Madrid Removals

The city of Madrid is the third-largest city in the EU, and is the capital of Spain. The municipality covers 604.3km² and is home to two world-famous football clubs- Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid. According to Monocle magazine’s 2017 index, Madrid is the 10^th most liveable city in the world, ranking higher than Vancouver, Hong Kong and the second most populous Spanish city Barcelona. The name Madrid comes from the Arabic ‘Materit’ meaning place of abundant water. The city is split into two distinct zones of urbanisation, the inner ring and the outer ring. The larger suburbs are in the outer ring, but the busier sections are in the inner ring, due to their central location and sights of importance. Madrid has the highest number of trees of any European city, and all citizens have access to a green area within a 15-minute walk- even the central railway station has a 4,000 square metre indoor garden that features ponds with turtles and goldfish. The mean household income and spending is 12% above the Spanish average, and the unemployment rate is 10.06%, lower than Spain as a whole. Madrid is considered one of the top European destinations concerning art museums, with 15 in the city itself. The most popular museum is the Museo del Prado, which houses Spanish art ranging from the 16^th century to modern contemporary, such as Goya, El Greco and Velázquez. The city has a considerable number of churches, some of which date back as far as the 16^th century. The San Nicholás de los Servitas church has a bell tower from the 12^th century and was declared a national monument in 1931. The National Library of Spain, established in 1712, is the largest major public library in Spain, and contains over 26 million items. It was founded by King Philip V, who made a legal requirement for printers to submit a copy of every book printed to the library.

Madrid is not only a city, but is one of the 17 autonomous communities of Spain, making it a state. It lies around 700 metres above sea-level, making the air dry and clear, but in Winter, the temperature can drop below 0°C. The coat of arms of Madrid is a bear reaching up the branches of a tree and represents the zodiac sign Ursa Major. This coat of arms is also visible on the Atletico Madrid football team emblem. Madrid has more cloudless days than almost any other city in Europe, meaning the weather is more or less usually perfect. The world-famous cuisine tapas is typically served with drinks at most bars in the city, usually served between 9 and 11pm. Tapas consists of small portions of lots of different types of food to give you a taste of everything. Typical dishes in Spanish tapas include Papas Arrugadas, a boiled potato in a chilli sauce, Boquerones, white anchovies in vinegar, Chopitos, battered and fried squid, and many more. Sometimes people from Madrid are called ‘Gatos’ which means cats, and many relate this to residents sleeping late and through the day like the felines. According to the Guinness Book of Records, the worlds oldest restaurant is in Madrid- Sobrino de Botín was founded in 1725 and is still running today. The city is home to Warner Brothers Movie World, which is a major theme park, and attracts many visitors from all over Europe. Madrid also has many major shopping centres and designer outlets, perfect for grabbing that ideal gift, or treating yourself. Madrid is a city like no other, and it is one of the most historical, beautiful and unique places in the world.