Puerta de Alcala
Going to Madrid for WYD 2011? Here are some helpful/insightful/interesting facts about the city that may be useful. Enjoy!
- The name Madrid comes from the Arabic “magerit” which means ‘place of many streams’.
- Madrid’s official symbol of the bear on its hind legs eating berries from the madroño tree is a metaphor for Madrid’s growth and represents possession and ownership of wood which is necessary for constructing buildings.
- The main international airport serving the city of Madrid is Madrid-Barajas Airport. This is the tenth busiest airport in the entire world, and the largest and busiest in all of Spain. Madrid-Barajas Airport serves as one end of the Madrid-Barcelona route which is routinely ranked as the busiest air route in the world.
- Madrileños are often called “Gatos” (cats) not because of their late sleeping habits similar to cats, but because of the historical legend where during the Arabic invasion, an adept soldier climbed the outer walls of the city with the agility of a cat; after which, his family assumed the name of Gato.
- Public transports in Madrid include metro, buses and taxis. Consisting of about 12 metro lines and more than 200 metro stations, Madrid has the second largest metro network in Europe. Metro is widely used in Madrid and so are buses. Tickets available in Madrid for metro and buses include Single Ticket costing 1 EUR and 10-journey ticket the price of which ranges from 5 EUR to 8 EUR.
- Taking the bus is by far the cheapest way of transportation. You can get a city bus ride for only €0,95 and if you buy a card where you can buy prepaid rides for they are only €0,59. Taking the bus from city to city is far cheaper than travelling by train, e.g., the busride of 6 hours from Malaga to Madrid is approximately 20 euros while a train can cost up to an astonishing 150 euros. Taxis are reasonably priced; a 5 minute city ride costs around 3 euro.
- Getting around Madrid by taxi is quite an interesting experience. Downtown Madrid has them aplenty, as long as the sun is shining. But if you are trying to get a taxi in a downpour, you may not succeed easily. Madrid’s taxicab drivers apparently have no great faith in their vehicles ability to protect from the rain and therefore will promptly vanish from the streets!
- Be prepared to sweat if you come in the height of summer, the highest recorded temperature in Madrid was 42.2°C (that’s 108°F) although humidity is generally low. The average High temperature for August is 32°C (90°F), and the average low is 16°C (61°F). Madrid recieves an average of 431 mm (17 inches) of rain each year.
- Madrid enjoys more cloudless days than almost any other city in Europe-about 250 days per year. (Be sure to bring your sunscreen!)
- Emergency numbers: They are all toll-free. General emergency services 112. Ambulance 061. Fire service 080. National police 091 (this number is used when there is serious trouble). Municipal police 092. Civil guard 062.
- in most of Spain the siesta is honoured, but the hours differ between regions. Stores open around 9am and close around one for the siesta, stores then open again around 5pm. More to the south the the stores open later and therefore the siesta starts around half past 2pm.
- Spanish people aren’t used to big tips, you can just leave a few coins and they are already more than happy with you.
- The Royal Palace of Madrid is a large and impressive building. It is filled with many great and rare treasures including weapons, paintings, sculptures, jewels, and important royal belongings. The Royal Palace of Madrid is also the only place in the world where visitors can find a complete Stradivarius string quartet.
- The site regarded by many as the home of bullfighting in Spain is the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas, or more commonly, Las Ventas. This arena has a seating capacity of approximately 25,000 people and has an unusual pricing structure for guests coming to watch the events held there. Like normally in other venues, lower seating that is closer to the action is more expensive. There is also a premium though placed on seats, regardless of their level, that are in the shade during the time of the event.
- Madrid has three art galleries in close proximity called the Golden Triangle, they consist of the Prado which has four thousand works of art including Botticelli, El Bosco, Velazquez and Goya. The Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza features works by Renoir and Van Eyck. The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia completes the triangle, this gallery houses twentieth century Spanish art including Guernica by Picasso.
Almudena Cathedral
- If you have never visited a real flea market, consider the El Rastro which is open on Sundays for a great first-time experience with its array of odd objects right from junk to rare findings and paintings.
- The Royal Tapestry Factory at Madrid makes intricate, expensive and gorgeous tapestries which are usually based on cartoons by Goya and his brother-in-law Francisco Bayeu. Goya’s originals have been displayed at the prestigious Prado.
- Surprisingly, Madrid is a great place for animal lovers: the city has a well stocked zoo which has four rare giant pandas from China and that Australian favourite, Koala bears. It also has a safari park that offers daily lion taming displays as well as the usual monkeys, giraffes and zebras.
- The patron saint of Spain is Saint James (Santiago)
- Almudena Cathedral is the cathedral of Madrid, Spain. Dating from the late 19th and 20th centuries, Almudena Cathedral is very new by European standards, and its traditional-meets-modern design reflects its youth.
We hope these facts assist you in planning your visit to Madrid! Stay tuned to WYD Central for even more information as we get closer to WYD 2011. And may the Blessed Virgin Mary
