The Spanish are nothing if not inventive and imaginative. For proof of this, visit the Museo de Escultura al Aire Libre, around and under the Enrique de la Mata Gorostizaga Bridge.

This innovative open air museum, founded in 1979, was the clever idea of Eusebio Sempere, who also took part in the construction of the bridge. Under and around the foot of the bridge on 4200 square metres of three terraces and gardens you can admire over seventeen sculptures by contemporary artists.

You will see Eusebio Sempere’s “Mobile” that he constructed especially to be suspended from the bridge. At first, permission was refused because the mobile is very heavy and the mayor of Madrid was worried that it might become detached and injure people. The sculpture forms the centerpiece of the collection.

Among the other sculptures are “A mon per a infants” by Andreu Alfaro, “ The Stranded Mermaid” by Eduardo Chillida and “Mediterranean” by Martin Chirino.

Even though it is located in the Barrio de Salamanca, one of Madrid’s most exclusive areas, you will find that the prices at the Mercado de la Paz are affordable and it is a great place to visit.

The building that houses the market stalls was built in the late 19th century by Gustave Eiffel and it became a market area in 1943. The first overwhelming impression is the smell of freshly baked bread, that overlays even the smell of fresh fish in certain parts of the market, and definitely arouses your taste-buds and makes it almost impossible not to fill your basket with the delicious pastries and bread on sale.

Once you’ve bought your bread, you simply must buy something to go with it, and in this market you will find over 100 varieties of cheese, not to mention huge hams, pâtés and smoked fish.

Other stalls offer fresh fruit and vegetables, olive oil and a variety of tapas that are mouth-wateringly tempting. You will find yourself wishing that you had brought a bigger basket with you, and you will start rearranging the rest of your stay in Madrid to fit in another visit to this wonderful market.

There are also two very good restaurants here which serve Spanish specialties; so why not stay for lunch and try the local chorizo, smoked with paprika and red chili peppers; or empanadas – a Cornish pasty look-alike, but stuffed with tuna or sardines, tomatoes and garlic. If you are really brave you can order criadillas, another Spanish specialty – bull’s testicles!

The Plaza de Colon is something of a paradox: situated not far from busy intersections, it is nevertheless a place where many people go to relax.

It is a lovely square and well worth spending a while walking in the “Jardins de Descubrimento” (Discovery Gardens), or sitting on a bench in the sun watching the children who flock here with their skateboards and mountain bikes.

The square, once named after St James, was renamed in 1893 in honor of Christopher Columbus. In the centre of the square a 17 meter high monument was constructed by Jeronimo Sumol and you can see the famous explorer on top of the Italian white marble column, one arm out-stretched, as if in the direction of distant lands waiting to be explored.

The base of the monument is Neo-Gothic and it stands in a stone fountain with a huge cascade; at each end of the fountain is a flight of stairs leading to the Centro Cultural de la Villa de Madrid. The sound of the cascade here is incredibly loud and it makes talking in a normal voice impossible.

Another monument of note is by Joaquin Vaquero Turcois. This huge block of concrete bearing various inscriptions by philosophers and Spanish leaders, is shaped either like the tail of a fish or like an anchor, depending on where you are standing.

One of the most important cultural centres in Madrid is the Teatro Fernan Gomez and you will find the entrances to it on the Plaza Colon, at each end of the fountain surrounding the statue of Christopher Columbus.

The centre was built when the city council decided that the Plaza Colon should be redesigned to include the land where the Royal Mint once stood. During the planning stage the architects included an underground parking area and the area which became the Centro Cultural de la Villa. The centre was renamed in 2007 in honor of Fernando Fernan Gomez, the famous Spanish actor, writer and film director.

Inside the centre you can visit the three main cultural spaces: the Guirau Hall where there are several stages for zarzuela (Spanish opera), ballet, Spanish folklore, contemporary Spanish drama and, of course, Flamenco dancing. From autumn to spring there is a Children’s Puppet Theatre with performances every Sunday. Hall N°II includes conference rooms and workshops; Hall N°III is the Exhibition Hall that holds both temporary and permanent expositions of art and sculpture.

The centre is always worth a visit but is closed on Mondays. You can pick up a programme about current and forthcoming events from the nearby Tourist Office.

If you are a bibliophile you should not miss an opportunity to visit the huge and impressive Biblioteca Nacional de Espana on Paseo de Recoletos, not far from the Plaza Colon.

This wonderful public library was founded in 1712 by King Philip V and by Royal Decree a copy of every book printed in Spain from that date was required to be given to the library. Ownership was transferred from the Crown to the government in 1836 and the library was opened to the public in 1896 when a new reading room for 320 readers was added. In 1931 the General Reading Room was opened for students and researchers.

Within the building, if you had the time to count them, you will find over 26 million items, including 15 million books in Spanish and other languages; 30 000 manuscripts, over five hundred thousand maps, six hundred thousand sound recordings from the first gramophone records to MP4 recordings. There are also over five hundred thousand music scores. Luckily, you don’t have to wander around forever looking for what you want – there are computers in the reading rooms where you can consult the library’s catalogue.

In 1986 the library became the Sate Repository of Spain’s Cultural Memory and in 1990 it became an Autonomous Entity attached to the Ministry of Culture.

You really should spend an afternoon in Madrid’s Museo Arqueologico Nacional, housed in a splendid 19th century Neo-classical building beside the Plaza Colon.

The museum was founded by Royal Decree in 1867 by Isabelle II and here you will find an excellent collection of Prehistoric, Iberian, Roman, Greek and Celtic objects, as well as Visigoth, Muslim and Christian artifacts.

The highlights of the museum include Iberian sculptures: the bust of the Lady of Elx, executed in the 4th century BC; the Lady of Baza, a limestone statuette also from the 4th century BC; the strange Bicha of Balazote a 6th century BC statue that resembles a cross between a doe and a snail.

You can also admire a part of the Treasure of Guarrazar: 26 votive crowns and gold crosses offered by the Visigoth Kings to the Roman Catholic Church in the 7th century AD and the Crucifix of Ferdinand and Sancha, and ivory cross crafted in 1063. It is the earliest known cross that bears the body of Christ. There are also bell-shaped pottery jars over 4000 years old that were found during excavations in Madrid.

In the museum gardens there is a short flight of steps leading down to a perfect replica of the Cave of Altamira, which is the first cave ever discovered where Upper Paleolithic paintings grace the walls and ceiling of the cave.

The Puerta de Alcalá ("Alcalá Gate") is a Neo-classical monument in the Plaza de la Independencia in Madrid, Spain. It stands near the city center and several meters away from the main entrance to the Parque del Buen Retiro. The square is bisected by Alcalá street, although the street itself doesn't cross through the monument, and it is the origin of the Alfonso XII, Serrano and Olózaga streets. Its name originates from the old path from Madrid to the nearby town of Alcalá de Henares. Madrid in the late 19th century, still remained a somewhat drab villa in appearance, surrounded by medieval walls. Around the year 1774, king Charles III commissioned Francesco Sabatini to construct a monumental gate in the city wall through which an expanded road to the city of Alcalá was to pass, replacing an older, smaller, gate which stood nearby. It was inaugurated in 1778.