The contrast and diversity in the countryside around Madrid never ceases to surprise visitors. With the landscapes of La Mancha painted by Cervantes, the mountain scenery in the Sierra de Guadarrama, Chinchón's popular architecture, the Royal Palace at Aranjuez and the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Madrid is a region exceptionally rich in history and art, with all the most important elements making up Spain's artistic heritage.

 

In a radius of between 70 and 100 kilometres, outside the Madrid region, the traveller will be dazzled by the beauty of some extraordinary cities: Segovia, Toledo and Ávila, whose multicultural artistic heritage forms part of humanity's inheritance. Jewish synagogues, Arab mosques, Gothic cathedrals in a mixture of styles, Renaissance, Baroque and neo-Classical, a Roman aqueduct, medieval walls, Catholic cathedrals… all comprise an exceptional mosaic of cultures, customs and traditions.

 

The Madrid region has a huge amount of unspoilt countryside, from the El Pardo hills, with their leafy woods sheltering a variety of fauna, to the beauty of the mountain landscapes of the Sierra de Madrid, with their winter sports, or the broad plains surrounding the Royal Town of Aranjuez. Madrid has protected its natural beauty so everyone can enjoy it, with areas set aside for sporting activities such as golf, sailing, windsurfing, horse-riding, etc.

 

Spain's capital has a great many parks and gardens throughout the city. Soe, like the Casa de Campo and the Retiro park, with more than sixty thousand trees, have existed for centuries and others like Juan Carlos I, Pradolongo and Tierno Galván, to name a few, are on the modern outskirts of the city. Hide text