Travel and discover

December is an excellent opportunity to know a city in depth. Madrid is an example of activities, leisure and culture inexhaustible and often come back always something new to discover. If you’ve never been or you left out one of its museums, the Bridge of December is an excellent opportunity to visit and free!

With more than 40 museums, the Spanish capital offers a cultural offerings such that we can hardly encompass it in its entirety on a weekend getaway. We therefore propose a bridge, also one of the longest in the years to quench our thirst for temporary exhibitions, museums and works that are already part of world heritage.

Meadow

The concept of free public museum that we like London does not exist in Spain, but it is also true that tickets to major exhibitions centers have many special rates and if you’re interested you can get considerable discounts through vouchers and cards addressed to tourists as the Madrid Card Culture.

Provides access to a more economic to the cultural offer of the city, including museums of the capital and surrounding areas, visiting monuments, palaces and guided tours of the program “Discover Madrid”. As a complement, you can also take advantage of discounts at restaurants, shops and the tourist bus.

Three cards available:
- 24 hours: 25 euros.
- 48 hours: 29 euros.
- 72 hours: 35 Euros.

Museo Nacional del Prado

Three graciasCalle Ruiz de Alarcón 23
Timetable
Tuesday to Sunday and holidays from 9:00 to 8:00 p.m..
Price
Normal Entry: 6 €.
Reduced admission: € 3
December 6th free!

The immensity of the fund exposed in The Prado could deal for one day. Therefore, it is always advisable to have clear what is seen, not to lose the wings and corridors, there are always unexpected surprise in the journey between one and another work that interests us. In the museum you can enjoy the approach to such fundamental works in the history of art as Las Meninas by Velázquez, El May 3, 1808 by Goya, The Emperor Charles V by Titian, Rubens The Three Graces, or The Knight of the hand chest of El Greco.

Reina Sofia National Museum

Main GuernicaSede: Santa Isabel, 52.
Schedule
Monday to Saturday from 10.00 to 21.00 h.
Sunday: 10:00 to 14:30 h.
Price
Normal Entry: 6 €
Reduced admission: € 3
December 6th free!
Modern and contemporary art.

Picasso’s Guernica is undoubtedly the highlight of the museum, and where the greatest number of visitors. But also noteworthy are the collections around to other major Spanish artists, essential as a foundation in building the pillars of modern art. The works of Juan Gris, Miró, Dalí and Julio González are complemented by experimental work and aesthetic trends as manifestations of Pop, minimalist or conceptual art and video art.

Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza

GrisPalacio of Villahermosa. Paseo del Prado, 8
Schedule
Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 19:00
Price
Colección Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Thyssen-Bornemisza
6 €
Reduced 4 €
Permanent collection Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Temporary exhibition ”
General: 9 €
Reduced: € 5

The museum offers a journey through the history of European painting from its beginnings to the late twentieth century. Visitors can travel through the movements and currents of the West more important painting from the early Italians to figurative art today, through impressionism and pop sensibility

The Museum also has an interesting web-accessible program educathyssen, which seeks to promote arts in education and facilitate access to the entire society, through games, school programs, workshops and a museum blog.

The Arc de Triomphe in Paris, is perhaps the most famous triumphal arch of which exist today, and the second highest in the world, surpassed only by the arch built in North Korea in 1982 to commemorate the 70th birthday its leader Kim Il-Sung.

Parisians know him as L’Etoile, and revere him as a symbol of French national spirit, is one of the most important sights of Paris. Located in the center they say is the world’s largest roundabout, at the Place Charles de Gaulle, Place de l’Etoile before, west of the Champs Elysees. The Arc honors those who died fighting for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars, and since 1920 also houses the tomb of the unknown soldier.

The history of the Arc de Triomphe is rich in events of the war. It was commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 to honor the French army shortly after his victory at Austerlitz, after promising his men: “You will return home under triumphal arches.” Designed by Jean Chalgrin, obviously inspired by Roman architecture, especially in the Arch of Titus, located in the public arena of the eternal city. Its construction was completed in 1836, 15 years after the death of the emperor. It reaches a height of 51 meters and 45 meters wide.

Around the inside of the arch are engraved the names of major victories won during the periods of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. The names of less important victories, as well as those of 558 generals, are inside the walls. Underlined names are in general killed in action.

