Widely considered the most 'Spanish' of all Spain's cities, while historic Madrid defined itself by looking out from its lucrative position at the heart of an empire, the modern capital's defined, for visitors at least, by looking inward at Madrid's barrios.

From the regal Barrio Sol and the city's emblematic Plaza Mayor, to Barrio Malasana's rebellious, retro outlook, Madrid's defined entirely by the individually distinct characters of its barrios.

Plaza Mayor

An obligatory stop on any city tour, Spain's greatest square, the Plaza Mayor is where all of Madrid's on display. Home to the chaotic, 365-day a year parade that is the essence of Madrid's daily life since the early 17th century. The plaza's been the city's outdoor heart, vacillating from the bizarre (as the stage for executions during the Spanish Inquisition) to the gory (when it was Madrid's biggest bullfighting venue until the 1850s), to the overwhelming (with regular victory celebrations by legions of Real Madrid fans) and to the reverent during the annual San Isidro celebrations.

Covering an area of roughly 2 football pitches, the cobbled plaza's fringes are lined by numerous alfresco cafes, where Madrilenos (Madrid residents) engage in their favourite pursuit - people watching. Harking back to its ancient roots, the Plaza resembles a fortress, and is completely self-contained, forming a vast, open-air courtyard within a ring of buildings that's essentially Madrid's municipal headquarters, the most dominant of these being La Casa de la Panaderia. Entered by 9 porticoes around its perimetre, it's a world unto itself.

Overlooked by hundreds of Baroque-era balconies, Plaza Mayor's considered one of Spain's greatest attractions, and Madrid's single-best site. Within all that, the most famous location in Plaza Mayor is La Puerta del Sol, or KM Cero (zero), since theoretically every road in Spain leads here.

Madrid's Patron

As the capital of the burgeoning Spanish Empire, and the economic heart of the nation throughout the Renaissance, Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution, Madrid's had literally hundreds of wealthy patrons, from royals to the purely rich. Chief among these is San Isidro (Saint Isadore), a penitent peasant, who's revered for various agricultural miracles. He was made Madrid's patron and his annual feast day, May 15, has been a Madrid mainstay at Plaza Mayor.

Night Life

" La Movida Madrilena, or 'Madrid Groove' was the socially liberating wave that swept over Spain, but primarily Madrid, in the early 80s, following liberalisations. A latino take on unadulterated hedonism, its shaped the Madrid's booming 80's yuppies.

Malasana

While you'll find everything from house to jazz and raves in Madrid these days, La Movida lives on, at least in spirit, in the Malasana neighbourhood. Centred on La Plaza del Dos de Mayo, dozens of local bars and clubs specialise in punk rock and flamboyant 80s kitsch. La Via Lactea (Milky Way) is a long-standing Malasana institution, dating back to La Movida's earliest days. Situated at No. 18 Calle de Velarde, its open daily from 9pm (€6 cover), and runs the gambit from punk to hip-hop. The walls are plastered with vintage concert posters like the Ramones and Pink Floyd, many of which are older than La Via Lactea's decidedly young, hip crowd.

Huertas

Around la Plaza de Santa Ana, its main square Huertas is Madrid's most international nightlife neighbourhood, with everything from house to hip-hop. There's another, better, lesser-known side of Huertas though, and that's the live music venues that populate its small back streets.

La Latina & Calle de Ia Cava Baja

The original, oldest section of the city, La Latina's known for its narrow streets and centuries old buildings, and within that Cava Baja's considered the best place in Madrid for tapas. Situated just southwest of Huertas, Cava Baja became the road that circled the outer wall as the city grew, and was home to various immigrant groups who weren't exactly welcome inside Madrid.

Its home to migrants from all over Spain, and besides tapas, it specialises in regional dishes from across the country. Some of the best include Lamiak, Juana La Loca (No. 4, Plaza Puerta de Moros) which is famous with Madrilenos for pinchos, grilled bread with toppings held on by a pincho (toothpicks which will be counted at the end to settle your bill), or Taberna Almendro 13, one of Cava Baja's oldest, most popular eateries. Packed by 8pm, it's self-service, with sausages, salads, cold soups and stuffed olives being perennial favourites.

El Rastro

A Madrid institution, El Rastro market's held every Sunday where La Latina meets the city's most multi-cultural district, Lavapies, at La Plaza de Cascorro, near La Latina metro station. Lavapies is home to an eclectic mix of North African, Indian, Arab and gypsy emigre communities, giving it a very Bohemian vibe, with street performers, artists and food stalls.

