Travel Thursday on Empty Streets: Let us Visit Greece

Greece is a country filled with so much history, one that is both magical, mythical and modern. It has become the corner stone of modern civilization and has been the root of where most of what we have right now in terms of culture and language.

Today I would like you to see what this country now in the modern age has to offer and to be honest with you nothing much has changed. The charm and enchantment it once had in the past still linger in the land and in its people. To the get things started though here is a list of places to visit and add to your itinerary once you are in Greece:
Athens: Apart from being the capital of the nation Athens is the largest city in Greece. You will be able to explore the breathtaking view of the surrounding area consisting of all the flat topped hills located at the Acropolis. The 2400 year old monument of Parthenon creates an awe-inspiring view of the area.This monument is considered to be among the classical monuments in the world. Your tour of Athens has a lot to offer you during your tour of the city.
Cape Sounio: Cape Sounio is located at the eastern part of the country. This place is famous for the stark ruins of the Poseidon Temple of the fourth century BC. This is among the most Famous Tourist Spots in Greece mainly because of the wonderful view of the wide panorama that can be enjoyed over here. The view of the island and the sea is simply superb. Piraeus: This place is located at the heart of the Saronic Gulf, outside Athens. Piraeus is the main port near Athens. You can enjoy a ferry ride from this place to the main land of Greece.
Delphi: This place is one of the Famous Tourist Spots in Greece. This was the Oracle of the ancient Greece and several emperors of the ancient country used to come here, frequently for moral and political guidance. Here you will be able to explore the ancient temple of Apollo. The Delphi museum houses a lot of articles worth exploring. If you are in Delphi you must spend a night at the hilly region of Arahova, the town famous for making cheese.

And now to show you what I mean here is a couple of tourism videos for you to watch and enjoy:

Travel Thursday on Empty Streets: Best Place to Live - Zurich

I was browsing through the net surveying what would be the best place to live and found that Zurich is on the top of everyone' s list.

Zürich or Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. The city is Switzerland's main commercial and cultural centre and sometimes called the Cultural Capital of Switzerland, the political capital of Switzerland being Berne. Zürich can be counted as one of the world's pre-eminent global cities. According to several surveys from 2006 to 2009, Zürich was named the city with the best quality of life in the world as well as the wealthiest city in Europe. The Zürich metropolitan area has a population of about 1.68 million people.

The city is situated where the river Limmat issues from the north-western end of Lake Zurich, about 30 km north of the Alps. Zürich is surrounded by wooded hills including the Gubrist, the Hönggerberg, the Käferberg, the Zürichberg, the Adlisberg and the Oettlisberg on the eastern shore; and the Uetliberg on the western shore. The river Sihl meets with the Limmat at the end of Platzspitz, which borders the Swiss National Museum. The geographic and historic center of the city is the Lindenhof, a small natural hill on the west bank of the Limmat, about 700 meters north of where the river issues from Lake Zürich. Today the incorporated city stretches somewhat beyond the natural hydrographic confines of the hills and includes some neighborhoods to the northeast in the Glatt Valley and to the north in the Limmat Valley.

The previous boundaries of the city of Zürich (before 1893) were more or less synonymous with the location of the old town. Two large expansions of the city limits occurred in 1893 and in 1934 when the city of Zürich merged with many surrounding municipalities, that had been growing increasingly together since the 19th century. Today, the city is divided into twelve districts (known as Kreis in German), numbered 1 to 12, each one of which may contain anywhere between 1 and 4 neighborhoods:

* District 1, known as Altstadt, contains the old town, both to the east and west of the start of the Limmat river.
* District 2 lies along the west side of Lake Zurich, and contains the neighborhoods of Enge, Wollishofen and Leimbach.
* District 3, known as Wiedikon is between the Sihl river and the Uetliberg, and contains the neighborhoods of Alt-Wiedikon, Sihlfeld and Friesenberg.
* District 4, known as Aussersihl lies between the Sihl and the train tracks leaving Zürich Hauptbahnhof.
* District 5, known as Industriequartier, is between the Limmat and the train tracks leaving Zürich Hauptbahnhof, it contains the former industrial area of Zürich which has gone under a large-scale rezoning to create upscale modern housing, retail and commercial real estate.
* District 6 is on the edge of the Zürichberg, a hill overlooking the eastern part of the city. District 6 contains the neighborhoods of Oberstrass and Unterstrass. There neighborhoods are home to Zürich's wealthiest and more prominent residents.
* District 7 is on the edge of the Adlisberg hill as well as the Zürichberg, on the eastern side of the city. District 7 contains the neighborhoods of Hottingen and Hirslanden.
* District 8, known as Riesbach, lies on the eastern side of Lake Zurich.
* District 9 is between the Limmat to the north and the Uetliberg to the south. It contains the neighborhoods Altstetten and Albisrieden.
* District 10 is to the east of the Limmat and to the south of the Hönggerberg and Käferberg hills. District 10 contains the neighborhoods of Höngg and Wipkingen.
* District 11 is in the area north of the Hönggerberg and Käferberg and between the Glatt valley and the Katzensee (Cat's Lake). It contains the neighborhoods of Affoltern, Oerlikon and Seebach.
* District 12, known as Schwamendingen, is located in the Glattal (Glatt valley) on the northern side of the Zürichberg.

