Today, Madrid remains Spain's financial and political core, home to the Cortes (Parliament), Senate and Royal Family, as well as the extraordinary cultural riches of the Golden Triangle - the Prado, Reina Sofía and Thyssen-Bornemisza art museums.

With a population of just over three million, Madrid is Europe's third largest city (after London and Berlin) and its highest capital, at 650m (2,132ft) above sea level.

Spaniards are determined to vivir a tope (live life to the full). The craving for conspicuous enjoyment, not to mention the 2,800 hours of annual sunshine, turn the streets into bustling centres of public display.

Madrid's infectious and colourful fiestas punctuate the year, with each barrio (district) trying to outdo the other in its celebrations. The highlights include Reyes Magos (Feast of the Three Kings), Carnival, the religious processions of Holy Week, the San Isidro Festival in May (the beginning of the bullfighting season) and Nochevieja (New Year's Eve)

Each barrio has its own distinctive atmosphere - Lavapiés, Malasaña and Chueca being the oldest and most interesting.

http://www.worldtravelguide.net/city/73/city_guide/Europe/Madrid.html

The square in Bird's Eye view

On the live.com maps they also offer Madrid in "Bird's Eye" view (pictures taken out of airplanes).

These give a nice angled view where you can also see the fassades.

>> LINK

Cycling in Madrid

"We are sorry, but we have to say it: Madrid is not a cycling-friendly city."
http://www.softdoc.es/madrid_guide/transport/bike.html

Transport Interchange Stations

This seems to be data about the main transportation exchange stations and the amount of people going through them.

Shirley, can you translate that for me?

"El Consorcio Regional de Transportes de Madrid ha construido dentro del plan de Intercambiadores 2004-2007 los intercambiadores de Plaza Elíptica, Príncipe Pío, Plaza de Castilla y Moncloa, estando en servicio en la actualidad los cuatro.

NÚMERO DE VIAJEROS DE LOS INTERCAMBIADORES"

Madrid Bus network travellers...

Years	Inhabitants of the city of Madrid	Vehicles park	Nº of travellers transported	Nº of Kms covered
1960	2.177.123	984	380.083.693	41.936.186
1980	3.357.903	1.897	467.277.355	93.438.590
2000	2.998.686	1.824	531.207.270	94.178.279
2002	3.124.892	1.900	482.363.396	96.154.099
2004	3.205.691	1.958	475.597.104	96.779.127

Nightlife... starts late!

"Unless you want to be the only one inside, don’t go into a nightclub until at least 01:30."

"The Spanish don’t go out until after 23:00 and even then it’s quite normal to eat tapas as you go. This is also essential to soak up the alcohol if you are going to be out all night! I’ve walked into a wine bar at 01:00 and ordered tapas. It’s fantastic that you can always get something to eat!"

http://www.madrid-tourist-guide.com/en/club/madrid-night-life.html

Public transport Madrid website

Public Transport Madrid...
http://www.ctm-madrid.es/

First Posting... Visualisation of Madrid Traffic

First Post...

Found a cool visualisation project - they visualise the traffic in on central part of Madrid.
-> http://www.trsp.net/cow/