wikitravel.org writes about Madrid
Madrid [1] is the capital city of Spain, and is located almost exactly in the geographical centre of the Iberian Peninsula. Madrid is the largest city in Spain and has a population (city) of 3.228 million (July 2005) and 5.843 million (metropolitan area). Madrid is best known for its great cultural and artistic heritage, a good example of which is the El Prado museum. Madrid also boasts some of the liveliest nightlife in the world.

Major Museums
The "Golden Museum Triangle"
Museo del Prado, (The nearest Metro stations are Atocha and Banco de España. Bus lines 9, 10, 14, 19, 27, 34, 37 and 45.), [2]. Closed on Mondays and some holidays. One of the finest art collections in the world, and the best collection of classical art in Madrid. It contains the famous Velazquez piece, Las Meninas, as well many of the Black Paintings of Goya. Includes many different Collections: the Spanish (El Greco, Velazquez, and Goya), the Flemish and Dutch paintings (Rubens, van Dyck, and Brueghel), Italian (Botticelli, Tintoretto Caravaggio, and Veronese),the German paintings (Albrecht Dürer, Lucas Cranach, and Baldung Grien). Tickets are about €6, with discounts for students, children, etc. Entry is free on Sundays.

Reina Sofía National Museum and Art Centre, Santa Isabel 52, 28012 Madrid (located near the massive Atocha train station), ? (+34) 91 774 10 00 (fax: (+34) 91 774 10 56), [3]. Mo-Sa: 10.00 - 21.00, Su 10.00 - 14.30. Houses Madrid's best collection of modern art. It includes many of Pablo Picasso's most revered works including the renowned Guernica. The Reina Sofía also houses masterpieces by Miró, Kandinsky, Dalí, Bacon, and more. €6, free at weekends.

Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum of Art, [4]. Opens from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. The ticket office closes at 6:30 p.m. The Museum is closed all day on January 1, May 1 and December 25. Contains a large art collection including masterpieces by Monet, Goya, Degas, Renoir, Van Gogh, Picasso, Mondrian, Bacon and Lichtenstein. Tickets are about €6.

Atocha RENFE. A very large train station. The interesting thing about it is the winterhouse jungle garden inside the main building, complete with small turtles. Worth visiting.

El Retiro is considered to be the "Central Park" of Madrid, the perfect place to take a rest during a sunny day, or take part in the drum circles around the statue of Alphonso XII on summer evenings. There is a large boating lake where one can hire a rowing boat - great fun for the children! There is a monument to the victims of the Madrid 3/11 terrorist bombings, the Forest of the Absent, and the Crystal Palace, a large structure entirely made of glass.
Sunday afternoons in summer are a treat in the park, where young hippies play bongos and dance.

La Casa de Campo is the park at the rear of the Palace (Palacio Real) which used to belong to the Royal family. Much of the park has been taken to smaller activity parks such as the Zoo but in general it's peaceful. From Moncloa you can take a teleferico across into the park.
Palacio Real, (The nearest Metro station is ''Opera''), [5]. The Palacio Real (Royal Palace) is a enormous palace, with scorching plains of concrete around it and the Real Armorial (Royal Armoury), a two-story collection of medieval weapons and armour. In spite of its name, it is not the residence of the current royal family. The Royal Palace, in the Calle de Bailén, is considered to be one of the most emblematic and beautiful buildings in Madrid, not only for its location but also for its architecture and the artistic treasures to be found in its rooms. The façades of the palace measure 130 metres long and 33 metres high with 870 windows and 240 balconies opening on to the facades and courtyard. It has a surface area of 100,000 square metres with 44 stairways and more than 30 principal rooms. Also located within the palace is the Pharmacia, which contains hundreds of bottles of early medicines and a reconstructed laboratory.

Catedral de la Almudena. This massive cathedral can be found facing the Palacio Real. Finished in the end of 20th century, it is where the Princes of Asturias Felipe and Letizia were married in 2004.
Gran Vía. Literally, "Broadway", Gran Via is one of the busiest avenues in Madrid, what you could call the main street of Madrid, and the location of the cinema district. The Gran Via is very similar to Times Square in New York City. "From the Habsburgs to Manhattan in 2 minutes". Gran Via has a constant buzz of traffic and life. 3-4am Early morning traffic jams are not unusual.

Do
- Stroll on El Retiro
- Enjoy the famous nightlife of Madrid.
- Check out some Flamenco Visit the Corral de la Moreria [6], one of the most famous flamenco tablaos in the world. It´s right in the heart of the city, and you can enjoy a full fledged Spanish meal while you watch performances by renowned international flamenco music and dance artists.
- Watch some soccer Two teams from Madrid play in La Liga (Spain's premier division): Atletico de Madrid (at Vicente Calderón stadium) and Real Madrid [7] (at Santiago Bernabeu stadium).
- Have your portrait drawn in the Plaza Mayor. Generally very good quality and the prices are very reasonable.
- Cinemas offering international o.s.t. movies can be found in inner city, consult the daily press for what they show at the moment.
- La Transhumancia. A yearly festival (of sorts), in which the centre of Madrid is traffic free and instead the streets are filled with sheperds exercising their ancient right to drive sheep and livestock through the city.