Madrid, Spain's most rustic city, attracts more than six million visitors a year. Helen Crisp and Jules Stewart tell the story of a city and its people over the centuries, while their carefully curated listings refer to well-known attractions and sights as well as hidden gems.

Madrid, Spain's artistic capital, with its "Golden Triangle" of museums and countless art galleries, is also a city of dazzling nightlife, with a profusion of cafés and bars. This is the story of a vibrant and energetic city that remains an enigma to many outsiders.