Most of the district boundaries are fairly similar to the original boundaries of the previously existing municipalities before they were incorporated into the city of Zürich.

Zürich has a humid continental climate according to the Köppen climate classification, with four distinct seasons.

Summers are warm with average high temperatures of 21 - 24 °C (70 - 75 °F) and lows of 10 - 12 °C (50 - 54 °F), while winters are cold with average temperatures range from -4 to 5 °C (25 - 41 °F). Spring and autumn are generally cool to mild. Temperatures do sometimes exceed into the 25 °C+ during the summer.

Precipitation is abundant throughout the year, with 42.4 inches (1,102 mm) annually. Summers are wetter than winters.
Zürich is a mixed hub for railways, roads, and air traffic. Zürich Hauptbahnhof is the largest and busiest station in Switzerland and is an important railway hub in Europe. It has several other railway stations, including Oerlikon, Stadelhofen, Hardbrücke, Tiefenbrunnen, Enge, Wiedikon and Altstetten. The Cisalpino, InterCityExpress, and even the TGV high-speed trains stop in Zürich.

The A1, A3 and A4 motorways pass close to Zürich. The A1 heads west towards Berne and Geneva and eastwards towards St. Gallen; the A4 leads northwards to Schaffhausen; and the A3 heads northwest towards Basel and southeast along Lake Zurich and Lake Walen towards Sargans.

Zürich International Airport is located less than 10 kilometres northeast of the city in Kloten. There is also an airfield in Dübendorf, although it is only used for military aviation.

Within Zürich and throughout the canton of Zürich, the ZVV network of public transport has traffic density ratings among the highest worldwide. If you add frequency, which in Zürich can be as often as 7 minutes, it does become the densest across all dimensions. Three means of mass-transit exist: the S-Bahn (local trains), trams, and buses (both diesel and electric, also called trolley buses). In addition, the public transport network includes boats on the lake and river, funicular railways and even the Luftseilbahn Adliswil-Felsenegg (LAF), a cable car between Adliswil and Felsenegg. Tickets purchased for a trip are valid on all means of public transportation (train, tram, bus, boat). The Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (commonly abbreviated to ZSG) operates passenger vessels on the Limmat river and the Lake Zürich, connecting surrounding towns between Zürich and Rapperswil.
Demographics

There are officially 358,540 people living in Zürich (as of 2007[update]), making it Switzerland's largest city. Of registered inhabitants, 30.6% (115,379 people) do not hold Swiss citizenship. Of these, German citizens make up the largest group with 22.0%, followed by Italians. The population of the city proper including suburbs totals 1.08 million people. However, the entire metropolitan area has a population of around 1.68 million people.

Languages

The official language used by the government and in most publications is German, while the most commonly spoken dialect in Zürich is Zürich German, which is a local dialect of Swiss German. As of 2000, German is the mother-tongue of 77.7% of the population. Italian follows behind at 4.7% of the population. Other native languages spoken by more than 1% of the population include South Slavic languages (2.2%) — this includes Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, and Slovenian, Spanish (2.2%), French (2.1%), English (1.8%), Portuguese (1.6%), Albanian (1.5%).[14]

Religion

Since the reformation led by Huldrych Zwingli, Zürich has remained the center and stronghold of protestantism in Switzerland. In the course of the 20th century, this has changed as Catholics now make up the largest religious group in the city, with 33.3%. An increasing number of residents, about 16.8% of the population in 2000, declares themselves as being without religion.

Social

The level of unemployment in Zürich was 2.6% in August 2007. About 4% of the city population, 15,500, live either directly or indirectly on welfare payment from the state (April 2005).

