Travel guide Madrid

Madrid's main railway station (Atocha Renfe) unfortunately became notorious in 2004 for the terrorist attacks that targeted it. Nevertheless, it's a very pleasant place to visit, not least because of its beautiful tropical garden, with lush plants, turtles and a warm, humid atmosphere. An emblematic place in the capital.

This adjective, which means "of pure blood", could be translated as "typically Madrilenian". Originally, a castizo was someone whose ancestors were from Madrid over several generations. But the reality is quite different. The word in fact seeks to express the essence of typically Madrilenian and, more generally, Castilian behavior.

There are so many convents that it's impossible to count the number still in use! Many of them are still home to cloistered nuns, though their numbers are dwindling... Among the best-known convents are the Descalzas, for women of the nobility, and the Incarnation, next to the royal palace. Both can be visited.

It's impossible to ignore the subject when you come to Madrid. There are two opposing teams: Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid. If there's a match between them during your stay, you're bound to hear about it. In simple terms, Real Madrid attracts the pijos (petty bourgeois), while fans of more modest origins are Atlético fans.

Here, the rhythm of life is different. We have lunch at 2 - 3pm and dinner at 10pm. And these schedules imply a different way of life... The day is longer, but it's interspersed with moments of rest. In France, it's customary to give an hour's break for lunch, whereas in Madrid, we give two or even three. Siesta oblige!

The marcha is linked to the party. Ir de marcha or dirty marcha is going out and having fun all night long. As a group, the Madrilenians spend their early evening going from one bar to another. Traditionally, everyone buys their own round. When the night is already well underway, they join the discos. The evening often ends in the early morning.

This movement emerged in the late 1970s. Clandestine at first, it grew in scope with the advent of democracy. Those who formed the movement saw the political freedom of the post-Franco phase as an opportunity to create avant-garde works. All artistic fields were represented.

Everywhere you will come across small kiosks or a street vendor working for the Spanish National Organisation of the Blind (ONCE), which organises the lottery, with the aim of financing the setting up of infrastructures for the blind and disabled. There are many other games of chance. During the Christmas season, everyone plays!

This Sunday morning market at La Latina is a must. You can find anything and everything, a little Spanish handicraft and antiques, but above all a lot of trinkets. Madrilenians get together there and take over the tapas bars. Tradition has it that you can taste bocatas de calamares, the famous fried squid sandwich.

Although the Holy Week celebrations are more spectacular in Andalusia, the Madrid processions will impress the neophytes. Hundreds of people crowd the alleyways of the old town to see the parades of Virgins carried on men's backs and believers dressed in large black hooded dresses.

Whether it's around 2pm or 8:30pm, Madrilenians, like the Spanish, are very fond of aperitifs and tapas. Ir de chatos, ir de pinchos, ir de tapeo, all expressions to express a single practice: to meet around a glass to chat with friends. Outside of tourist areas, tapas are offered to consumers.

Born in the mid-seventeenth century, zarzuela is a kind of operetta where declamation alternates with singing to entertain the royal court. Nineteenth-century Madrid asserts its identity through this operetta. The themes are centred on the Madrid castizo. Today, it is less practiced. But in the summer, you can see a zarzuela in the street.