The attractive Plaza Mayor is Madrid's main square Ernest Hemingway, who loved Spain almost as much as his mojitos, said of Madrid: "I do not believe anyone likes it much when he first goes there." So why then did the American writer declare it "worth spending a month in every spring, if you have money to spend a month in any European capital"? Maybe it was the price of the mojitos, which, at about €5 a glass, put London to shame. But more likely it's the fact that Madrid's lack of a big-name attraction – such as Granada's Alhambra or Barcelona's Gaudi Cathedral – means it has never been high on most visitors' to-do lists. That lack of tourists means it remains the most authentically Spanish of all the country's cities. Boasting an exhaustive list of bars and art-laden museums (displaying Botticelli, El Greco and Goya to name... [read full story]
