand Via.
Middle from left : Puerta del Sol, Plaza de Cibeles, and Retiro.
Bottom from left : Puerta de Alcala, Plaza Mayor, and Plaza de España.

Sent by Samuel from Madrid, Spain

Spain - Madrid

View of Madrid city.

Sent by Samuel from Madrid in Spain.

Madrid (English /məˈdrɪd/, Spanish: [maˈðɾið]) is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be around 6.5 million. It is the third-largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third-largest in the European Union afterLondon and Paris. The city spans a total of 604.3 km² (233.3 sq mi).

The city is located on the Manzanares river in the centre of both the country and the Community of Madrid (which comprises the city of Madrid, its conurbation and extended suburbs and villages); this community is bordered by the autonomous communities ofCastile and León and Castile-La Mancha. As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political, economic and cultural centre of Spain. The current mayor is Ana Botella from the People's Party(PP). (Source)