Royal Alcázar of Madrid

The Royal Palace of Madrid (Spanish: Palacio Real de Madrid) is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid, although now used only for state ceremonies. The palace has 135,000 m2 (1,450,000 sq ft) of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the largest functioning royal palace and the largest by floor area in Europe.The palace is now open to the public, except during state functions, although it is so large that only a selection of rooms are on the visitor route at any one time, the route being changed every few months. An admission fee of €13 is charged; however, at some times it is free. The palace is owned by the Spanish state and administered by the Patrimonio Nacional, a public agency of the Ministry of the Presidency. The palace is on Calle de Bailén ("Bailén Street") in the western part of downtown Madrid, east of the Manzanares River, and is accessible from the Ópera metro station. Felipe VI and the royal family do not reside in the palace, choosing instead the Palace of Zarzuela in El Pardo. The palace is on the site of a bygone Muslim-era fortress constructed by Emir Muhammad I of Córdoba in the 9th century. The imposing Alcázar of Madrid provided both a safe for the royal treasure and a habitual residence to the Trastámara monarchs in the late middle ages. Having endured substantial expansion works during the 16th century, the royal alcázar remained on the site until it burned down on 24 December 1734. A new palace was thereafter built from scratch on the same site on behalf of the Bourbon dynasty. Construction spanned the years 1738 to 1755 and followed a Berniniesque design by Filippo Juvarra and Giovanni Battista Sacchetti in cooperation with Ventura Rodríguez, Francesco Sabatini, and Martín Sarmiento. During the Second Spanish Republic the building was known as "Palacio Nacional". The interior of the palace is notable for its wealth of art and the use of many types of fine materials in the construction and the decoration of its rooms. It includes paintings by artists such as Caravaggio, Juan de Flandes, Francisco de Goya, and Velázquez, and frescoes by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Corrado Giaquinto, and Anton Raphael Mengs. Other collections of great historical and artistic importance preserved in the building include the Royal Armoury of Madrid, porcelain, watches, furniture, silverware, and the world's only complete Stradivarius string quintet.

The Plaza de Oriente is a square in the historic center of Madrid, Spain. Rectangular in shape and monumental in character, it was designed in 1844 by Narciso Pascual y Colomer. The square was propagated by King Joseph I, who ordered the demolition of the medieval houses on the site. It is located between some important landmarks in Madrid: To the west is the Royal Palace, the Teatro Real ("Royal Theater") to the east, and the Royal Monastery of the Incarnation to the north.

The Tower of Bones is an Islamic watchtower, the remains of which are exhibited in the underground parking structure in the Plaza de Oriente, in the Spanish city of Madrid. It was built in the 11th century by the Muslim population that founded the Mayrit fortress two centuries earlier, as an integral part of its defensive system.

The Monument to Philip IV or Fountain of Philip IV is a memorial to Philip IV of Spain in the centre of Plaza de Oriente in Madrid, Spain. It was raised at the insistence of Isabella II of Spain in the first half of the 19th century, opening on 17 November 1843, a year before Narciso Pascual y Colomer came up with the square's final layout. However, its equestrian statue of the king dates to the 17th century and was produced by the Italian sculptor Pietro Tacca. It was begun in 1634 and shipped to Madrid in 1640, the year of his death. The sculpture, atop a complicated fountain composition, forms the centerpiece of the façade of the Royal Palace. The statue was based in drawings by Diego Velázquez and a bust by Juan Martínez Montañés (who also collaborated on the work). The daring stability of the statue was calculated by Galileo Galilei: the horse rears, and the entire weight of the sculpture balances on the two rear legs—and, discreetly, its tail— a feat that had never been attempted in a figure on a heroic scale, of which Leonardo had dreamed.

The Sabatini Gardens (in Spanish: Jardines de Sabatini) are part of the Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain, and were opened to the public by King Juan Carlos I in 1978. They honor the name of Francesco Sabatini (1722–1797), an Italian architect of the 18th century who designed, among other works at the palace, the royal stables of the palace, previously located at this site. In 1933, clearing of the stable buildings was begun, and construction of the gardens begun, which were only completed in the late 1970s. The gardens have a formal Neoclassic style, consisting of well-sheared hedges, in symmetric geometrical patterns, adorned with a pool, statues and fountains, with trees also disposed in a symmetrical geometric shape. The statues are those of Spanish kings, not intended originally to even grace a garden, but originally crowding the adjacent palace. The tranquil array is a peaceful corner from which to view the palace. The gardens are divided into three terraces. The first one has a great symmetry in its design and whose center is a sheet of water that has the function of a mirror. The second terrace is located on the first one, where you can see the entire facade of the Royal Palace from where there is a pine grove to the Cuesta de San Vicente, a street that has an entrance with steps to the Sabatini Gardens. To the east of this second terrace is the third one.