Main sights

Further information: Zürich old town
Zunfthaus zum Rüden (2008)
Zunfthaus zur Haue (2008)
Zunfthaus zur Meisen, Fraumünster square (2008)

Zürich has a number of notable churches including:

* Grossmünster (great minster) (near Lake Zürich, in the old city), where Zwingli was pastor; first built around 820; declared by Charlemagne imperial church
* Fraumünster (our lady's minster) first church built before 874; the Romanesque choir dates from 1250-70; Marc Chagall stained glass choir windows; (on the opposite side of the Limmat).

During 2004 the Fraumünster was fully renovated. During this period the installed scaffolding went above the tip of the tower allowing a unique and exceptional 360° panoramic view of Zürich.

* St. Peter (downstream from the Fraumünster, in the old city); with the largest church clock face in the world.

Notable museums include:

* Kunsthaus Zürich, one of the largest collections in Classic Modern Art in the world (Munch, Picasso, Braque, Giacometti, etc.)
* Museum of Design Zürich
* Swiss National Museum (Landesmuseum), located in the Platzspitz park opposite to the Hauptbahnhof
* Haus Konstruktiv, constructive, concrete and conceptual art and design
* Uhrenmuseum Beyer, a museum documenting the history of timekeeping and timekeepers, located on Bahnhofstrasse 31

* Lindenhof hill near St. Peter; site of the Roman and medieval castle.
* Guild houses (Zunfthaus) along the Limmat river: Meisen, Rüden, Haue, Saffran, Schneidern, Schmiden, Zimmerleuten, and some more.
* Old town (Altstadt), District 1, on both sides of the Limmat river
* Bahnhofstrasse, Zürich (shopping avenue) starting at main train station
* Parade-Platz, Plaza in the middle of Bahnhofstrasse, Zürich, a center of financial activity, with the world-headquarters of several Swiss banks including UBS and Credit Suisse.
* Zoological garden
* Neu Oerlikon, part of City District Oerlikon: northern quarter of the city - Oerliker Park, MFO Park, Center-11 Building, Price Waterhouse Building, ABB Building, UBS Building, and other modern public spaces.
* Lake Zurich, running from Zürich to Rapperswil and linking with the Obersee
* Uetliberg, a hill with a great view over the city. Located to the west of the city at an altitude of 813 meters above sea level
* Fluntern Cemetery
* Cabaret Voltaire, birthplace of Dada
* Sihlcity, opened in March 2007 and built on the foundations of the former Sihl Paper Factory. Among other things it includes a shopping center and a movie theater.
* Sunrise Tower, built in 2005 are two towers located in the Seebach district.
* China Garden Zürich in Seefeld quarter nearby Zürichhorn
* Old Botanical Garden Zürich in City quarter

Here is a video tour of Zurich for you to enjoy:

Travel Thursday on Empty Streets: Berlin, Germany

I would like to feature another European hotspot that I would want to visit soon too - Berlin. This is a city that I have been dreaming to visit for quite a long time now and as my friend once said, why not try to write about it and who knows it may come true :)
Berlin is the capital city of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is the country's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union. Located in northeastern Germany, it is the center of the Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan area, comprising 5 million people from over 190 nations.
First documented in the thirteenth century, Berlin was successively the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918), the German Empire (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic (1919–1933) and the Third Reich (1933–1945). After World War II, the city was divided; East Berlin became the capital of East Germany while West Berlin became a Western exclave, surrounded by the Berlin Wall (1961–1989). Following German reunification in 1990, the city regained its status as the capital of all Germany hosting 147 foreign embassies.
Berlin is a major center of culture, politics, media, and science in Europe. Its economy is primarily based on the service sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, media corporations, environmental services, congress and convention venues. The city serves as a continental hub for air and rail transport, and is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the EU. Other industries include traffic engineering, optoelectronics, IT, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, and biotechnology.
The metropolis is home to world-renowned universities, research institutes, sporting events, orchestras, museums and personalities. Berlin's urban landscape and historical legacy has made it a popular setting for international film productions. The city is recognized for its festivals, diverse architecture, nightlife, contemporary arts and a high quality of living. Berlin has evolved into a global focal point for young individuals and artists attracted by a liberal lifestyle and modern zeitgeist.

