Madrid is very much a normal city. I stayed in a business-y district, so there wasn’t a lot of cultural differences or exceptional architecture. If you go to Madrid and only Madrid, it would not be an accurate portrayal of all of Spain. However, that’s how most large cities are. My favorite part of Madrid, which was pretty awesome, was going to El Museo del Prado. This museum is home to Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez, my favorite piece of artwork I saw in Europe.
My second favorite thing I saw in Madrid was the Royal Palace. I cannot explain the lavishness of these rooms… not even a picture does it justice. Each room has deeply colored walls and patterns with sparking, ornate chandeliers. The detail that blew my mind the most was the amount of gold decorated in every single room. So. Much. Gold. Each room was so decadently furnished and maintained; it was really a sight worth seeing.
Madrid is a cool city, but not my favorite place in Spain. Reflecting back I really loved the more cultural, smaller towns. Which I will divulge into! In later posts 🙂