DK Travel : Madrid

Madrid’s three world-class art museums and two royal palaces alone would set the pulses racing, but there is more to this exciting and diverse capital than its tourist sights. The fashion boutiques of the Salamanca district showcase Europe’s top designers and are just the tip of a shopping iceberg, perfectly complementing the informality of the fascinating El Rastro market, while Madrid’s world-famous tapas bars vie for attention with gourmet restaurants and humble tabernas in a city which never sleeps. To simply watch the world go by, head for the supremely elegant Plaza Mayor.

Catedral de la Almudena

There were plans to build a cathedral on the superb hilltop site as early as the 18th century, but it was not until 1879 that the Marqués de Cubas got the go-ahead for his ambitious design; even then, only the Romanesque-style crypt was actually built. The cathedral was eventually completed in the 1980s by architect Fernando Chueca Goitia and opened by Pope John Paul II in 1993. The Gothic interior comes as a surprise, as the exterior is Neo-Classical to harmonize with the Palacio Real. The magnificent bronze doors were installed in October 2000.
Cava

A fresh, sparkling wine; the name Cava (cellar) was adopted after the French disallowed use of the word champagne.
Ceesepe

This self-taught artist (real name Carlos Sánchez Pérez) was a leading figure of the movida . He produced posters for several of Almodóvar’s films, as well as book illustrations, cartoons and record covers. His exhibition, the “Last Supper”, in the Moriarty Gallery in 1983, brought him to the attention of a wider public.
Centro Cultural Conde Duque

For most of the year this cultural centre hosts temporary art exhibitions. During the annual Summer Arts Festival, however, opera, plays and concerts are also on the programme, many of the events staged outdoors.
Centro Cultural de la Villa

Events at this important arts centre range from temporary art exhibitions to ballet, jazz, dramatic plays, zarzuela and experimental theatre.
Centro de Anticuarios Lagasca

Antiques-lovers can save time traipsing the streets for individual shops by visiting this gallery which brings together a number of Madrid’s most reputable dealers.
Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

This treasure-house of modern Spanish art was designed as a hospital by Francisco Sabatini in 1756. The conversion to art gallery was completed in 1990. The glass elevators offer panoramic views (see Centro de Arte Reina Sofía).
Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

In contrast to the Prado, this wonderful art gallery is devoted to the very best of 20th- and 21st-century art (see Centro de Arte Reina Sofía).
Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

No visitor should miss the chance to see Picasso’s Guernica , the world’s most famous 20th-century painting. This fabulous museum also showcases other modern Spanish greats including Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró and Juan Gris (see Centro de Arte Reina Sofía).
Cervantes

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( September 29?, 1547 – April 23, 1616) was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. Cervantes is one of the most important and influential people in literature and his magnum opus, Don Quixote, is considered a founding classic of Western literature and regularly figures among the best novels ever written. His work is considered among the most important in all of literature. He has been dubbed el Príncipe de los Ingenios (the Prince of Wits). Cervantes' novel Don Quixote has had a tremendous influence on the development of prose fiction; it has been translated into all major languages and has appeared in 700 editions. The first translation was in English, made by Thomas Shelton in 1608, but not published until 1612. Shakespeare had evidently read Don Quixote, but it is most unlikely that Cervantes had ever heard of Shakespeare. Carlos Fuentes raised the possibility that Cervantes and Shakespeare were the same person (see Shakespearean authorship question). Francis Carr has suggested that Francis Bacon wrote Shakespeare's plays and Don Quixote.