The Arc de Triomphe is a colossal, and the proof is that in 1919, three weeks later the military parade to commemorate the French victory in World War I, Charles Godefroy rider passed underneath the arch with his biplane.

The monument has served several times as a military symbol, both French and Germans and allies, all of whom marched under his bow in his triumphal entry into Paris, at different times of the Second World War.

At the foot of the arch is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, surrounded by flowers, and always accompanied by flame lit to commemorate those killed in the two world wars of the twentieth century. The associations of former combatants or victims of wars rekindle the flame every day at six-thirty in the afternoon, celebrating her memory is revived every November 11th, the anniversary of the armistice signed between France and Germany. So if you want to see this quiet and solemn ceremony, seeks to approach the Arc de Triomphe on the hour. Then, if the season allows it, nothing better to watch the Parisian sunset from the top of the building, are gradually seeing the twelve dark streets that are born or die at his feet. Will undoubtedly be one of us will bring lasting memories of our visit to Paris.

Tips

Access to the monument is via an underground pedestrian tunnel that is located towards the Champs Elysees. Do not even think through the roundabout on foot, is very dangerous.
Inside Arc de Triomphe will find a small museum documenting its history and construction. It can be accessed by the entrance to the monument.
From the roof of the building are spectacular views of Paris, which is best demonstrated in the capital, along with the Eiffel Tower and the district of Mont-Matra. Looking to the east along the Champs-Elysees toward the Louvre, we see the Place de la Concorde, the Tuileries Gardens and the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, smaller. In the opposite direction to the west, we can see in the distance the last and largest arch, the Arch of Defense, opened in 1990. The ceiling is reached after climbing a bunch of stairs, assembly of patience because it’s worth.

Directions, transportation

Address: Place du Général de Gaulle, 75008 Paris.
Phone: 01-55-37-73-77. Tickets: Standard – 6.10 €, special – € 3.81.
Hours: daily 9:30 h – 18:30 h; winter (October 1 to March 31)
daily 10am – 17:30 pm Closed public holidays.
Metro & RER: Charles de Gaulle – Etoile. Bus: # 73.

After a first day walking around Paris route and destroying (physically speaking) through the streets of the capital of France, the second day will be dedicated to go a little further (not too) and end up visiting all the things that we forget the center of Paris, as Notredame, islands and gardens.

As discussed in the first day in Paris, we loved to walk a route through central Paris, but the second day and depend on public transport. Paris has an extensive network of underground train (RER) and buses. To reach the Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Sacré Coer) we suggest you take the metro (M2) and get off at Anvers or Pigalle

After climbing the stairs to the Basilica we will have a beautiful view of Paris, though I never got to see the Eiffel Tower, the views are beautiful. We must be careful that there are rogue on this ladder, from people trying estafarte with bracelets to pickpockets. We must be careful.

From the Sacred Heart will go underground to find the Pigalle area (past the Moulin Rouge) strolling through Montmartre and its pretty streets and drive to the Place de la Bastille, where on Sundays there is an interesting food market where many French buy fruits and vegetables, you can find posts with delicious cheeses and prepared food and fresh pasta.

From here you enter a walk in the Marais district (which we visited on the first day on the route), but if you visit for lunch, you can see how the Jews gather falafels posts queues hard to believe, but we confirm that the best falafels in Paris can be eaten in these posts. Someone has tested?

Alternatively, from the Bastille is go to the National Library François Mitterrand and stroll through the other side of Senna in the gardens of the Palais Bercy, a sports pavilion in a pyramid rather curious. From the Bastille, you can reach with a long walk.

From Marais, another possibility is to visit the island of St. Louis (in the map to the right of Paris), a beautiful island with narrow streets through which even breathe a spirit reminiscent of what must be Paris a couple of centuries ago. On the streets of the island is beautiful library where you can find old books to the last book in computer science and many ice cream shops, we could not pass up the temptation and try them. From the island of San Luis, crossing several bridges we jump to the Ile de la Cite with the impressive cathedral of Notre Damme and the Palace of Justice at Chapelle St inside that is required to visit.

From the Ile de la Cite, cross another bridge to the Place de l’Hotel de Ville, the City Council that night, near the rue de Rivoli there are several notable jazz clubs to visit.

Finally to end this long walk through Paris, we would lack stroll along the Champs Elysees and Arc de Triomphe to get to Paris.