Widely known for Flamenco music and dance, bullfights, fantastic beaches and lots of sunshine, Spain has much more than that to offer.

It is - and has been for thousands of years - one of the cultural centers of Europe. It holds a fascinating mixture of beautiful cities, provincial towns; ancient monuments, as well as modern architecture. Various regions are all different from each other linguistically, geographically, climatically and in personality.

"Spain is Different!" Spaniards will say. Compared to what? The rest of Europe? The rest of the world? Somehow the mix of several cultures, intellectualism and philosophy, the Moors up against the Christian and Jewish scholarship, the wealth that came and went from the New World. All this made Spain, well, just different. You don't see Spain -- you experience it!

Madrid, capital of Spain since 1562, is located in the very center of the Iberian Peninsula. Its high altitude and the nearby mountain ranges influence the climate of warm summers and relatively cold winters.

Certainly it is a monumental city, among the highlights being the medieval center built during the Habsburg empire, and that unique picture-gallery, the "Prado".

Madrid's cultural offering makes it worth visiting it, but Madrid is as well a really lively capital with concerts, cafés and tapas eateries open until late in the night. Don't be surprised to get involved in a traffic-jam at 4 AM, and most of the people you meet at this time are definitely not on their way to work. Get prepared for a very different time schedule!