by: Mike McDougall
Spain?s capital has enjoyed a serious boom as a city break destination on the last decade. The proliferation of cheap flights has made more and more European cities accessible to weekend travellers. Often overshadowed by the Catalan capital, Barcelona, Madrid is now showing what it has to offer and, more importantly, sharing it with foreign visitors.
?Los Austrias? is as good a place as any to start; the oldest part of the city and still bearing the stamp of the Hapsburg dynasty that had such a dominating influence on Madrid until 1700. The ?Plaza Mayor? is the focal point of the area; built by Phillip III between 1617 and 1619, it?s an elegant square with a rich and varied history. This is where the great festivals and celebrations of imperial Madrid took place. Visitors these days won?t see quite so much excitement but the square hosts a coin and stamp collectors market on Sundays and hosts live bands and performers during festivals. Expect to pay through the nose in the caf?s and restaurants which line the square; some however, will be willing to part with a little extra cash just to be able to soak up the atmosphere of one of Madrid?s most famous sites.
Next stop is the ?Palacio Real?; Madrid?s royal palace is a monument to the classical Italian baroque style. Charles III was the first king to take residence here in 1714. The grand building has a, seemingly absurd, count of 3,000 rooms. The most famous of these is the Throne Room with its sumptuous decorations. Visitors should also pay heed to the gardens, in particular the ?Jardine de Sabatini?, which was added to the Palace complex in the 1930?s and can provide a bit of peaceful seclusion away from the bustle of the city centre.
Another one of the city?s most celebrated landmarks is the ?Puerto Del Sol? ? originally the location for one of the gates marking the eastern entrance to the city. The gate is reported to have been erected around 1440 to control the comings and goings of merchandise in the Spanish capital. These days the gate is long gone but the square behind it has taken on the name. It?s a lively place, equivalent to Times Square and Trafalgar Square in the US and England respectively, as on new year?s eve Madrilen?s come here in their thousands to hear the clock chime midnight and see in the new year. It is also the centre point of Spain, kilometre zero is in the centre of the square and the six main highways of Spain radiate from this point.
For a bit of greenery and a shaded stroll then there?s no better place than the magnificent ?Parque del Buen Retiro?; Madrid?s most central park. This verdant expanse covers 350 acres and includes formal gardens, fountains, playgrounds and cafes. There is even a lake where locals and tourists can clash oars on the water. All in all, the perfect place for a picnic or for the kids to let off some steam ? bear in mind that the park closes at 10.30pm every evening.
The ?Panteon de Goya? is a small chapel that serves as the final resting place to the celebrated artist. The man himself decorated the intricate dome and cupola depicting the miracles of St Anthony and it is certainly one of the city?s lesser known attractions that is well worth a visit.
One final stop on our tour takes us a little way out of Madrid?s centre to the home of one of the world?s most famous football teams. The Santiago Bernabeu stadium has been home to Real Madrid CF since 1947 and the 80,000 seater stadium is an impressive site whether you?re a fan of Football or not. The stadium houses and excellent museum and is open most days for tours where you get the chance to see the stadium from the main stand and enter into the playing tunnel and even the changing rooms.
About The Author
Mike McDougall has five years experience working as a travel writer and marketeer. He is currently working to provide additional content for Babylon Idiomas (http://www.babylon-idiomas.com/eng/htm/learn-spanish-spain.htm), a Spanish language school with an excellent presence in Spain and Latin America. This work is covered by a creative commons licence: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/uk/
|
The Thing With Mailing Postcards Is?
The Thing With Mailing Postcards Is?
by: Florie Lyn Masarate
Promotions being a necessity, what can you do to make direct mailing postcards be a hit and spell big bucks for you?
A good mailing list to start with. Many companies are renting out a mailing list that targets the specific industry that mailers wanted to be their prospected clients. However, these rentals do not come cheap, which is basically bad news to small business companies. The solution? Make your own mailing list. There are directories you can browse through and look for your probable mailing list target. Ask help from your friends, especially those who have businesses of their own, for names you can check on to. But before putting names on your list, ask yourself if these persons would be interested in what you are offering. If not, keep them off the list!