Every Sunday, things get organised and come to a head in El Rastro's 3,500 stalls, with each street specialising in something different, from vinyl records, to vintage clothing, old books and even pets. The market kicks off around 9am, and most vendors close shop by 3pm.

Barcelona's been drawing visitors for centuries, enjoying an ideal location between the soaring Pyrenees and the Mediterranean Riviera. Throw in the works of Spain's best-known architect Anton Gaudi and you've got an ideal location for a cultural break.

Barcelona's simultaneously the capital of the autonomous Catalan region, one of Spain's 17 autonomous communities. Catalonians and their distinctive culture and language were long suppressed under the Franco regime for almost 40 years following WWII. It was only in the 1970s, with the lifting of the ban on Catalan in schools, media and public life, that the city regained their culture.

EIXAMPLE

If Ciutat Vella's Barri Gotic mark's Barcelona's medieval roots, then Eixample is where the city came of age the late 19th century where wealthy Catalonian industrialists expanded beyond the old city's narrow walls, making it a hub of Barcelona's modern architectural attractions, including the Segrada Familia.

Modern urban planning left Eixample with notably wide, pedestrian-friendly boulevards, which are a marked contrast to Barri Gotic's maze of narrow alleyways. Eixample remains the home of Barcelona's well-to-do upper middle class, where most of the high-end shopping chains and eateries are found.

While much of Barcelona's glamorous shopping lines the old town's pedestrian-only Portal de I'Angel, the 4-times weekly (Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday) Els Encants wins out for local colour, as the city's oldest and most diverse flea market. Merchandise and prices vary, from old shoes to antique vinyls and ancient books. Located in Plaga de les Glories, above Glories metro station, it's less touristy than other markets.

CUITAT VELLA

Dating back to Roman times, Cuitat Vella (Old Town) is Barcelona's medieval heart, home to most of the city's remaining crop of pre-modern architecture, centred on the Barri Gotic neighbourhood.

Barcelona's main square, Plapa Catalunya was a hub for writers, artists and thinkers in pre-Civil War Barcelona. The most famous relic of that era that remains is Cafe Zurich, which was popular with George Orwell and Ernest Hemingway and is still in operation.

Barri Gotic

The most antique section of Barcelona's extensive old town, Barri Gotic (Gothic Quarter) is home to Barcelona's most famous cluster of Gothic, Renaissance and Art Nouveau architecture.

The barrio encompasses numerous Gaudi sites, as well as Barcelona's ancient Jewish Quarter, and its most famous cafe - Els Quatre Gats (The Four Cats) founded in 1897, and was the hangout for Picasso and Gaudi. A warren of tiny alleys that dead end with small plazas and churches define the quarter's characte.

CATALONIAN FESTIVALS

Home to dozens of unique festivals and unique, annual events, Barcelona's most famous celebrations include Festes de la Merce (24th September) and Catalonian National Day (11th September). Slightly less touristy is Gracia's Festa Mayor - Festa Mayor is a general name for local fiestas in each neighbourhood.

Most of Barcelona's festivals involve saints. The most exuberant of these is held every 15th of August for a full week, in Gracia. Barcelona's most Bohemian neighbourhood, Gracia's been a hub of insurrection and anarchism since the Civil War. The festa includes block parties in all 23 of its individual streets, castellers, and various competitions to see which neighbourhood can be the loudest, most colourful, best decorated etc. The event culminates around la Plaza del Sol, with massive fire works displays, with more than 600 individual events during the week, many of which routinely last until dawn.

Gracia's easily reached on any foot tour of Eixample. Gracia is a separate town, with small, winding alleys and cramped streets with medieval architecture.

When to Go

Barcelona, like all of coastal Catalonia has a warm, sunny climate much of the year, from the low to high 20s. Winter along the coast is generally rainy and cool, while it's snowy further inland up into the Pyrenees.

Ironically, Barcelona's comparatively less busy during Europe's peak July-August period when locals go elsewhere.

GETTING AROUND

Barcelona is serviced by its metro service (which has 11 lines and 200+ stations), trams, funiculars and taxis. It's linked to Madrid by the AVE train via Zaragoza, taking just over 2.5 hours (it's actually faster than the same 600km domestic flight).

Pedal Power

Barcelona's been experimenting with bicycles as a public service, under a €24/year subscription to the Bicing scheme. Since inception, 50,000+ members have ridden an estimated 8,000,000km. Usage up to 30 minutes is free, followed by a nominal fee thereafter. There are over 100 stations around the city to collect or return bikes.