The main attraction for all Madrid sports begins with Real Madrid, for this preeminent soccer team is one of the best known football clubs in all of Europe, and it’s a rare day that Santiago Bernabéu Stadium isn’t sold out for home games.

But there is much more to sports in Madrid than Real soccer – there’s also Atlético Madrid soccer, the team’s local rival. And of course this bustling capital plays hosts to every other sport imaginable, from its professional basketball team Real Madrid Baloncesto to the Madrid Masters tennis tournament to its great public golf courses and driving ranges.

Skiing is also a big sporting activity for madrilènos, thanks to stunning slopes just a few hours away in the famed Pyrenees Mountains, and The Madrid Marathon (Maraton Popular de Madrid) manages to attract some 120,000 runners annually.

For two-wheeled sports fun, the Vuelta a España cycling race – Spanish equivalent of the Tour de France – finishes in Madrid, and The Red Bull X-fighters international freestyle motocross competition is held every year in Madrid's Las Ventas Bullring.

Speaking of which, La Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas del Espíritu Santo is not only the largest bullring in Spain, but also the second largest in the world, and watching a bullfight here is a classic Madrid experience.