Are you planning a holiday? Well, you would definitely be no short of attractions the world over. But how to choose the right daytime place to visit is a question that strikes our mind many times. So, let us try to get its answer. Check out these top 10 best daytime attractions in the world.
10. San Francisco el Grande Church
The Royal Basilica of San Francisco el Grande (locally known as Real Basílica de san Francisco el Grande) is one of the best Roman Catholic churches of Spain. It is situated in the Barrio (neighborhood) of La Latina. The main façade is facing the Plaza of San Francisco, at the intersections of Bailén, the Gran Vía de san Francisco, and the Carrera de san Francisco. It is known to form one of the parts of the convent of Jesús y María. It was constructed during 13th century at one of the sites of chapel. The design of the basilica was presented in the Neoclassic style during 18th century, by Francisco Cabezas. Its development was done by Antonio Pló, and completed by Francesco Sabatini. The church has several beautiful paintings by Zurbarán and Francisco Goya. The temple was once functioning as the National pantheon. The dome has about 32 m diameter, and is 58 m high. Its shape resembles the Pantheon's dome, with a circular form rather than typical dome which were constructed in 18th century.
9. Segovia Bridge
The Bridge of Segovia (formaly called as Puente de Segovia) is a bridge found in Spain. It crosses the Manzanares river, and was declared Bien de Interés Cultural in 1996. The design of this bridge was presented by Juan de Herrera under commission of King Philip II of Spain. It was founded during 1582 – 1584 with 9 spans. The total amount spent on it is 200,000 ducats. The bridge is constructed with bricks of granite. It is one of the most ancient bridges of Madrid. During medieval time, there was only one bridge of wood which was replaced in 16th century with the present day bridge on the orders of Philip II, who had given orders of work to the architect Juan de Herrera. The construction began in 1582, and it took 2 years for its completion. The bridge was constructed with the purpose of making it easy to move towards Extremadura and Castile. Also, it was designed for being the resistant of the floods that had been following through on a regular basis. This is why, granite was used for its construction.
8. Senate Palace
The Palacio del Senado, formaly known as Senate Palace, is the headquarter of the Spanish upper house of Parliament. This building was started as a convent school in 15th century. In those days, it was popular with the name of Colegio de Doña María de Aragón, and this name was given due to its founder. It was firstly used as a parliament building in 1814. In 1820, neoclassical addition was made to the interiors of this building. The architects Isidro González Velázquez, and Anibal Alvarez Bouquel completed its renovation between 1844 and 1850. In those days, a new fasade was also formed here in the neoclassical style. During 1882, the architect Emilio Rodríguez Ayuso laid the foundation of a library and some reading rooms here. The previous traces were replaced with the new ones. Also, a new floor was built during 1969.
7. Statue of Philip IV
The Monument to Philip IV or Fountain of Philip IV presents dedication to the memories of Philip IV of Spain. It is situated in the centre of Plaza de Oriente, Madrid. The statue was raised at the insistence of Isabella II of Spain during 19th century, and was opened on November, 17, 1843, a year before Narciso Pascual y Colomer had presented the final layouts of the square. The equestrian statue of the king tracks its history back from 17th century. It was presented by the Italian sculptor Pietro Tacca. He used the scientific advices of Galileo Galilei and drawings by Diego Velázquez. Not only this but also he used busts by Juan Martínez Montañés, who presented his collaboration for this work. It is true that there are various bronze statues worldwide, but this particular statue is highly captivating. The statue was commission by Felipe IV (1605 –1665). It was based on one of the paintings of artist Diego Velázquez. A difficulty with Velázquez image was that the horse reared up, but this proved to be a unique stance. The artistic and mathematical achievement had been lost on Felipe IV, because he had seen the statue of himself, so he disliked it a lot.
