MADRID AND THE FOOTBALL
The inhabitants of Madrid share a true passion for football. It is not something to be surprised of taking into account that among the best teams of the city there is Real Madrid CF, the football club which has won more trophies than any other team in the world throughout its history. It has won 9 EURopean Champions Cup Titles, 29 Spanish League Titles, 17 Spanish Cup Titles, 7 Spanish Super Cup Titles, among many others. At the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium the show is guaranteed to entertain and amuse. Madrid hosts the best football players in the world: Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Figo, Raúl and the mythical David Beckham has also joined them this season. That's why Madrid has become one of the most appealing sports cities in the current scene.
LOCATION
The capital of Spain is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, right in the centre of the Castilian plateau. The river Manzanares crosses the city and it is famous for the constant trials of water improvement it has been subjected to.
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CLIMATE
Its climate is Continental-Mediterranean. That is, if you visit the city during the summer season you will have to walk around Madrid lightly dressed, and use caps to protect yourself from the sun. But if you come in winter you will have to bring very warm clothing. The spring and the autumn are the most recommended seasons to visit the city because the temperatures are soft and nice. Regarding rains, days are clear almost all year round.
TOWN
Madrid is a modern and cosmopolitan city and it is also the management, institutional, cultural and communications centre of the country. It is also the usual residence of the King. Along with Barcelona, Madrid is the most important business centre in Spain. Madrid has an intense cultural and artistic activity and a very active nightlife. Its geographic density exceeds the 3 millions inhabitants.
As it is happening in other big cities, this number is increasing due to the constant migratory flows. The population of Madrid is distributed between the city centre and the little towns in the outskirts. Most of them were little rural towns that through the years have turned into little cities perfectly connected to the centre. Others have been absorbed by the city and today they have become very popular districts.
Inside the city one can distinguish the historical Madrid -messy streets in the old quarter- from the new built areas, which follow modern and tidy urban plans. The road accesses to the city have increased in the past few years. There are some roads that cross the city from one end to the other becoming the main thoroughfares for the capital difficult traffic. Some of them are: Paseo de la Castellana, which crosses the city from North to South and the centre to the finances and most important companies in Madrid. And Alcalá, which is born at the famous Puerta de Alcalá.
The remains of the remotest past are fundamentally Baroque and Neoclassical buildings from the 17 th and 18 th centuries as the Plaza Mayor, the Royal Palace, among others. |