Here are the top 5 Things that you should do and include in your itinerary when you visit Berlin, Germany:

1. Party. Rest. Then Do it Again!

There are few cities in the world that can match Berlin when it comes to clubbing. It's quite simply THE place to head for great music and chic excess.

2. Gaze at the Brandenburg Gate

Undoubtedly the city's most emblematic landmark, the Brandenburg Gate is a handsome and much-loved monument. Its 'Room of Silence' is also the place for a moment of quiet reflection on the city's turbulent history.

3. A Morning Milchkaffee

Naturally, such a varied and manic nightlife as Berlin's, needs to be complemented by a café culture. Drinking steaming bowls of milchkaffee (milky coffee) in one of the city's many cafés is as good a way as any to really get a feel for the city, and perk you up for the long day ahead.

4. Check out the Remains of the Berlin Wall

A monument to the end of one of the most momentous standoffs in history, and a symbol of a city – and a nation – becoming whole again.

5. Take Time out in the Tiergarten

In summer you should take the opportunity to join the throngs of Berliners at rest, as they sunbathe and unwind in the Tiergarten, the city's huge park.

To spice things a little more for you here is a video tour of Berlin:

Travel Thursday on Emtpy Streets: Amsterdam

Amsterdam (pronounced /ˈæmstərdæm/) is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. The city, which had a population of around 1 million (with suburbs) on 1 January 2008, comprises the northern part of the Randstad, the 6th-largest metropolitan area in Europe, with a population of around 6.7 million.

Its name is derived from Amstel dam, indicative of the city's origin: a dam in the river Amstel where the Dam Square is today. Settled as a small fishing village in the late 12th century, Amsterdam became one of the most important ports in the world during the Dutch Golden Age, a result of its innovative developments in trade. During that time, the city was the leading center for finance and diamonds. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the city expanded and many new neighbourhoods and suburbs were formed.
The city is the financial and cultural capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, and 7 of the world's top 500 companies, including Philips and ING, are based in the city. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, part of Euronext, is located in the city centre. Amsterdam's main attractions, including its historic canals, the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank House, its red-light district and its many cannabis coffee shops, draw 4.2 million tourists annually.

Here is a list of tourist spots to visit once you get to Amsterdam:

Museums

* The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam is the national museum of the Netherlands.
* The Erotic Museum, museum about sex and history of the Red Light Districts.
* The Van Gogh Museum specialises in works by Vincent van Gogh.
* The Stedelijk Museum specialises in modern art.
* The Rembrandt House Museum specialises in works by Rembrandt van Rijn.
* The Anne Frank House, Prinsengracht 263.
* The Hermitage Amsterdam, a dependency of the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg.
* The Tropenmuseum, anthropological museum.
* The NEMO (museum), the science museum in a building that looks like a sinking ship.
* The Burcht, National Trade Unions Museum built by Hendrik Petrus Berlage.
* The Verzetsmuseum, the Amsterdam resistance museum.
* The Amsterdams Historisch Museum, Amsterdam's historical museum.
* The Allard Pierson Museum, Archaeological Museum of the University of Amsterdam.
* The Bijbels Museum, where the Bible, art and culture meet in a monument full of history.
* The Filmmuseum, Holland's museum for cinematography.
* The Joods Historisch Museum, The Jewish Historical Museum collects objects and works of art associated with the religion, culture and history of the Jews in the Netherlands and its former colonies.
* The Museum Van Loon, a home on the canal. The double-sized canal house dates from 1672.
* The Nederlands Scheepvaart Museum, museum about Dutch maritime history. Due to renovation closed from January 2007, probably until June 2009.
* The Pianola Museum.
* The Handbag Museum.
* The Kattenkabinet, museum about cats.
* The Universiteitsmuseum, the Amsterdam university museum.
* Het Schip, museum about the Amsterdam School architectural movement of the early 20th century.
* The Amsterdam Dungeon, a unique combination of a museum, theatre and an attraction park.
* Museum Geelvinck-Hinlopen, a mansion on the Herengracht, with four period rooms and a tranquil garden.
* Diamond Museum Amsterdam, a museum at the Museumplein about the history of diamonds.

