Madrid has to be one of the world's friendliest capital cities, wherever you go you will find a friendly face. 

It's easy to explore the compact city on foot but before you start get to know your barrios: soak up the arts in Paseo del Prado, go designer shopping in Salamanca, eat tapas at La Latina and find night-life in Huertas.

  • The historic roots of the capital are in Plaza Mayor, an elegant courtyard where heretics were burned at the stake during the years of the Inquisition, that is now home to pricey cafes to sit and watch the world go by. Then head to Palacio Real, an impressive statement of Baroque architecture that is still the official royal residence.

  • As well as works by Dali and Miro, Centro de Arte Reina Sofia is the place to gaze at Picasso's Guernica. If you really want to steep yourself in culture visit the Paseo del Prado for museums and galleries, including the feted Museo de Prado, home to work by Goya and Velazquez.

  • If the stylish stores of Salamanca don't part you from your hard-earned euros, tempt your tastebuds instead at Mercado de San Miguel, just beyond Plaza Mayor. Grab a glass of sangria or bubbly cava, then fill a plate with oysters, Iberico ham, manchego cheese and olives.

  • If you are visiting on a Sunday, don't miss Rastro street market, a sprawling flea market selling everything from old flamenco records to clothes and electronic goods.

  • Rent a rowing boat and while away the afternoon on the water at Parque del Buen Retiro. Laid out in the 17th century by Felipe IV only for the use of exclusive kings and queens, it is now open to all. Take a stroll along the network of dusty path, sit in the shade and enjoy a cool drink at one of the many terrazas.

  • Start your night with a drink at La Venencia sherry bar, tucked down a lane in Huertas. An authentic step back in time to an age long before neon lights and loud music, the walls are lined with dusty bottles and there are just five sherries to choose from along with some basic tapas. The atmosphere is as delicious as the aperitif.

  • Tapas lovers are spoiled for choice in Madrid. Go to La Latina for patatas bravas and chunks of spicy chorizo, or book a table in the vaulted cellars of Restaurante Sobrino de Botin, recognised as the oldest restaurant in the world. Speciality of the house is cochinillo or roast sucking pig, so good Hemingway wrote about it.

  • Book a room at ME Madrid in the heart of the historic city where the old and new faces of the capital merge. The former Gran Hotel Victoria, a 19th century palace and then the place where Spain's top bullfighters stayed, it occupies one side of Plaza Santa Ana and has been transformed into a stylish bolthole, with an uber-cool late-night rooftop cocktail bar. Gaze across the skyline, freshly shaken mojito in hand, surrounded by the city's bright young things.

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