Community of Madrid

Community of Madrid (Comunidad de Madrid in Spanish) is a 6.6 million people region in the center of Spain, surrounded by Castile and León and Castile-La Mancha. The population has a mostly Catholic Christian tradition and the official language is Spanish (and English is spoken by many people in the city of Madrid). The main and capital city of the Community of Madrid is Madrid, the capital city of Spain. Other important cities like Móstoles, Alcalá de Henares or Fuenlabrada.



 

What can I visit in the Community of Madrid?

Here you have a list of places in the region of Madrid that are worth to be seen. Check them out and find out the ones you want to visit:


History

The land that currently is the Community of Madrid has been inhabited since Lower Paleolithic, with remains of those years in cave paintings or witnesses of Beaker culture. Afterwards the region was inhabited by Carpetani, a group of Celtiberians tribes, and since the Roman conquer the history of the region of Madrid is linked to the rest of Castilian regions. In 1833, when the current province system was created, the province of Madrid was included in New Castile (current Castile-La Mancha without Albacete). After the transition to democracy from 1975 a new autonomy was created in Madrid, corresponding to the former province of Madrid, with capital city in Madrid. Since then there have been a PSOE gobernment led by Joaquín Leguina and then all were leaded by PP (leaded by Alberto Ruíz-Gallardón, Esperenza Aguirre, Ignacion González, Cristina Cifuentes, Ángel Garrido and Isabel Díaz Ayuso).

Unforgettable experiences 

This places and experiences are a must if you want to discover and understand the region of Madrid. This is my top 3:
Madrid
  1. Madrid: this vibrant city is a must in your visit to Spain. It's impossible to understand the history of Spain without visiting its museums and palaces, but also walking its streets and admiring its plazas (squares). There are many things to do here, from going shopping in calle Serrano to go to a threater in Gran Vía or watching a football match. Moreover Madrid has one of the best night lives in Europe.
  2. San Lorenzo de El Escorial
    Aranjuez: southernmost town in the Community and resort for the Spanish Monarchy. Here it's placed the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, the summer palace of the Spanish king since the 16th century, and its beautiful gardens. Madrid-Aranjuez railway is the 2nd oldest in Spain.
  3. San Lorenzo de El Escorial: town with a very important link to the Spanish Monarchy and specially to Philip II of Spain, who built here a huge monastery, palace, basilica... Here most of the Spanish Royal family and kings are buried and has a beautiful library too. It was placed in the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1984.

Planning your holidays

These are some possible routes you may do in Madrid and its surroundings to visit parts of it or discover it all. Community of Madrid's main sightseeing points can be visited in 3 days but to explore more of it and get deeper into the region of Madrid, 5 days can be enough for it.

    a) 3 days tour

This short journey in the Community of Madrid should obviously start in the city of Madrid, spending two days there exploring its museums, districts and palaces. For the 3rd day it can be a great choice visiting in the morning San Lorenzo de El Escorial, to discover the famous and impressing San Lorenzo de El Escorial Monastery built in Philip II of Spain times; for the afternoon it's a good idea to go to Aranjuez, being able to discover the summer palaces of the Spanish Monarchs and its awesome gardens.

   b) 5 days tour

 This short journey in the Community of Madrid should obviously start in the city of Madrid, spending two days there exploring its museums, districts and palaces. The 3rd you can go to Alcalá de Henares, birthplace of the writer of Don Quixote (novel by Miguel de Cervantes) in the morning and in the afternoon go back to Madrid and keep exploring it. For the 4rd day it can be a great choice visiting in the morning San Lorenzo de El Escorial, to discover the famous and impressing San Lorenzo de El Escorial Monastery built in Philip II of Spain times; for the afternoon it's a good idea to go to Aranjuez, being able to discover the summer palaces of the Spanish Monarchs and its awesome gardens. For the 5th day there are several choices: one of them can be visiting the awesome city of Toledo, in the region of Castile-La Mancha, to learn about its multicultural history; other choice can be enjoying the mountain nature and towns from Sierra de Guadarrama National Park or going north to visit Buitrago de Lozoya and surroundings.


How can I arrive and move within the Community of Madrid?

