The heart of Madrid, the Plaza Mayor, is surrounded by 136 houses built in the 17th century. These home have been passed down through generations of the same family. For two centuries, the plaza served as the city’s chief forum for beheading, bullfights, and the canonization of saints. One of the world’s grandest palaces, the Royal palace was completed in 1764.

Contemporary Madrid came into its own after the death of the Fascist dictator Franco. Years of the Franco regime left Madrid and much the country in economic shambles due to isolation. With his death, Madrid, and Spain as a whole, began to re-assert itself on the international stage. Within Spain, reaction against the dictatorial bureaucracy centered in Madrid and a history of centralism that pre-dated Franco by centuries has resulted in the successful modern movement towards increased autonomy for the regions of Spain, considered as European regions, under the umbrella of Spain

Madrid is also noted for its nightlife and discotheques. It’s not uncommon for madrileños to dance all night, head to the Chocolateria San Ginés for chocolate y churros at dawn, go home, shower, shave, and go to work. This nightlife, called la movida and initially focused on the Plaza del Dos de Mayo, flourished after the death of Franco, especially during the 80s while Madrid’s most cherished mayor Enrique Tierno Galván was in office. A particular hub for this night activity is nowadays the nearby gay village of Chueca.

The Madrilenos don’t have dinner until ten or eleven in the evening. To quench hunger until that late dinner hour, they enjoy a light snack called tapa. Tapa can be king crabs, blood red, large as soccer balls; tiny squid cooked in their purplish ink; bull’s testicles sauteed in garlic; slivers of chewy air-cured ham; suckling pig, roasted in old ceramic wood-burning ovens; grilled flounder; fried hake, red snapper encrusted with salt and then baked; garlic soup, and tripe stew.

Madrid’s famous art museum is the Prado. Spanish works of Goya and El Greco compose the bulk of the Prado’s collection and of course there are paintings by the prolific Picasso. Hundreds of Italian and Dutch Renaissance pieces are displayed-–mostly bought with New World gold by the kings of Spain.

Madrid is also host to one of the most famous bullfighting rings in the world, Las Ventas.

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Visiting Italy with a car hire Italy?

Vatican City is the world’s smallest country with the world’s largest congregation, the Roman Catholic church. Liechtenstein is 360 times as large. It has a permanent resident population of about 400. Still it retains all the trappings of nationhood. It has its own postage stamps, its own diplomatic corps, its own flag, its own “army,” the familiar Swiss Guard, and the right under international compact to have its own navy. The landlocked Vatican is surrounded by the city of Rome, Italy. It has been home to the pope’s since the late 14th century.

Each Wednesday morning when the weather is fair, the Pope presents himself to the faithful, and to the merely curious, in the magnificent piazza before St. Peter’s Basilica. Here the Roman Catholic Church, in the person of this absolute monarch who is its breathing symbol, touches the world.

Apart from the Pope and the cardinals, the most famous class within the Vatican is the Swiss Guard, who are so picturesquely evident in all ceremonies involving the Pope. The guard is responsible for the Pope’s protection.

The Vatican City is itself of great cultural significance. Buildings such as St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel are home to some of the most beautiful art in the world, which includes works by artists such as Botticelli, Bernini and Michelangelo. The Vatican Library and the collections of the Vatican Museums are of the highest historical, scientific and cultural importance.

For hundreds of years, the Catholic Church has simultaneously displayed wealth and pleaded poverty. The church possesses countless treasures, but its dioceses are always scraping to build a new school or pay the electric bill.

The only thing that is certain about the assets of the Vatican is that it is vast. It has extensive international investment, notably in real estate.

The Vatican’s survival depends on the extraordinary devotion of ordinary men and women.

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Switzerland is a land blessed with unusual contentment. Picture-book dairy farms dot the rolling green hills. Yodeling can still be heard above the lowing of the cattle and the clanging of their elaborately decorated bells. Apple trees are in blossom and old wooden farmhouses punctuate the landscape. Welcome to picturesque Switzerland (Car Hire Switzerland).

Numerous rivers and an abundance of lakes is an assurance that no part of Switzerland lies far from water. About two third of the area of Switzerland is covered with forests, lakes and mountains The Swiss landscape is characterized by the Alps, a high mountain range running across the central-south of the country. Amongst the high peaks of the Swiss Alps, the highest of which is the Dufour Peak at 4,634 m.

The Swiss have pride in their tiny country. The country would neatly fit in twice in the state of Indiana. They are proud of their achievements. This is a society that speaks four national languages united not by culture but by will.

Services are the most important part of the economy. This includes banking, assurances and tourism .People with wealth seek to put it in Switzerland. The countries stability and their bank secrecy laws continue to attract wealth

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