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Opened in 1928, this cinema has ornate Baroque touches. Reduced-price tickets available on Wednesdays. Three screens.

Designed in 1928 by Pedro Muguruza, this Art Deco cinema is a classic. Shows mainstream movies dubbed into Spanish. Three screens.

The finest example of Art Nouveau architecture in Madrid was created for the banker Javier González Longoría in 1902. The architect was José Grases Riera, a disciple of Antoni Gaudí. Magnificently restored in the 1990s, the walls, windows and balconies are covered with luxuriant decoration suggesting plants, flowers and tree roots (see Palacio Longoría).

This huge fun park boasts more than 40 stomach-churning rides as well as a host of other diversions, such as puppet and magic shows and a virtual reality zone. The rides – definitely not for the faint-hearted – include Los Rápidos (a chance to try white-water rafting) and Top Spin, which needs no explanation. For the very young there are merry-go-rounds and train and boat rides.

The Retiro’s central location makes it an obvious place to visit if the children are in the mood to run wild. On Sunday afternoons (1pm), take them to the puppet show in the open-air theatre near the lake. They won’t need to know Spanish as the sense of fun is infectious (see Parque del Retiro).

Madrid zoo is currently rated one of the best in Europe – within its confines you’ll find more than 2,000 animals representing 500 species, including endangered ones such as the white tiger. Young children, in particular, will enjoy the koalas. Free-flying birds of prey are the main draw of the aviary while sharks and other creatures of the deep lurk in the Aquarium. The Dolphinarium shows are another popular attraction.

“Paseo” implies a stroll and this lovely avenue, at its best on a sunny morning or just after sunset, was designed precisely for that purpose. The first cafés began to appear in the 19th century when the boulevard was nicknamed “Recoletos beach”. Most of the originals had disappeared by the 1980s when the Movida gave the terraces a new lease of life (see People and Places of La Movida). The Pabellón de Espejo looks the part with its painted tiles and wrought-iron adornments but actually dates from the 1990s. No. 10 was the residence of the Marqués de Salamanca.

What draws visitors to the Alcarría region is the rugged scenery and peace and quiet. In Pastrana, first take a look at the Palacio Ducal in the main square. The Museo de la Colegiata (next to the church of the same name) has a splendid collection of 15th-century tapestries depicting the capture of Tangier by Alfonso V of Portugal. Just outside town is the Convento del Carmen, founded by St Teresa of Avila in the 16th century, with an exhibition on her life.