Discover the magic of Madrid

Madrid has proven so popular with Irish tourists that flights will be increased from Cork Airport this summer. Michelle Darmody visits the city.

The city of Madrid beautifully combines old and new. There is pride taken in ancient recipes and old Spanish ingredients which sit side-by-side with sparkling new facades and modern cooking. The city is bustling and vibrant and beautiful. When there I found that we often ate standing up, jostling for position, in noisy, atmospheric tapas bars, some of which are like living, breathing museums. Many places have not changed for generations and neither has the menu. Plates piled high with croquettes, bubbling terracotta dishes of prawns confited in oil with generous slivers of garlic were passed across aged bar counters.

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