Created in partnership with Portfolio, Condé Nast's new business magazine, our city business guides offer guidance for business travelers hoping to maximize their productivity (and enjoyment) while on the road. Stay tuned for more guides in the months to come.

As an economic nerve center, Madrid will never compete with London, New York, or Tokyo. The energetic Spanish capital is, however, a front-runner when it comes to mixing business and pleasure. With year-round sunshine, a tolerant society, and more bars and restaurants than entire European countries, Madrid is quickly gaining on Barcelona as Europe's most desirable location for executive relocation. Investment in decrepit historic and inner-city residential areas, mass immigration, and new metro lines, roads, parks, and a new airport terminal have transformed the once-dowdy administrative backwater into a hip, multicultural metropolis. Property and equity prices are peaking, and frenetic merger and acquisition activity between Spanish companies has consolidated the city as a financial nexus for southern Europe and Latin America, and has made it the home to some of Europe's biggest companies, among them Banco Santander, Ferrovial, Iberdrola, Endesa, ACS, and Telefonica.

Where to Sleep
Not long ago, busy executives used the Hotel Villa Magna for its reliable service, generous meeting space, and proximity to the financial district (it also happens to have Madrid's best Chinese restaurant, Tse Yang). However, new money and modern designers have united in recent years to cater to the well-heeled who have more contemporary tastes. Santo Mauro, a 51-room converted palace in the leafy Chamberi district, was the choice of David and Victoria Beckham while they were waiting to be housed by soccer club Real Madrid. Bill Gates has been spotted in the hotel's gym. In the upscale Salamanca district, Bauza is favored by the architects and designers who are helping to reshape the Spanish capital: Richard Rogers, co-designer of the airport's state-of-the-art Terminal 4, swears by the buffet breakfast. Steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal used Hotel Hesperia Madrid as his Spanish base during last year's tense takeover battle of Arcelor, as do executives from Inditex, creator of the Zara fashion brand. Each floor at the Hotel Puerta America was designed by a different stellar architect, among them Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, and Jean Nouvel.

Where to Eat
Although improving, transport links in Spain are poor, meaning much of what is produced in the country passes through Madrid. This is good news for diners, who enjoy fresh seafood despite Madrid's location bang in the middle of the country. Basque-trained chefs are Spain's undisputed maestros of seafood preparation, and the capital showcases some of the finest. Goizeko, in the heart of Salamanca, is among the best (and priciest) of the genre, while nearby Alkalde and Combarro also draw businessmen and gourmets seeking authentic Basque creations. Visitors keen to show off a little inside knowledge might book a table at Sidreria Vasca Zerain, in the old literary quarter. For radical Spanish-Asian fusion, Sergi Arola's two-Michelin-star La Broche never fails to impress. Nearby, Catalan master Santi Santamaria shows why his Santceloni is often cited as the best restaurant in Madrid. The influence of Ferran Adria, Spain's best-known culinary alchemist, is in evidence at La Terraza del Casino, a beautiful summer-only alfresco terrace run by Paco Roncero—expect dishes like cold almond and garlic soup served up as foamy meringue.