Best of the rest: key stops in the United States and Europe

Latin Trade, Feb, 2005

BEST AFTER-WORK BAR

The Hard Rock Cafe has U.S. favorites and Tex-Mex dishes, a memorabilia store, a shrine to rock and a stage for live performances. In summer, a terrace provides views of the Plaza de Colon and Plaza la Castellana. [34] (91) 436-4340. www.hardrock.com.

Amidst classic English decor lives on the spirits of illustrious customers such as Borges and Hemingway. The bar at the Hotel Palace has live music evenings and endless chatter, business dealings or simply a place to relax after dinner at the hotel. [34] (91) 360-8000. www.palacemadrid.com.

Museo Chicote is the city's most famous watering hole. Opened in 1931 by Perico Chicote, he said then, "to mix drinks, lives and opinions," the photos on the walls recall visits from Ava Gardner, Frank Sinatra, Dali, Bette Davis and, more recently, Spanish director Pedro Almodovar. [34] (91) 532-6737. www.museo-chicote.com

BEST CAN'T MISS

One of Madrid's classics, Cafe de Oriente is on historic Plaza de Oriente, across from the Palacio Royal and near the Teatro de la Opera. An elegant cafe, it has a terrace built on top of a 17th-century monastery. In the restaurant, the recommended dishes are the bacalao, a fish dish, and the duck liver pate. [34] (91) 541-3974. www.grupolezama.com.

Joaquin Sorolla is known as the "painter of light." His namesake museum, Museo Sorolla, contains 250 works by the artist, who did internationally recognized portraits, landscapes and period paintings. The museum is in his former home and studio, along with a garden designed by the artist and inspired by the Sevilla's Reales Alcazares monuments and Granada's Generalife palace. [34] (91) 310-1584. museosorolla.mcu.es

WEEKEND ESCAPES

Seventy-one kilometers south of Madrid, Toledo has impressive medieval architecture. A city of 60,000, it was the capital of Spain until 1560. Here, Christian, Jewish and Muslim cultures mix; key points of interest include El Alcazar, the Catedral, the Sinagoga del Transito and the Mezquita del Cristo de la Luz. Segovia's altitude and resulting climate provides marked changes in the seasons and allows for skiing nearly year-round in the surrounding Sierra Mountains. Ninety kilometers from Madrid, the city is famous for its Roman aqueduct, el Alcazar, Catedral, its churches and monasteries, as well as its special dish: roasted suckling pig.

BEST NIGHTCLUB

Madrid's most fashionable club. On its stage, where you'll find Oscar-winning director Fernando Trueba in the audience, come and go the leaders of Latin and jazz of the moment. The club is named and inspired by Trueba's film Calle 54, a reference to the location of Sony Music's studio in Manhattan. A creative kitchen straight from the best Basque school, an original tropical drink menu, and a mini screening room showing a selected movies, combine to create one of the capital's better nights out. US$33 at the door. Dinner runs $53. [34] 902-141-412. www.calle54.net

BEST BUSINESS NEIGHBORHOOD

Bordered to the north by the Torres Kio, two leaning skyscrapers known as the Gateway to Europe, la Castellana is the financial heart of Madrid and a big area for business meetings, fed by excellent hotels and restaurants. Six kilometers in area, it's some of the most expensive real estate in Spain (up to almost US$8,000 per square meter), and has some of Madrid's most emblematic buildings, including the Torre de Europa, near the Santiago Bernabeu, the stadium of Spanish soccer team Real Madrid; or the Torre Picasso, the city's biggest skyscraper at 157 meters, designed by Japanese architect Minoru Yamasaki, who's best know for New York's World Trade Center Twin Towers.