As Spain’s most important commercial center, Madrid plays host to a great number of visitors who find themselves in town on business and would like to make the most out of time between meetings and seminars.

The fact that Madrid is such a large city and offers such a wide array of cultural and entertainment venues can be a bit overwhelming. This creates the need for a quick and simple way for visitors to inform themselves on places to visit and find out about interesting events taking place in the city during their stay.

Plenty of websites offering information and advice for visitors to Madrid can be found online. The most useful are those that are maintained both as a Madrid city guide – providing access to helpful resources as well as restaurant, museum and hotel reviews – and a frequently updated blog covering ongoing events like art exhibitions, theatrical performances, musical concerts, sporting events and traditional celebrations in Madrid.

Rather than large commercial websites that are often nearly impossible to navigate due to excessive advertising, these smaller blog-inspired sites are more personal and are usually maintained by foreign expats who’ve lived in Madrid for some years and share information with other foreigners out of personal interest. This offers visitors a unique cultural perspective similar to their own, which is the next best thing to having a friend in the city that can act as a personal guide.

If time permits, visitors should consider venturing out of Madrid to surrounding areas of interest. The nearby historical towns of Toledo and Avila, for example, fit nicely into a day-trip program and can be adequately explored in this amount of time.

Those with even a bit more time can take advantage of the high-speed train connection between Madrid and Sevilla (the trip lasts only 3 hours). The cultural heart and capital of Andalucia, Sevilla holds great interest as a door into Spain’s fascinating culture. The city has a strong tradition in flamenco, which can be observed in its purest form in Sevilla’s many tablaos (locale’s that host flamenco performances). Online Sevilla tourism guides can also be found providing additional information on things to do and places to visit.