“Madrid me mata” ... Madrid kills me. A 1980s slogan that sums up Madrid's exhausting and life-endangering nightlife.

Madrid is a different time zone in more than just the "remember to put your watch forward an hour" sense. The rhythm of life is different and if, like me, you are a stay-up-late-and-let-the-day-drag-on person, then Madrid is your city. Lunch may be eaten at any time between two and four. Dinner is available between nine and midnight (or later). Breakfast (meaning a cafe con leche and a croissant or pastry) can be found in any bar at any time.

If you have children, and you do not mind letting them off the "in-bed-by-seven pm-with-your-teeth-brushed-young-lady" leash, then this is also your city. Restaurants love them. Barmen love them. People love them. Going out, in Madrid, does not mean leaving the smaller members of the family behind (unless you want to).

A Madrileño's social life takes place outside his home - in bars, restaurants and cafes. So joining in is the easiest thing in the world. Spain is said to have 130,000 plus bars. The capital city is doing its bit to keep up the numbers.

Do not come for the architecture. Madrid is not an ancient city. But do look at the art. A stretch of just a few hundred yards along the Paseo del Prado and Recoletos contains three museums - the Prado, the Reina Sofa and the Thyssen. You won't get such a concentration of painting and sculpture - ancient and modern - anywhere else.