Hello. My name is Jonathan, and today, we’re going to be profiling Madrid on WatchMojo.com.

This here Madrid goes as far back as the Stone Age, but I’ll be starting off from about the 9th century. At that time, Madrid was controlled by the Arabs but was taken over by Alfonso the VII, and the Christian forces by force.

Around 1561, Madrid was declared the capital of the Spanish empire. Now, at that time, Madrid enjoyed great political stability which it didn’t quite enjoy that well at the war period beforehand.

Now the Madrid of today owes itself to its rich history of war and its historical architecture. If you’re planning on visiting Madrid, you have to keep in mind that late summer is probably the worst time of year for you to visit. The reason for this is it gets extremely hot and you just will literally melt on the pavement outside. You’ll find yourself preferring to probably stay indoors than go outside and explore the city. Because of this daytime heat, the city is more oriented towards the night time person.

The restaurants tend to open around eight or nine p.m. and it’s not uncommon for a store to be closed about an hour or so in the middle of the afternoon. Now once the sun goes down the streets filled up with people and its literally good luck to the entire city. There are parties everywhere you go and it’s really a great time from behind. You’re not going to miss out on anything just by being outside.

Places of interests include the Museo del Prado which is thought to be one of the best art galleries in the world. Don’t forget to check out the Royal Palace, I mean it’s not used as a residence any longer, but it’s worth checking out just for its architecture and the décor indoors.

The Botanical Gardens are also worth a good visit, but if you can’t make your way all the way over there, I suggest checking out the other gardens or the very large parks literally throughout the city.

If you are out in about daytime or night time the place to be is probably the Main Square, centered by a large Clock Tower not unlike the Big Ben in London. In the center, you’ll find festivals, shows, lots of musicians, I mean it’s such a great place to sit down, wait sometime if you’ve got nothing to do, and it’s really the place to go and eat.