  The region of the Community of Madrid is very well communicated with the rest of Spain and among parts of its region. The best mean of transport to move here are every mean of transport, choosing train, metro or bus according to the length and size of the chosen destination.
    Train map of the Community of Madrid
  • Plane: there are international flights to Madrid-Barajas International Airport (the most important one in Spain) from many different destinations because it's a very important hub that connects Europe with South America.
  • Train: the Community of Madrid has an important railway network that connects some points in Madrid with other parts of the region. It works 6:00-12:30 everyday and it's a very popular mean on transport; the most crowded metro line is C5. C10 connects Nuevos Ministerios with Madrid-Barajas Airport and C2-C8 reache Guadalajara. Some of the most important stations are Atocha train station, Chamartín train station, Nuevos Ministerios train station and Principe Pío train station. The rest of the trains that connect Madrid with other Spanish destinations depart mostly from Atocha train station (although some others leave from Chamartín or Principe Pío ones).
  • Metro: Madrid Metro is one of the oldest of its kind in the world (1919) and currently is among the longest in terms of km. It connects all the districts of Madrid in 12 different lines (1-12) plus a light rail system network (Metro Ligero) and Ramal. It works 6:00-02:00 everyday and it's a very popular mean on transport; the most crowded metro lines are L6, L1, L10, L5 and L3. It works quite well together with local Cercanías trains and it also connects Madrid with some of the most important cities on Madrid metropolitan area (via L12 and Metro Ligero). L8 connects Nuevos Ministerios with Madrid-Barajas Airport.
    Metro map of the Community of Madrid
  • Bus: it's the best way to move to smaller destinations within the region or even to move within the city of Madrid at late night (neither train nor metro are available in the early hours). The main stations are obviously located in the city of Madrid. These are the most important ones: Moncloa bus station (L3-L6) goes to destinations located in the north of the Community of Madrid and the rest of Spain, Avenida de América bus station (L4-L6-L7-L9) one goes to place in the eastern part of Madrid and Spain; and Méndez Álvaro bus station (L6, C5-C1) one has buses that go south and west (this last one is the most important one).
  • Car: this is almost always the most comfortable way of moving for the lack of timetables to follow. It's required to have a green card (International Insurance Card). Most of the roads in the Community of Madrid are in good conditions although for the range and quality of public transportation (and also for avoiding possible traffic jams and reduce the polution), it's unnecessary to rent a car. 

What can I eat and drink in the region of Madrid?


Cocido madrileño
The typical food in Madrid is very similar to traditional Castilian food and dishes, with some particularities developed over time (particulary developed since Madrid became the capital city of Spain). Today Madrid cuisine joins the innovative and experimental trends of Catalan and Basque gastronomy. Cocido madrileño (vegetable and meat stew that contains chickpeas, meat, vegetables and sausages; usually served after a soup made with the broth) is probably the most typical dish in the region. Other imporant dishes are callos a la madrileña (beef or lamb tripe, cow's leg and snout, chorizo, blood sausage, paprika and other dressings), sopa de ajos (garlic soup), judías a lo tio Lucas (hearty dish of beans soaked and cooked in olive oil and garlic) besugo a la madrileña (baked sea bream, typical of Christmas) or caracoles a la madrileña (dish whose main ingredient is snails that are simmered in a concentrated meat broth).
Bartolillos

Tapas are very popular too, offered in almost every bar.
In desserts and sweets these are the most popular ones: bartolillo (fine dumplings filled with lemon-scented cream and fried), rosquillas tontas y listas, rosquillas francesas and rosquillas de Santa Clara (typical rosquillas from Madrid in May), panecillos de San Antón (pastas offered around January 17th) or barquillos sold by the traditional barquilleros. Caramelos de violeta, caramel made with violet essences, are quite traditional too.
One of the most popular drinks is, paradoxically, the water (agua) and the locals take pride of having the best water in Spain coming out of the tap. The Community of Madrid has its own Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP), Vinos de Madrid, mainly located around Arganda, Navalcarnero and San Martín de Valdeiglesias. As for spirits, the most castizo and typical one like chinchón (anise drink typical from Chinchón with around 70 degrees of alcohol) or aguardiente.

Useful links

 In case you want to look for more information about the region of Madrid (http://turismomadrid.es/en/) or its cities, towns and places, here there's a list with some pages to get it:

 
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