Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain, with more than 3.4 million inhabitants in the city proper in 2025 and about 6.8 million in the metropolitan area. It lies on the River Manzanares in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, at about 660 metres above sea level, and is the second-largest city in the European Union after Berlin.

Monocle ranked Madrid No. 2 in its Quality of Life Survey 2025. Resonance Consultancy placed it No. 5 in World's Best Cities 2026, with No. 2 for nightlife and No. 7 for theatres and concerts. Resonance highlights the city's green investments, above all the Bosque Metropolitano, planned as a 47-mile ring of trees around the city with more than 450,000 new trees and plants.

Madrid began in the late 9th century as a walled military outpost of the Emirate of Córdoba and was taken by Christian forces in 1083 or 1085. It became the permanent seat of the royal court in 1561, which made it the country's administrative centre. Today its urban area has the second-largest GDP in the European Union, and companies such as Telefónica, Iberia and BBVA are based there.

Sources of this text: Wikipedia · Monocle · Resonance Consultancy