Churches

* Oude Kerk (ca. 1400).
* Nieuwe Kerk (1490).
* Zuiderkerk the city's first church built specifically for Protestant services (1603-1611).
* Noorderkerk (1620-1623).
* Westerkerk, finished in 1638 after a design by Hendrick de Keyser.
* Oosterkerk, construction was completed in 1671.
* Ronde Lutherse Kerk, first round Lutheran Church- Reformed Church in the Netherlands with a copper dome.
* English Reformed Church, Amsterdam, one of the oldest buildings in Amsterdam, situated right in the centre of the city.
* Sint Nicolaaskerk, neo-Renaissance and Baroque church in Amsterdam.
* De Duif.
* "Onze Lieve Heer op Zolder" - Museum Amstelkring (a church hidden in an attic).
* De papegaai, located in the busy Kalverstraat.The neogothic church was built in 1848.
* Mozes en Aäronkerk.
* Posthoornkerk.
* Amstelkerk.

Bridges
* The Magere Brug is probably the most famous draw bridge in Amsterdam.
* The Blauwe brug, which connects the Rembrandtplein area with the Waterlooplein area.
* The Python Bridge, bridge connects Sporenburg to Borneo Island and won the International Footbridge Award 2002.
* The Jan Schaeferbrug, built in 2001, straight through warehouse De Zwijger, after a design by architect T. Venhoeven

Buildings
* Royal Palace (Amsterdam), former city hall, built in 1648.
* Stopera, Cityhall and Opera.
* Kalvertoren, shopping mall located in the busy Kalverstraat.
* AEX, stock trading building.
* Beurs van Berlage, was designed as a commodity exchange by architect Hendrik Petrus Berlage.
* Centraal Station, Neo Gothic building.
* De Waag, part of the city fortifications was built in 1481-1494.
* Montelbaanstoren, the tower was built in 1512 as a part of the city fortification.
* Munttoren, the tower was built in 1619-1620 and it is the southern tower among all other ones in Amsterdam
* Pakhuis De Zwijger, built in 1933-1934 after a design by architect J. de Bie Leuveling Tjeenk, this was a warehouse for cooling perishables.
* The house with the waterfall, at the Zuiderkerkhof.
* Nieuwe Wereld, by architects Meyer and Van Schooten. The name goes back to the 1980s when squatters lived here and called their place 'End of the World'.
* Barcelona Building, building from 1993 by architect B. Albert on the Levantkade.
* Emerald Empire, building on the far end of KNSM Lane by architect J. Coenen.
* The Magna Plaza, a former post office dating back to 1899 and it was converted to a shopping mall in 1990
* The Whale, mega-apartment building by architect F. van Dongen. It took five years to complete (1995-2000).
* Skydome, 60 meter tall towerblock was designed by architect W. Arets and has 3 vertical dents.
* Lloydhotel, was built between 1917-1920 to serve as an emigrants hotel.
* Oost-Indisch Huis, Since 1606 till 1798 former headquarters of VOC (The United Dutch East Asia Company), a 17th Century Dutch trading giant.
* Rembrandt Tower, a 135 metres high skyscraper.
* Bijlmerbajes, a prison in Amsterdam near the Amstel station.

Amsterdam in winter
* Amsterdam ArenA, a football stadium in Amsterdam home to football club Ajax.
* Begijnhof, Amsterdam, one of the oldest inner courts in Amsterdam.
* The Portuguese Synagogue, impressive building was founded in 1670 by the Sephardic Jewish community.
* El Tawheed Mosque, a mosque in Amsterdam, founded in 1986.
* Homomonument, a memorial in the centre of Amsterdam commemorating all gay men and lesbians who have been subjected to persecution because of their sexual orientation.
* Millennium Tower (Amsterdam), a 97.5 metre tall (24 floor) office building in Amsterdam.
* Olympisch Stadion (Amsterdam), was built as the main stadium for the 1928 Summer Olympics. It was designed by the architect Jan Wils.
* The Amsterdam Metro, a three main lines in the metro system.
* Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam (Public Library) by architect J. Coenen on Oosterdokseiland, next to Central Station. Has a wonderful view over the city.

Concert halls

* The Concertgebouw is home to the world-class symphony orchestra, the Concertgebouworkest.
* Stopera, Cityhall and Opera.
* Heineken Music Hall.
* Paradiso (Amsterdam).
* Melkweg.

Diamond factories
* Diamond polisher
* Amsterdam Diamond Centre.
* Coster Diamonds, one of the oldest diamond polishing factories in the Netherlands.
* Gassan Diamonds.
* Zazare Diamonds.

Red-light districts

There are three red-light districts in Amsterdam:

* de Wallen, which is located about the Oude Kerk
* The Singelgebied, located around the Singel and north of the Nieuwe Kerk,
* Some isolated windows along the Ruysdaelkade in the de Pijp district, west-southwest from Albert Cuypmarkt.

