Fully-equipped flat rentals for short stays in the heart of Madrid.

The 18th century left its Neoclassical mark on the splendid Royal Palace complex, the Sabatini Gardens and Campo del Moro, located in the city centre. The church of San Francisco El Grande, the fountains of Paseo del Prado, the Toledo Bridge, the Prado Museum, and Puerta de Alcalá are also good examples of this splendid style.

The most avant-garde and modern Madrid is located in the area of newer districts, mainly along its two main arteries: Gran Vía and Paseo de la Castellana. Gran Vía, whose construction began at the beginning of the 20th century, is nowadays a nerve centre of shops, leisure establishments, and hotels. Paseo de La Castellana, a magnificent avenue that crosses the city from north to south, has some of the most elegant hotels in the capital, as well as the offices of many firms that have opted for modern, avant-garde buildings. As important as the architectural legacy of Madrid is, however, the city's artistic wealth is found in its art galleries. The well-known Paseo del Arte is made up of three remarkable museums, situated very close to one another: the Prado Museum, the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum, and the Queen Sofía National Art Centre Museum. The Prado Museum is considered by many experts to be the best art gallery of the world, as it has the most complete and impressive collection of sixteenth, seventeenth, and twentieth century art, with the best works from the Italian, Flemish and Spanish schools. It is in the Prado Museum where artists of the stature of Hieronymus Bosch, Rubens, Goya, Velázquez, Murillo, Fra Angélico, Botticelli, Titian, Rafael, Watteau, Tintorretto, El Greco, Ribera, Zurbarán, and very many others, can be admired, along with a magnificent collection of classical sculptures. The Prado Museum offers private guided tours to groups outside normal hours, providing an unforgettable encounter with art.

The Thyssen Bornemisza Museum keeps a private collection, finally donated to the capital in 1993, that has been classified as the most important for having the widest variety of periods and styles, from primitive 13th century paintings to the avant-garde movements of the 20th century. Dürer, Tintoretto, Degas, Kandinsky, Goya, Cezanne, Matisse, Dalí, Miró, Picasso, and Renoir, are just a few of the artists whose work forms part of this collection.

The Paseo del Arte ends at the Queen Sofía National Art Centre Museum, very famous for having Picasso's Guernika in its collection, and for its collection of contemporary paintings, mainly Spanish ones.

The importance of these three great galleries has unfairly eclipsed the richness and variety of the other museums of Madrid. If the traveller has the time, he or she can choose from dozens of options. Some of these include art galleries, such as the Royal Academy of San Fernando; municipal museums; and specialised museums such as the Romantic Museum, the Railway Museum, the Navy Museum, the Army Museum, the Museum of America, the National Archaeological Museum, the National Museum of Natural Sciences, etc.

Madrid also has an assortment of palaces and monuments making up one of the most important heritages in the history of the western world. Patrimonio Nacional (National Heritage) is the institution in charge of safeguarding State property which is at the service and disposal of the King, as well as managing the convents and monasteries founded by monarchs throughout history. With a tremendous wealth of art, the establishment of this collection of buildings has for centuries been the moving force of Spanish culture. The properties, open to the public, include the Madrid Royal Palace, the Pantheon of Important Men, the Monastery of Las Descalzas Reales, the Royal Monastery of La Encarnación, the El Pardo Royal Palace, the Aranjuez Royal Palace, the Royal Monastery of El Escorial, the Prince's Cottage at El Escorial, the Infante's Cottage at El Escorial, and the Benedictine Abbey of Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos.

One of the simplest and most convenient ways to discover the broad range of cultural attractions on offer in the Spanish capital is using the Madrid Card and Madrid Card Cultura. They include entrance to emblematic monuments and to more than 40 museums in Madrid and the surrounding area. They also allow you to go on all the guided tours included in the "Descubre Madrid" (Discover Madrid) programme, organised by the City Tourist Board. They are on sale at tourist offices, by telephone on +34 902 877 996, or on-line at www.madridcard.com.

If music is your thing, Madrid Opera In is a very interesting initiative offering the chance to attend opera performances at the Royal Theatre. This package includes theatre tickets, one night's accommodation with breakfast in some of the city's best hotels, and a guided tour of the historic Madrid de los Austrias area. You can use it to make bookings for other shows, restaurants, city visits and outings in the surrounding area. For more information on this interesting offer, tel. +34 915 400 404.