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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at FIU chapter.

Often times, people recommend the same places to visit when referring to Europe: Rome, Paris, and Venice. Although these cities really are a must and do have a lot of things to see, I believe Madrid should be just as important. Personally, when I went to visit Madrid for the first time this past summer, I didn’t find myself getting excited over visiting. I guess it was because not a lot of my friends that have visited Europe stopped to go to Spain; therefore, I thought it was boring. Not only that, but being a Spanish speaker myself, I also thought the food and the locals were just going to be similar to latino culture. Of course, I was completely wrong. 

I believe one of the most beautiful things about Madrid is its cuisine. I am a major fan of seafood so I fell in love with Paella, which is a dish mainly made of rice with different seafoods all mixed in like octopus, scallops, clams, and mussels. I actually have tried Paella before, but trying food in the country where it’s made is a completely different experience. Morever, the Spanish love their JamĂłn IbĂ©rico, which is a dried ham similar to Prosciutto ham. Now, you can eat this in several ways, however, I ate it in a sandwhich with only tomatos and olive oil and again, I fell in love. For the rest of the trip that was go-to lunch. In terms of the food, I was proven wrong, Spanish food is completely different from Latino food, in fact, you can even spot where some Latin countries get their inspiration from. 

On another note, I was aware that Spain is a monarchy, meaning they have their own “royal family.” I highly recommend visiting the Spanish Royal Palace. I am one to admire architecture and this palace is so well put together that it is definitely worth the stop to snap a photo. Also, Spain’s Gran VĂ­a is amazing for shopping. It reminded me a lot of New York City’s Fifth Avenue, it is basically a long street where all of the well known stores are located. Since I am a bit of a shopaholic, Gran VĂ­a was very fun for me and my family. 

All in all, the city of Madrid often times doesn’t get the recognition it should from travel agencies when it comes to advertising their trips to Europe. However, the food, landmarks, and shopping should be more than enough to convince you to buy a ticket to Madrid. 

Maria is a sophomore at Florida International University studying Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communications. She loves to travel to Europe and her favorite thing to do is sing and play the guitar. She also loves photography and fashion and enjoys being with her family and her dog. She is originally from College Station, Texas, but her family is Venezuelan and Puerto Rican.
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