The Santa Justa Elevator is a remarkable masterpiece designed by an apprentice of Gustave Eiffel and makes the connection between the Baixa (downtown) and Bairro Alto (high neighbourhood).
It was opened in 1902, when it was steam powered, then in 1907 it became electrical and was the only vertical elevator in Lisbon in public service. Made entirely of cast iron, and embellished with filigree, the lifts within the tower go up to 45 metres and carry 25 persons in each cabin of which there are two. In a romantic neogothic design, this elevator is really something that you cannot afford to miss!
T
he café at the top affords magnificent views over the centre of Lisbon and the Tagus River.
New Year at Madrid: 12 chimes and grapes at midnight in PUERTA DEL SOL
Madrid is a great location to spend New Year’s Eve. Different events take place all around the city at streets, restaurants, bars and clubs. Booking an apartment with Rent4days is a great way of beginning your holidays at the Spanish capital.
Madrid New Year’s party is one of the more important events of the year. At Puerta Del Sol, the clock installed in the roof of the offices of the City Hall, mark the end of the old and the beginning of the New Year. It is broadcast across the country and whiles each of the twelve chime rings out, a whole grape should be eaten before the next chime peals.
This tradition is followed at every home in Spain. In Madrid people get togheter at Puerta del Sol, Puerta de Alcala, Cibeles, Plaza Colon, in restaurants and bar. Grapes can be purchased at supermarkets, but be careful because the prices can increase! However, if you’re planning to celebrate New Year’s Eve at a restaurant or bar, they will provide you with free grapes.
During the next days you can visit some of the traditional places of the Spanish capital, like the magnificent Gran Vía, Plaza España and the splendid Palacio Real with its Sabatini’s Gardens.
You can also visit the Golden Triangle Art Museum, which includes The Prado Museum, The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum and the Reina Sofia Museum, along the Prado Boulevard.
A holiday break at Madrid is an excellent way to finish 2010. In our apartments you can feel at home. So don’t forget to check out our great and comfortable apartments at www.rent4days.com and book them online.
The Three Kings Parade (Cavalcada de Reis) in Barcelona
If you are in Barcelona on January 5, 2011; don’t miss the Three Kings Parade, which you can see on various streets of Barcelona, but don’t go there too late, there will be a lot of people!
The Three Kings Melchior, Gaspar and Balthazar will arrive by boat around 3:30 pm; the boat is called Santa Eulalia. The arrival of the Kings in the city is an incredible show. Then there will be an extraordinary parade which usually starts around 6:30 pm, they will walk along the city until the Olympic stadium at Montjuïc. The Three Kings and other participants of the parade will throw sweets to the children on the roadside.
Children can request gifts to the Three Kings this day. The day after, the 6th of January, this is a vacation day and the children can open their gifts and play with it all day.
Click here to book an apartment in Barcelona
Una escapada cultural a MADRID en el puente de la Constitución.
Una escapada cultural a MADRID en el puente de la Constitución
Madrid es una ciudad que constantemente ofrece a los turistas grandes atractivos culturales. El PUENTE DE LA CONSTITUCIÓN es una oportunidad para darse una escapada a la capital y disfrutar de las nuevas opciones culturales que, durante el mes de diciembre, se presentan en la capital por una corta temporada. Desde la empresa Rent4days, especialistas en alquierles de apartamentos temporales en Madrid, les recomendamos las siguientes actividades culturales:
Los Miserables: Esta clásica obra musical inspirada en el libro de Víctor Hugo y llamado“el musical de los musicales”, vuelve a Madrid con una renovada producción en el Teatro Lope de Vega en la Gran Vía. Hasta el 30 de enero de 2011 el público podrá apreciar sus canciones, coreografías y una escenografía modernizada en relación con la anterior producción.
Mamma Mia: El musical ingles por excelencia se encuentra en escena en el Teatro Coliseum de la Gran Vía hasta el próximo 9 de enero. El musical ha logrado un récord sin precedentes en España: 7 temporadas en 6 años de funciones ininterrumpidas; han sido más de 2.120 funciones y aproximadamente 2 millones de espectadores los que han disfrutado este espectáculo.
Si desea pasar un puente excepcional en Madrid presenciando alguno de estos musicales, les recomendamos alojarse en uno de los confortables y agradables apartamentos de Rent4days, ubicados en la céntrica zona de la Gran Vía, cerca de ambos teatros o en cualquier otra zona de Madrid.
Para más información de nuestros apartamentos, visiten nuestra página web www.rent4days.com
A new transport service connects MADRID and BARAJAS airport.
A new airport express bus connects the Madrid downtown with the Barajas airport. The buses provide service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and have place for 88 passengers, providing modern luggage storage facilities and touristic information in Spanish and English, in audio or in written text.
The bus runs every 15-20 minutes during the day and after 11pm every 30-35 minutes. The bus stops are located in airport terminals T1, T2 and T4, and it make three stops in Madrid: O’Donnell at the junction with Doctor Esquerdo, Plaza de Cibeles and Atocha Renfe railway station (only during the day). After midnight the bus terminates at Plaza de Cibeles. The journey takes 40 minutes and costs 2€.
This bus is really easy to identify thanks to its distinctive yellow color. So if you are planning to stay at one of our Rent4days apartments, the new airport express is a comfortable and non expensive alternative to get to the city center.
Don’t forget to checkout our apartments’ in our website www.rent4days.com
R-quitecture Week In Madrid
Between 2 and 10 October Madrid hosts a new edition of this great event that seeks to highlight the city and its buildings from another perspective.
One of the most unique proposals of this new edition of the Architecture Week will be, to be able to know the study of Norman Foster, one of the great architects of the time in Madrid author of one of the four towers of the Castellana. And there, at number 13, where his team and himself are working on their projects. There will also be panel open for discussions, educational workshops and exhibitions, as it organizes itself at its headquarters COAM (Piedmont, 23) Estudio Lamela on 8 October to 12 November.
for more information: http://www.esmadrid.com/semanaarquitectura/index.html
Internacional Contemporary Music Festival in Madrid. COMA’10
Theaters Canal Nicolás Salmerón Cultural Centre, RCSMM, the Faculty of Biology of UAM and Headquarters of the SGAE, will be hosting the 12th International Festival of Contemporary Music in Madrid, which will run until 15 December.
The festival will focus on its distribution among the younger generations of musicians with a program of lectures and presentations in various conservatories and institutes.Also be invited to German composers to submit their works in Madrid, which at the time released in Germany works of Spanish composers. The concerts will be performed by the SIC Chamber Orchestra, the Wind Quintet Berlin or Madrid-Gurkova Mariana pianist.
Mariana Gurkova (Piano)
Ruiz García, Juan Manuel
(1968)
Maelstrom
Duration: 8 minutes
Bustamante Guerrero
Miguel (1948)
Diabolus in musica
Duration: 3 minutes
Quake I
Duration: 5 minutes
Zavala, Mercedes (1963)
Distant gardens
Duration: 10-11 minutes
Carro, Mario (1979)
Impromptu
Duration: 6 minutes
De la Cruz Castillo,
Zulema (1958)
Garajonay
Duration: 10 minutes
Panadero, Juan Carlos
(1961)
Timing
Duration: 10 minutes
Useful information
Lisboa is the capital of Portugal and the biggest city, located on the estuary og the Tagus river on the European Atlantic coast.
Eletric voltage: 2307400 volts, on a 50 hertz frequency. The eletric sockets adwhere to European standards.
In Lisbon winters are mild and summers hot, though moderated by its location near the sea.
During spring and autumn there usually sunny with mild temperatures.