This guide was perfect for history buffs like me. It guides you from area to area, from landmark to landmark while giving you context and historical background and some preferred places for visiting and eating and drinking like a local. So sad I have this only as a digital book, I really must get a copy! Madrid here I come! Highly recommended.

This was brilliant! I want to visit Madrid someday and I feel like I have a much better idea how to make the best use of my time. There are descriptions of attractions, neighborhoods, food, and everything else, including historical context. The photos are bright, clear, and gorgeous.

2.5 stars rounded to 3 (mainly for the pictures)

This book caught my eye because I'll be heading to Madrid for the first time this year (well - exploring something other than the Madrid Airport for the first time).

The Culture Lover's Guide to Madrid presents historical locations and their history, along with local eats and nearby sights for each place. There is plenty of background information and beautiful pictures to view. I found a number of interesting places to check out for my trip. I was excited to see a vegetarian restaurant mentioned (apparently these are not common in Madrid). I did appreciate the sources and suggested further reading section at the end.

Unfortunately, I found the overall book layout confusing. I've read a lot of travel books and the best ones always have the most important information very obviously presented and this seemed to lack that. The title seems misleading as well? I didn't get culture so much as restaurants to try near places where historical events happened. This feels like less of a travel resource and more of a history book.

Recommended for travelers very interested in history who perhaps have a grasp of navigating Madrid to begin with.

Thank you NetGalley and Pen & Sword for the ARC.

If you have never been to Madrid, this 'guide' is not going to help you locate the places of interest because you will have lost yourselves in the endless ramblings on the history of Spain. If you have had the luck to visit the elegant Spanish capital (as I have, spending a marvellous week wandering its streets) you will start wondering where the bleeping heck those sites are. Zero directions, zero addresses, zero information.

What you will find is a disjointed, confusing and confused text, lacking direction, but rich in ironic comments towards people who identify with the conservative political party and the Catholic Church. Mate, travellers aren't exclusively leftist. Leftists wouldn't know Culture if it hit them in the face...
You are writing a guide (even in name only). You cannot offend half the population, and we are not interested in your political and atheistic views. Be objective. How hard can that be?

And don't get me started on the 'Local Eats' section...

The worst guide I've ever had the misfortune to read.

Many thanks to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you’re visiting Madrid, this is an ideal travel companion. It will certainly help any visitor to make the most of their stay, with invaluable information about the places of interest and some incredible places to eat. With such a vast selection of restaurants and bars, it’s always difficult as a stranger to know which to choose. My aunt lives in Madrid, right in the middle of the golden triangle and I mentioned some of the establishments to her. She was familiar with most of them and endorsed the author’s selection.

The book is well laid out, so it’s easy to plan a visit and navigate an area using this guide. It’s packed with photos of buildings and areas of cultural interest and more than that, there’s a lot of information about the city of Madrid, how it developed and its significance in Spanish history. It’s more than a guide, packed with information and as an armchair visitor, with the colour plates, I felt as if I’d actually spent some time in this magnificent city. It’s easy to navigate as an ebook, and I have no hesitation in recommending this as an excellent visitors guide. My thanks to Pen and Sword and Netgalley for a review copy.

If you are looking for a book that can provide you with history , great photographs and local eat recommendations for Madrid, give this one a go .

This was an interesting insight into the history of Madrid but the format felt a little bit disjointed. Its chronological format meant it jumped about a bit through Madrid.