5 Reasons to visit Madrid.

1) To watch a football match.

No team is surrounded in more mystic and history than Real Madrid only in the confines of the imposing Santiago Bernabeu can you watch the world's greatest team, the world's greatest player(s) and the world's most expensive player, and it's surprisingly easy to pick up relatively cheap tickets from the official Real Madrid website.

Real Madrid, or Los Merengues (The Meringues) to the locals, are the most successful football team the world has ever known. They have won the European Cup an astonishing 9 times (if I was a betting man I would wager it will be made 10 in Lisbon later this year), to put this into some sort of context Bayern Munich have 5, AC Milan 6, and Los Blancos' eternal rivals Barcelona have just 4.

The self styled 'Galacticos' aren't the only major club from this vast city, of course. Although often in Real's shadow as far as success is concerned Madrid's other major club is Atletico Madrid, Los Colchoneros (5 points to anyone who knows what that translates as without the help of Google). Their Estadio Vicente Calderon is well worth a visit for any football fan, I've often found the atmosphere more intense and passionate than their more prestigious neighbours.

Madrid is also home to a plethora of other clubs, my favourite of which to watch play is Rayo Vallecano, who represent the working class neighborhood of Vallecas. Despite currently battling to preserve their status in La Liga, Rayo continue to approach every game with an attitude of 'all out attack'. So, if you're looking to catch some 'real' football whilst in Madrid, you could do a lot worse than to give El Campo de Futbol de Vallecas a visit.

2) To Visit the Prado Museum

As I've spoken about in a previous post on Madrid, The Prado is arguably 3rd only to the Louvre of Paris and the Vatican museums in Rome as staggering collections of art go. Madrid's treasure trove houses all the Spanish masters: El Greco, Valazquez, Goya, and Murillo as well as 9000 paintings, 5000 drawings and 2000 prints - only a fraction of which can ever be shown at a time due to pure volume. Art connoisseur, a part time enthusiast like me, or if you've never visited a museum in your life, if you are in Madrid, you must not leave without visiting the Prado.

3) Because you can visit Toledo

"Toledo is the most beautiful city in the most beautiful country in the world"

Above is a quote from my late Spanish grandfather, and my major regret in life is that I never visited Toledo before his sudden death - something which I rectified soon afterwards in a personal pilgrimage.

Easily reachable via high-speed train from Madrid, Toledo, the one time capital of Spain is a cultural melting pot of Arab, Jewish and Christian cultures sprawling up the side of a hill, entwined by the gorgeous Tagus River.

The Cathedral of Toledo is a natural starting point for exploring the City - but be warned, as with many towns and cities throughout Spain, walking is involved, and plenty of it, up steep and narrow streets. Be sure to explore the Cathedral's treasury, it houses many of El Greco's masterpieces, who claimed Toledo as his greatest inspiration - including his famous 'view of Toledo'.

4) To Party

Madrid known throughout Spain as the city which never sleeps, a title it richly deserves. The whole ethos and attitude of Madrid has changed since my childhood visits, Madrid now really is one of the great, cosmopolitan European capitals and this has led to an explosion in its nightlife. Be warned - 'nightlife' in Madrid starts at about 3am local time, so make sure you siesta in the day time or you won't last. Most of the major night clubs in Madrid won't even open until well gone midnight.

5) El Parque Retiro

El Parque Retiro - Spain's answer to New York's Central Park is the endless Parque Retiro - it just goes on for ever. There is a famous Spanish song concerning Madrid's lack of a beach (lyrics available on request), so you will often find young Spaniards and business men alike using the park as a beach, relaxing, reading, sunbathing and generally getting away from the general hustle of central Madrid. An astounding place, where I spent many a siesta and many a weekend. Madrid's own beach, 100s of miles from the nearest ocean.

Look out for numbers 6-10, coming in the next few days.

Any suggestions, just let me know.