Madrid is the capital of Spain.The city is full of green spaces and parkland, in central Madrid the largest park is Parque del Retiro, spreading out to the north-east of Atocha Railway station, which receives the high- speed AVE trains from the south and east as well as Cordoba and Seville. Parque del Retiro, formerly the grounds of the palace built for Felipe IV, is Madrid's most popular park.

While Madrid possesses a modern infrastructure, it has preserved the look and feel of many of its historic neighbourhoods and streets.