The secret jewels of rural Madrid that you probably didn't even know existed

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Madrid is a

squid

.

Madrid is the last luxury hotel on the Gran Vía, but also the orchard of a medieval convent turned into a rural house in

.

Madrid is the menu with three Michelin stars from Diverxo, but also the cheeks with Trappist beer sauce and chocolate from the charming restaurant

in Bustarviejo.

And so, jumping from the capital to the towns and from the towns to the capital, we could continue praising the attractions of the Community for ever and ever.

The problem is that many travelers stay within the limits of the city without entering its

: Sierra Norte, Sierra Oeste, Sierra de Guadarrama and Las Vegas and La Alcarria.

"It is necessary to make people understand that Madrid is much more than the city, that there are four

perfect

, cultural activities, nature, gastronomy...", says Luis Martín Izquierdo, General Director of Tourism.

A hiker, on a hiking route through the Sierra de Guadarrama.

For this reason, they have all come together under one umbrella,

a project that brings together the region's tourist offer under

.

"We have to stop selling the region as

for the weekend, betting on longer and more intense experiences," he continues.

To convince travelers, he lists routes such as the

, the Alcarria esparto recovery plan or the

(47 inhabitants), which offers cooking workshops with local foods.

"We even have the only place in the world where you can do rural tourism and see a

," he adds.

Solution: Buitrago del Lozoya, where the collection that the painter gave to his barber, a native of the place, is located.

Boats in the San Juan reservoir.

Everything to, as we said, increase the spectrum of regional tourism through four axes:

.

It was the objective of the creation of Madrural before the pandemic, in addition to ending

(there is life beyond the weekend) and the depopulation of emptied Spain.

from town to town

The Community began working on it together with mayors, tourism managers, travel agents, hoteliers and other businessmen from three regions:

But the health crisis arrived and the program was paralyzed.

Jacuzzi of the rural hotel La huerta de San Antonio, in La Cabrera.

For this reason, it is now when, after the union of the Sierra de Guadarrama, it is re-emerging with force, its promoters convinced that "it is necessary to cooperate to compete", as Elena Rubio, coordinator of Tourism of the Sierra Norte, points out.

Formed by 42 municipalities

or Prádena del Rincón, among them there are stables in which to

or bunkers from the Civil War.

Of course, the increase in visitors is linked to sustainability.

"We do not seek to be

, but quality tourism, inviting you to discover the different areas in a leisurely manner," explains Javier de los Nietos, president of the Sierra de Guadarrama Development Association (Adesgam).

It highlights some of its

such as the castle of Manzanares el Real or the Visigothic village of La Cabilda.

We jump to the Sierra Oeste, "liquid destination par excellence", as summarized by Antonio Sin, president of the Association for Integral Development (ADI) of the area.

Reason?

"

, with ancestral wineries and all kinds of adventures in the San Juan swamp."

It would not be worth mentioning

which, in addition to having well-known enclaves such as Chinchón or

hide other unique ones such as

a true refuge for artists.

One way to explore them is through its six thematic

, which cross places such as

or a wine route through the Tagus.

Cycling routes in the middle of nature.

THE KEYS OF THE PROGRAM

AIM.

Union of forces.

The MadRural project (www.madrural.com) was born as an agglutinator of the rural tourism offer of the Community through a tour of its four counties.

ROUTES.

Who

participates

The destinations of Las Vegas and Alcarria, Sierra Oeste and Sierra Norte were the first to join the initiative.

Then the Sierra de Guadarrama was added.

ACTIVITIES.

Plans for everyone

.

MadRural lives not only on nature tourism.

There are also gastronomic, cultural, wine, artistic, relaxing experiences...

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