Curiously, the most... by Ronald_T
Curiously, the most interesting part of Madrid is really very small. The exciting, welcoming, visually stimulating heart, historic Madrid, el centro, stretches nearly a mile and a half between two grand parks, the Parque del Retiro (see picture) with its nearby museums to the east, and the Campo del Moro, the park at the Royal Palace (see first picture), to the west. In between, the pattern of streets defies all logic, as a non grid of 17th- and 18th-century streets and plazas should. But halfway between the parks, the Puerta del Sol provides a permanent point of reference, both for the visitor and for all of Spain, since all highway distances are measured from the ?kilometre zero? point in the middle of this rambling plaza.