The Reina Sofía School of Music (Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Spanish) is a private music school founded in Madrid, Spain, in 1991 by Paloma O'Shea. It belongs to the Albéniz Foundation, and it bears the name of its Honorary President, Queen Sofía of Spain.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madrid is one of Spain's fourteen Metropolitan Archbishoprics. Incumbent Archbishop of Madrid since 28 August 2014 is Carlos Osoro Sierra, until then Archbishop of Valencia. Despite Madrid having been the seat of the Spanish Crown since 1561, the diocese was only created in the late 19th century and gained archbishopric status in 1991. Its cathedral archiepiscopal see is the Catedral de Santa María la Real de la Almudena, in Spanish national capital Madrid. The metropolitan city area also has several Minor Basilicas: the Basílica Ex-Catedral de San Isidro (former Pro-cathedral), the Basílica de San Lorenzo (World Heritage Site, in El Escorial), the Basílica de la Asunción de Nuestra Señora (dedicated to the Assumption, in Colmenar Viejo), the Basílica de la Concepción de Nuestra Señora the Basílica de Nuestro Padre Jesús de Medinaceli, the Basílica de San Vicente de Paul (Milagrosa), the Basílica de Santa Cruz (dedicated to the Holy Cross, in El Valle de los Caídos), the Basílica Pontificia de San Miguel, the Real Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Atocha (royal, a National Shrine), the Real Basílica de San Francisco el Grande (also royal).

Almudena Cathedral (Santa María la Real de La Almudena) is a Catholic church in Madrid, Spain. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madrid. The cathedral was consecrated by Pope John Paul II in 1993.

The Senate (Spanish: Senado) is the upper house of the Cortes Generales, which along with the Congress of Deputies – the lower chamber – comprises the Parliament of the Kingdom of Spain. The Senate meets in the Palace of the Senate in Madrid. The composition of the Senate is established in Part III of the Spanish Constitution. The Senate is composed of senators, each of whom represents a province, an autonomous city or an autonomous community. Each mainland province, regardless of its population size, is equally represented by four senators; in the insular provinces, the big islands are represented by three senators and the minor islands are represented by a single senator. Likewise, the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla elect two senators each. This direct election results in the election of 208 senators by the citizens. In addition, the regional legislatures also designate their own representatives, one senator for each autonomous community and another for every million person, designating a total of 58 senators. The Spanish Senate is constitutionally described as a territorial chamber. Its powers are similar to those of the Congress of Deputies. However, by virtue of its role as a territorial chamber, it is endowed with exceptional powers such as authorising the Government of the Nation to apply direct rule on a region or to dissolve city councils. The presiding officer of the Senate is the President of the Senate, who is elected by the members thereof.

Madrid ( mə-DRID, Spanish: [maˈðɾið]) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), surpassed only by Berlin in its administrative limits, and its monocentric metropolitan area is the second-largest in the EU, surpassed only by Paris. The municipality covers 604.3 km2 (233.3 sq mi) geographical area.Madrid lies on the River Manzanares in the central part of the Iberian Peninsula. Capital city of both Spain (almost without interruption since 1561) and the surrounding autonomous community of Madrid (since 1983), it is also the political, economic and cultural centre of the country. The city is situated on an elevated plain about 300 kilometres (190 mi) from the closest seaside location. Seasonal differences are large by Iberian standards with hot summers and cool winters. The mayor is José Luis Martínez-Almeida from the People's Party. The Madrid urban agglomeration has the second-largest GDP in the European Union and its influence in politics, education, entertainment, environment, media, fashion, science, culture, and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities. Due to its economic output, high standard of living, and market size, Madrid is considered the major financial centre and the leading economic hub of the Iberian Peninsula and of Southern Europe. The metropolitan area hosts major Spanish companies such as Telefónica, Iberia, BBVA and FCC. It concentrates the bulk of banking operations in the country and it is the Spanish-speaking city generating the largest amount of webpages.Madrid houses the headquarters of the UN's World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB), the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), and the Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB). It also hosts major international regulators and promoters of the Spanish language: the Standing Committee of the Association of Spanish Language Academies, headquarters of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), the Instituto Cervantes and the Foundation of Emerging Spanish (FundéuRAE). Madrid organises fairs such as FITUR, ARCO, SIMO TCI and the Madrid Fashion Week. Madrid is home to two world-famous football clubs, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid. While Madrid possesses modern infrastructure, it has preserved the look and feel of many of its historic neighbourhoods and streets. Its landmarks include the Plaza Mayor, the Royal Palace of Madrid; the Royal Theatre with its restored 1850 Opera House; the Buen Retiro Park, founded in 1631; the 19th-century National Library building (founded in 1712) containing some of Spain's historical archives; many national museums, and the Golden Triangle of Art, located along the Paseo del Prado and comprising three art museums: Prado Museum, the Reina Sofía Museum, a museum of modern art, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, which complements the holdings of the other two museums. Cibeles Palace and Fountain has become one of the monument symbols of the city.

The Palace of Marqués de Grimaldi (Spanish: Palacio del Marqués de Grimaldi) is a palace located in Madrid, Spain. It was declared Bien de Interés Cultural in 2000.

The Walls of Madrid (Spanish: cerca de Madrid, tapia de Madrid) are the five successive sets of walls that surrounded the city of Madrid from the Middle Ages until the end of the 19th century. Some of the walls had a defensive or military function, while others made it easy to tax goods entering the city. Towards the end of the 19th century the demographic explosion that came with the Industrial Revolution prompted urban expansion throughout Spain. Older walls were torn down to enable the expansion of the city under the grid plan of Carlos María de Castro.