6. Stradivarius Collection in the Palacio Real
The Palacio Real, formally known as Stradivarius Collection in the Palacio Real, is situated in Madrid. This is a palace in the center of the city, and was used by the kings for ceremonial purpose. Now there is no king present here, but the collections can still be seen. The present palace was founded during the times of King Philip V. Before constructing the new palace, he burnt the old one. This is made of stone and bricks, and has no woods. Philip V appointed Italian architect Filippo Juvarra for designing and building this palace. During the project of Juvarra, he died before it could be completed. Then the project was handed over to Juan Bautista Sachetti, and was occupied by Carlos III in 1764. It is constructed in Baroque style, and has been an inspiration by the Roman artist Bernini.
5. Strawberry Train
El Tren de la Fresa or the Strawberry Train is a famous excursion train of Madrid. It is being operated over the RENFE line between Madrid and Aranjuez. This was founded in 1851 as the second railway line of Spain. The railway connected Spain’s capital with the Royal Palace of Aranjuez. It was named as "Tren de la Fresa". It is called "Strawberry Train" because it had fields of strawberries all around. Fresa con Nata/ strawberries with whipped cream is a lovely production of this area. The excursions are running from May to July and then again from September to October. The train has departed from Madrid Atocha railway station, and arrives in just fifty minutes in Aranjuez . The return journey from Aranjuez is at 18:25, and it arrives again at Atocha at 19:15. During the journey, you can view the interesting sites spread all around, many of which are of 16th century.
4. Toledo Bridge
The Puente de San Martín, also known as Toledo Bridge, is one of the medieval bridges of Europe. It is found bridge across the river Tagus in Toledo, Spain. It is featured with five arches, the middle of which reaches the length of 40 m. It is very tough for you to find such a remarkable bridge. This was founded in late 14th century by Archbishop Pedro Tenorio. This was purposed to provide access to ancient towns from western part, the Puente de Alcántara was well linked to the east side due to this bridge. It’s both sides had been fortified with towers, and the recent portion of the bridge dates backs from 16th century. It has been constructed on the site of older bridge, which was destructed due to flood. The current bridge was founded by Pedro de Ribera, and is made of nine semicircular arches.
3. University of Cardinal de Cisneros
Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros, O.F.M. (1436 – November 8, 1517), is famous with the name of Ximénes de Cisneros. He was a famous cardinal of Spain, and a statesman. He touched the heights of fame as a religious person. The University of Cardinal de Cisneros is dedicated to this person. He became the regent of Spain two times, and was one of the promoters of the Crusades in North Africa, who founded the Complutense University. It is considered to be the biggest and one of the oldest universities of Spain. The university has many of his literary works. This person has funded the Complutensian Polyglot Bible, the first printed polyglot version of Bible. He had also edited and published some editions of missal and breviary in 15th century. He had established a college of 13 priests for celebrating the Mozarabic divine office and mass daily in the Cathedral of Toledo.
2. Air Force Museum
There is no admission fee, so if you are new to Madrid, then don’t worry of the expenses. The best timetable of visiting this marvelous museum is from Tuesday to Sunday (10 am to 13 pm). The museum remains closed on Mondays and on special events as well as festivals. If you’ve planned to go there through bus, then you can take any of the Madrid-Alcorcón-Móstoles green buses at Príncipe Pío station. The closest metro is ‘Madrid metro’. You can also make Cuatro Vientos Metro station your destination which will bring you close to the museum. From here, there is just a few minutes distance to reach the museum. If you are lucky to own private car, and coming through it, then parking in front of the museum is free of cost.
1. Aranjuez Railway Station
A local bus can lead you to Madrid from Aranjuez. It usually leaves for the city once in an hour, and can be hired from the "Isabel II" gardens. The approximate cost of the bus fare of one person is 3 euros. It just takes half an hour to bring you to the center of the city. During summers, RENFE occasionally runs a steam-train which is actually an attractive tourism service of Madrid. You can hire it to reach the city of Aranjuez. Each of the C-3 service train connects Arunjuez directly to Madrid. The ride will take about 45 minutes from Atocha, Sol or Chamartin.
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