Plaza Mayor (17th century) and Puerta del Sol are places were a tourist always goes. On May, you may see a lot of senioritas with colorful dresses. Juan de Villanueva is the author of last renovations here. The first buildings were of wood and they were destroyed by fires many times.

The large and animated boulevards enable us to see beautiful buildings of different styles. Madrid is a vivid town, people come and go, the Merridional noise always present.

The Retiro Park is a nice spot. Buil as a retirement (retiro) place for the royal family, now it is the park of the inhabitants of Madrid. Another tourist objective is, of course, the Royal Palace, built between 1738-1764, on the site of a Moorish fortress from the 9th. century. As inspiration, Bernini’s  drawings for the Louvre have been used. Out of 2500 rooms, 50 could be visited by tourists.

But Madrid has also modern parts. AZCA is a kind of La Defence in Paris. It is the financial district too, of course.When I was there, 14 years ago, the Picasso Tower was the highest (43 levels), now I’m sure I’d be surprised…

In asteptarea viitoarei calatorii, ma uit pe fotografii vechi si ma gandesc sa va arat si voua cum am vazut eu Madridul, de exemplu, acum 14 ani. O plimbare prin oras intr-o zi de sambata, inainte de a-mi lua zborul, dupa o saptamana de munca petrecuta in Granada

Luna mai in Spania este placuta, nu s-au instalat inca caldurile mari. Fantanile nenumarate ale orasului si multa vegetatie atenueaza oricum senzatia de prea cald. Ies in evidenta Fantana lui Neptun din Piata Canovas del Castillo, Fantana Cibeles sau Fantana Gloriette de Atocha.

Unde anume decat in capitala Spaniei ar fi  mai potrivita o statuie a lui Don Quichotte de la Mancha?

Nu va imaginati insa ca la Madrid nu puteti vedea si arhitectura moderna. Zona numita AZCA, este un fel de La Defence parizian. Aici este cartierul financiar, numit “zona cu zgarie nori”. Acum 14 ani, cel mai inalt era Turnul Picasso, cu 43 de etaje. Cred insa ca as avea surprize acum…