In Part 1 of the Madrid Destination Report, I provided an overview of the city, how to get there and made a few suggestions about where to stay, shop, dine and party. In Part 2, I will take a closer look at the cultural offerings of the capital - in particular its art - but also traditional Madrilenian cuisine, and tell you about the nearby ancient town of Alcala de Hernares.
Alcala de Hernares
I strongly recommend paying a visit to Alcala de Hernares, a town just 26km northeast of Madrid. Alcalá de Henares, whose historical centre is one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites, is the birthplace of world-renowned writer Miguel de Cervantes, home to one of Europe's oldest universities and the oldest surviving theatre in Europe. As well as being rich in archaeology, many - around 80 - modern sculptures can be admired while wandering around.
You can wine, dine, sleep and even bathe at the Parador de Alcalá (Colegio de Santo Tomas). Situated on a World Heritage site, the Parador occupies a 17th century building, which forms part of the monumental complex of the city. A parador is a hotel or inn owned and operated by a government agency, and often converted from an historic building such as a castle, monastery or palace.
You step in from the ancient streets to the starkly contrasting modern interior of Parador de Alcalá, surrounded by modern art, beautiful courtyards and sun-soaked terraces. At this hotel, you can stay in a convent while enjoying a 21st century spa under the vaults of the ancient church as well as an outdoor rooftop pool.
The Parador boasts 1,000m2 of conference space and the Restaurant St Tomas is a popular lunch and dinner spot amongst locals and tourists alike. The menu combines classic Castilian cooking with creative and avant-garde cuisine, using local products where possible. The Salmorejo Cordobés for example, is a local version of a Gazpacho (cold vegetable soup), served with glazed prawns and a tomato and basil sorbet that accentuates the flavours of the dish, which is both delicious and refreshing.
Rustic dining at Malacatin
Malacatin, dating back to 1895, is a traditional Spanish eatery exuding all things rustic. Located in La Latina district back in the centre of Madrid, it is a charming little restaurant serving cocina madrileña (Madrilenian cuisine) with very friendly and efficient staff.
Locals frequent the place but are often joined by tourists who want to sample the traditional cuisine. It is predominantly about meat - and lots of it! A noodle soup is served as a starter, followed by numerous plates of meat: a whole chicken, slow-cooked pork, dried ham casserole, black pudding, trotters and other indistinguishable parts of a pig. This is certainly not one for vegetarians as even the Castilian chickpeas and boiled potatoes are cooked in lard and the boiled cabbage in dried ham broth.
If you are a tourist not shy of immersing yourself in local customs, Malacatin is a great place to experience a real taste of Madrid’s traditional cuisine in a cosy, rustic setting.
Museums: The Art Triangle
Madrid is both the capital of Spain and its art capital. It is the only place in the world home to so many masterpieces in such a small area. The best thing is to benefit from a museum triangle ticket, which covers three of Madrid’s most esteemed museums. A visit to the Prado Museum, the Thyssen-Bornemisza and the Reina Sofía National Museum provides a brilliant tour of the history and evolution of painting, amidst fantastic architecture. The three museums are located just a few metres from each other and are connected by one of the city's main avenues: the Paseo del Prado.
Museums aren’t often my first port of call if I only have a limited amount of time in a city, but either make time for them in Madrid or add another day to your trip as it would be a real shame to miss these. The collections are beyond impressive, not least the buildings they are housed in.
Museo Nacional del Prado
The Prado Museum has one of the world's most important collections of paintings, with the best of the Spanish, Italian and Flemish schools, encompassing the 12th to 18th centuries. It has masterpieces by renowned artists such as Goya, El Greco, Murillo, Tiziano, and Rubens, to name a few.
Naturally classic art isn’t for everybody (myself included, I admit), but even if the styles are not to your personal taste, the museum displays some phenomenal works of art from many of the earlier masters, making it an unrivalled place in Spain to engulf yourself in art history.
One aspect that makes Prado’s collection so rich is that the Kings of Spain used to collect the best paintings: Rubens was a favourite of Charles IV who commissioned him to paint dozens of works for the decoration of the royal palaces of Madrid.
Head there before 14 September to catch the temporary collection of ten of Picasso’s paintings, arguably some of the Kunstmuseum’s (Basel) most important works. Picasso was the honorary director of the museum between 1936 and 1939 and his works contrast and develop wonderfully with the many classics either side.
For those who prefer to be outdoors or for a break between museum visits, located in front of the Prado Museum lies the Royal Botanical Gardens, including remarkable collections of about 30,000 plants and flowers, and 1,500 trees, covering an area of 8 hectares.
Museo Nacional de Reina de Sofia
The Reina Sofia National Art Museum is known as a jewel of modern art, featuring works from the mid-19th century and many avant-garde masterpieces. Many art schools are represented here, including Surrealism, Cubism, Dadaism, Expressionism and Abstraction. Don’t miss this fabulous opportunity to encounter works by two of Spain’s greatest 20th century masters, Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso, as well as Francis Bacon and Juan Gris.
Many visitors come to see the “Guernixa” mural, undoubtedly Pablo Picasso’s most famous work, found in a special section of the museum featuring works by artists expressing the bleak realities of war, through paintings, sculptures and drawings. This powerful piece depicts the moment when the Basque town of Guernica suffers the bombing that ruined the village in 1937 during the Spanish Civil war, it tells the world the horrors of war.
Situated just across from the Madrid Atocha central railway station, Reina Sofia is a relatively modern museum, officially inaugurated in 1992. The beautiful building combining old and new is worth visiting itself, in particular the terraces offering fantastic panoramas of Madrid and where glass, light, bricks and mirrors collide – a piece of modern art in itself.
The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
This museum represents the perfect transition, a link between the classic works of the Prado Museum and the contemporary ones found in the Reina Sofia. Originally a private collection put together by Hans Heinrich von Thyssen-Bornemisza, he tried to make a complete collection that spanned the whole History of Art, including Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassicism, Impressionism, Cubism, Surrealism and other important schools. It is one of the most valuable private collections in the world. Hanging on its walls you'll find paintings by masters such as Monet, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Klee and Kandinsky, among many others.
I hope that this Destination Report has provided ample reason for you to consider Madrid when next seeking a city break. Madrid is a diverse and cosmopolitan city, that I encourage you to discover, explore and enjoy.
Useful websites
www.luxair.lu
www.spain.info
www.esmadrid.com
www.turismomadrid.es
www.turismoalcala.es
Parador de Alcalá: www.parador.es/fr/paradores/parador-de-alcala-de-henares
Malacatin : www.malacatin.com
