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THE CITY |
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Madrid's main sights occupy a compact area between the Palacio Real
(Royal Palace) and the gardens of El Retiro . The great trio of museums
- the Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza and Reina Sofía - are ranged along the
Paseo del Prado, over towards the Retiro. The oldest part of the city,
an area known as Madrid de los Austrias after the Habsburg monarchs who
built it, is centred on the gorgeous, arcaded Plaza Mayor , just to the
east of the Palacio Real.
If you have very limited time, you might well do no more sightseeing
than this. However, monuments are not really what Madrid is about, and
to get a feel for the city you need to branch out a little, and
experience the contrasting character and life of the various barrios .
The most central and rewarding of these are the areas around Plaza de
Santa Ana and c/Huertas , east of Puerta del Sol; La Latina and Lavapiés
, south of Plaza Mayor, where the Sunday market, El Rastro , takes
place; and Malasaña and Chueca , north of Gran Vía. By happy
circumstance, these barrios have some of Madrid's finest concentrations
of tapas bars and restaurants.
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