Four months after terrorist bombs rocked the Spanish capital, Madrid has the air of a grand city that is consigning a nightmare to history. Many factors are luring tourists back to this renowned centre of art, culture and tapas.

Most important, it feels safe now, thanks to new security measures such as more police on the streets and guards at every Metro station (a minor street offender was chased by six policemen when I visited). The recent wedding of Crown Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia has helped to ease tensions, too. “The consensus is that the royal wedding swept away the terrorist hangover and made the city jolly again,” observed one tinto -sipping expatriate.

This is also the year when Madrid’s three world-class art museums — the Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza, and Reina Sofia — all have major extensions. For anyone padding the ten-minute walk between these three vast centres, with their thousands of fabulous artworks from Picasso to Goya, it’s hard to imagine still more walls; yet the Spanish Government is spending £100 million on a further 52,000 square metres of new space, the Thyssen already completed, the rest due to finish soon.

On my recent visit some hotels were reporting slightly slower business, but the streets buzzed cheerily, especially in the tapas bars and restaurants that give Madrid its dynamic reputation. “It is as if nothing has happened,” insisted Laura Cuenca Castellanos, a spokeswoman for the Madrid Tourist Board. Ted Wake, of UK’s Kirker Holidays, forecasts a 20 per cent rise in business by the end of the year.

Buy the special Paseo del Arte ticket (about £6) that takes you to all three major art museums around the Paseo del Prado. Then off you go, taking frequent café breaks: Picasso’s Guernica in the Reina Sofia is itself worth at least half an hour.

WHAT ELSE?

At sundown, take to the huge number of tapas bars and restaurants filling the old town’s heart around Puerta del Sol, especially in the small streets behind Plaza Mayor and in the Santa Ana area. You’ve never seen so much squid.

The Parque del Retiro’s 330 lush acres, cut by walkways, cafés, and lakes, lying east of the Prado, is a grand place to watch Madrid swank about over beer in the early evening. You can also picnic here.

WHERE TO STAY

The trick is to be somewhere central yet quiet, and the pricey five-star Villa Real fits the bill, with elegant, art-filled rooms away from the main drag yet five minutes from the Prado (00 34 91 420 3767, www.derbyhotels.es; doubles from £240, but deals available).

The Hotel Opera, down a side street opposite the city’s opera house, offers 79 quiet rooms, some with balconies and pleasant rooftop views (541 2800, www.hotelopera.com; doubles from £92, but again, deals possible).

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Next page: Food and fun plus need to know details

FOOD AND FUN

Start with drinks at Viva Madrid or tapas at La Trucha, both in a Calle de Manuel Fernandez y Gonzalez (next to Teatro Espanol), then range into surrounding squares and alleys. Near by, the Plaza Mayor is lined by touristy bars and restaurants, but it’s worth a drink to admire the beautiful colonnades, balconies and sheer space.

For cutting-edge cooking, the discreet and hard-to-find Balzac at Moreto 7, immediately east of the Prado, offers fresh ingredients changing seasonally (420 0177; about £40pp including wine).

Restaurante Botin, on Calle de Cuchilleros, is more mainstream, but is cool, beautiful and claims to be the oldest restaurant in the world (366 4217, www.botin.es from £30pp). The Café de La Opera at the Hotel Opera (see above) has young opera singer waiters performing nightly (542 6382).

NEED TO KNOW

Travelscene (0870 7779987, www.travelscene.co.uk) offers two-night breaks from £245pp, including scheduled return BA flights, three-star hotel B&B, arrival transfer; £336pp staying at the five-star Villa Real. EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) has returns from Gatwick from £41. Guidebook choice: Time Out: Madrid ( £11.99).

NICHOLAS ROE

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