If you are looking for a place to learn Spanish, look no further than Madrid. Madrid is an amazing city which offers you his history, friendly people and varied activities such as visiting museums, walking in fantastic gardens, eating good food and enjoying a unique nightlife.
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.4 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin. Being the capital, Madrid is not only Spain’s leading commercial and cultural center, but also an excellent tourist center.
The city boasts more than 350 museums, including numerous art galleries, exhibitions and fairs.
Madrid is unique worldwide because in addition to having over 600 buildings declared artistic heritage sites, five cities and towns are designated as World Heritage Sites: Aranjuez, Alcalá de Henares, Ávila, Segovia and Toledo
Madrid offers many quality cultural activities, with 52 theatre, opera and dance venues and 27 music auditoriums (19 of which are open air) featuring a wide variety of both timeless and modern world-class performances.
Three of the most important art galleries in the world are a ten-minute walk away from each other in the centre of Madrid. Madrid's “Golden Art Triangle” contains the Prado Museum, the Reina Sofia Museum (MNCARS) and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum.
Madrid connects you to some of the world’s best World Heritage sites in terms of art, culture and monuments
The city is also home to many amusement and leisure parks such as Warner Bros. Theme park where you can see Batman & Superman amongst many others, as well as a renowned botanical garden, a zoo, a planetarium and more than 82 shopping centres.
Shopping in Madrid is a delight. Ranked third best city for prices on general luxury items in the Globe Shopper Index, Madrid also offers a great variety to suit all pockets, mainly because of its variety, shopping centers, department stores, boutiques, even our famous flea market “El Rastro” that bursts into life every Sunday.
You can also watch or take part in lots of sporting activities from football which is the most popular sport in Spain, Real Madrid is one of the most famous sides in Europe if not in the world, basketball, fronton (jay-a-jay), tennis, horse riding, water sports on the lakes around the city and skiing in the mountains of Navacerrada approximately50 Kilometersfrom the city center are just some of the activities a student can involve themselves in..
The night life of Madrid is legendary. Theatres, cinemas, musicals, discotheques, and street bars and cafes exist side by side, all competing for the visitors’ attention. More than 16,000 bars and cafeterias and over 1,700 restaurants in Madrid certainly ensure a wide selection of exquisite dining.
Obviously the many restaurants offer dishes from all over the world, however, you will also find typical dishes from every region of Spain, and naturally the famous “cocido madrileño” or “callos” as well as many other special local dishes.
While you are here you should try one of the roast meats offered in many restaurants in Madrid and also if visiting one of the many areas around such as Segovia, Toledo, Ávila…etc. which are all easily reached for a day out.
Madrid also ranks among the 10 greenest European cities.
The outskirts of Madrid offer a mosaic of cities showing the different cultures that make-up -Spain. Toledo (71Km) the old visigothic city, Avila (115Km) with its old walls and towers, Segovia (81Km) with its Roman Aqueduct and El Alcazar, the castle-ship of Castille…
Apart from the Royal Palace in Madrid, we have some others royal sites to visit, Aranjuez, La Granja, and especially El Escorial (50Km) which is the Palace of King Philippe the second.
Getting to Madrid couldn’t be easier, Madrid Barajas Airport is listed as the 4th busiest airport in Europe. In fact, visitors will find it easy to travel to all parts of Spain from Madrid, which is located in the center of Spain and acts as a hub for all transport. For example, if you opted for one of our “Combined city” courses, you could also spend a week in one of our sister centres in Barcelona, Cadiz, Valencia, San Sebastian and Seville, all of which are approximately equidistant from Madrid…
Madrid therefore offers an ideal location for learning Spanish, because of its location, infrastructure, cultural offering, open and friendly people, and the fact that International House have a well established centre in the city .
International House Madrid has been operating in this city for more than 30 years. It is one of the main Language Centres in Spain, with a staggering 320.000 plus students trained during this time.
What makes International House Different: Our teaching methods are so respected that International House has become the leading provider of teacher training to the language industry. International House Madrid currently employs more than 300 teachers in six learning centers within the city and with a commitment to quality that ensures your learning experience will be unforgettable.
