Europe's third largest city is Spain's financial and political core, home to the Royal Family, as well as the extraordinary cultural riches of the Golden Triangle - the Prado, Reina Sofía and Thyssen-Bornemisza art museums. 

The repression and torpor of the Franco era (1939-75) are now all but forgotten by Madrileños who, perhaps more than any other Spaniards, are determined to vivir a tope (live life to the full). The craving for conspicuous enjoyment, not to mention the 2,800 hours of annual sunshine, turn the streets into bustling centres of public display.

While the Comunidad de Madrid (Madrid Province) stretches over 8,000 sq km (3,090 sq miles), the city's historic heart is easily explored on foot. The narrow, labyrinthine streets of the medieval quarter contrast with the grand boulevards, laid out in the 18th and 19th centuries - the period when Madrid began to take on the trappings of a modern capital.

Each barrio has its own distinctive atmosphere - Lavapiés, Malasaña and Chueca being the oldest and most interesting. Many visitors first get to know the central area, known as the Madrid of the Austrias (a reference to the Hapsburg era), situated roughly between the Palacio Real and the Puerta del Sol, Madrid's 'mile zero'. It is only a short walk from here to the city's main street, the Gran Vía, lined with shops, banks, offices, bars and cinemas.

At the far (northern) end of the Paseo de la Castellana are the 'leaning towers' of the Puerta de Europa (Gateway of Europe), a daring display of architecture symbolising the city's confidence in its future.

The best times to visit Madrid are between March and June and then from September to October. July in Madrid must be avoided at all costs because it is when the heat will be at its most extreme. August, still a very hot month, is when most locals will take their holidays and the resulting exodus to the seaside resorts leaves Madrid rather empty.