Let people know you are still alive. If possible do it over and over again just so the message will get through them....
The Thing With Mailing Postcards Is?
Cheap flights > The Thing With Mailing Postcards Is?
8 Cheap Activities To Do With Your Kids
8 Cheap Activities To Do With Your Kids
by: Jennifer Shircel
These inexpensive ideas are sure to get your kids creative juices flowing!
The kids will love them because it gives them something productive to do and mom will love them because they?re easy and cheap!
1.) Fly a kite at a local park.
Kites can usually be found at any local dollar store.
We found a cute Tigger kite at our local Dollar Tree.
2.) Blow bubbles.
Now how cheap are bubbles, like $.50 a bottle?!
Kids can have contests to see who can make the most or the biggest bubble.
3.) Make an ?I love You? card for someone.
Or is someone?s birthday coming up?
Let the kids be creative and make a friend or relative a card from the heart.
4.) Paint Rocks.
You can find rocks anywhere.
Let the kids be creative with some paint, markers, ribbons, beads and glue.
5.) Catch fireflies,...
8 Cheap Activities To Do With Your Kids
Cheap flights > 8 Cheap Activities To Do With Your Kids
Laptop Security: How to Protect Your Laptop When Traveling
Laptop Security: How to Protect Your Laptop When Traveling
by: Jonathan Chase
Most business people who travel these days have a laptop in tow. Since the workflow doesn?t stop when the need to travel arises, these are necessities that connect them to the rest of the world and allow them to take care of whatever business comes up during the time that they?re away. That being the case, there are certain guidelines that should be followed in order to ensure the safety and protection of your laptop when you get called away from the office.
One of the first considerations that should be made is in regard to the laptop?s security. Since thieves will target these as often as they will cash, jewelry or other valuables, it?s critical to put as many security measures into place as possible when traveling through airports, bus terminals, train stations and any other form of public travel. Of course, it?s never wise to leave your laptop unattended. It?s...
Laptop Security: How to Protect Your Laptop When Traveling
Cheap flights > Laptop Security: How to Protect Your Laptop When Traveling
Marketing Research: Individual Words
Marketing Research: Individual Words
by: James D. Brausch
We all know that phrases like "Who else wants to know" in a
headline can improve our sales.
Have you ever thought
about the individual words and their impact on your
profitability?
I recently performed a statistical analysis on several
thousand ads while looking at individual words and
profitability.
The first task was to determine the profitability of each
ad being analyzed.
This was done using the age-old
mailorder marketing method.
Basically, if you see an
advertisement month after month and year after year, it is
probably profitable.
If you see an ad only once or twice
and then it changes or disappears completely, the
advertisement was probably not very profitable.
The next task was to simply look for the occurence of a
list of words in each ad while noting whether the ad was
profitable...
Marketing Research: Individual Words
Cheap flights > Marketing Research: Individual Words
Why El Cheapo Domains Will Cost You Money
Why El Cheapo Domains Will Cost You Money
by: Niall Roche
You want your own online business? Good because it's one of the most fun things you can do with your spare time and can be very profitable.
Remember that just because it's an online business doesn't mean that you should treat it with any less professionalism or seriousness than you do your daytime job.
Why? Simply because when you run an online business it's a serious business. Well it should be taken seriously if you want to make serious money.
One of the most important aspects of any online business is the domain name. This is where the vast majority of new online entrepreneurs make their first big mistake - they choose one of those free domain name providers to represent their business online. This is a critical mistake.
Let's say you're starting a computer repair business. Which one of the following domains looks better:
Why El Cheapo Domains Will Cost You Money
Cheap flights > Why El Cheapo Domains Will Cost You Money
Cheap flights
This page loaded in 0.05267 seconds.