Squares

There are many squares (suffixed with plein) in Amsterdam. Here is a partial list of some of the better-known ones:

* The Dam, the central square of Amsterdam, where stands the Royal Palace on the Dam and the Netherlands National Monument.
* Koningsplein.
* Leidseplein, a plaza on the southwest end of the Leidsestraat.
* Muntplein, at the intersection of Kalverstraat and Rokin, a town square centered on the old Tower of the Mint (Munttoren).
* Museumplein, southwest of the Rijksmuseum, holds the Stedelijk Museum and the Van Gogh Museum.
* Rembrandtplein.
* Waterlooplein, south of the Rembrandt House Museum, the site of an open-air market.
* Markenplein, a place which holds Netherlands Film and Television Academy (NFTA), close by the Waterlooplein.
* Azartplein, is the end of the Java Island walk, crossing this square will lead to KNSM Island.

Open-air markets

* Albert Cuyp markt, great open-air food marked in the borough De Pijp.
* Waterlooplein, south of the Rembrandt House Museum, the site of an open-air market.
* Dappermarkt, open-air food and cloths market in the borough Dapperbuurt.
* Noordermarkt, Saturday market for organic food.
* Tsaar Peter Markt, small daily marked in the Tsaar Peter street.
* Bloemenmarkt, the famous and only floating flower market.

Breweries

* Heineken Brewery, located in the borough De Pijp. Now a museum.
* Brouwerij 't IJ (Brouwerij 't IJ), located in the beautiful De Gooier windmill.

Zoos

* Artis, the oldest zoo in the Netherlands.

Here is a video tour of Amsterdam:

Travel Thursday on Empty Streets: Madrid, Spain

A romantic place to visit this Summer Month would be Madrid, Spain. Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. It is the third-most populous municipality in the European Union after Greater London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the fourth-most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris, London, and the Ruhr Area.

The city is located on the river Manzanares in the centre of both the country and the Community of Madrid (which comprises the city of Madrid, its conurbation and extended suburbs and villages); this community is bordered by the autonomous communities of Castile and León and Castile-La Mancha. As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political center of Spain. The current mayor is Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón from the center-right People's Party. He has been in office since 2003, when he left the Presidency of the Autonomous Community of Madrid and stood as the candidate to replace outgoing mayor José María Álvarez del Manzano, also from the PP. In the last local elections of 2007, Ruiz-Gallardón increased the PP majority in the City Council to 34 seats out of 57, taking 55.5% of the popular vote and winning in all but two districts.

museo-sorrolla

Due to its economic output, standard of living, and market size, Madrid is considered the major financial center of the Iberian Peninsula; it hosts the head offices of the vast majority of the major Spanish companies, as well as the headquarters of three of the world's 100 largest companies (Telefónica, Repsol-YPF, Banco Santander).
While Madrid possesses a modern infrastructure, it has preserved the look and feel of many of its historic neighborhoods and streets. Its landmarks include the huge Royal Palace of Madrid; the Teatro Real (Royal theatre) with its restored 1850 Opera House; the Buen Retiro park, founded in 1631; the imposing 19th-century National Library building (founded in 1712) containing some of Spain's historical archives; an archaeological museum of international reputation; and three superb art museums: Prado Museum, which hosts one of the finest art collections in the world, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, a museum of modern art, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, housed in the renovated Villahermosa Palace.

Puerta De Alcala

The population of the city is roughly 3.2 million (as of December 2005), while the estimated urban area population is 5.1 million. The entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area (urban area and suburbs) is calculated to be 5.84 million. The city spans a total of 698 km² (234 sq mi).

Here is a video tour of what to expect when you get to Madrid, Spain:

S.F.C. Presents FO, as The Producer Of The Week!

Fo is a extremely talented genre switching producer who hails from the city of Lodz, Poland in Europe. He made his first steps in producing when he was 15 but didn't get serious about his production until early 2007. The 21 year olds unique style of strings, synthesizers, and uncanny drum selection has had his production being compared to the likes of Jim Jonsin. Also His origin and growing up in different culture make his music that more unique especially when he blends them all together. He has been working with many American artists proving that his production can be very WorldWide. He also will be collaborating with St. Nick on Nick's upcoming Album "Street Famous" So be sure to keep intune with everything and watch as this producer makes his mark on the music industry for years to come.

FO's Myspace