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Madrid is not a city of half-measures: Europe’s highest, greenest, youngest, sunniest capital likes to boast Desde Madrid al Cielo (‘from Madrid to Heaven’), with its assumption that when you’ve seen Madrid, the only place left is Heaven. The city is as famous for what it lacks as for what it boasts – there’s no great river, no architectural marvels, no immediate picture-postcard charm. But what it does have, it has in spades: a fabulous collection of western art held in the Prado, the Thyssen and the Reina Sofía, a crooked old centre where almost every alley is stuffed with excellent tapas bars and restaurants, and an intense nightlife that makes most other cities look staid and past it. Madrid can seem like several cities rolled into one: each barrio or neighbourhood has a distinct flavour, so you can swank around Salamanca one night, enjoy the populist buzz in Santa Ana the next, and finish up with an underground club in trendy Chueca or up-and-coming Lavapiés.
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