Where to See and Be Seen
The Horcher restaurant, opposite Buen Retiro, is where fur-coated dowagers and tweedy gents share space with fast-talking dealmakers. For politician-spotting, La Ancha, behind the National Congress, serves traditional Spanish fare with the odd dose of flair. Casa Lucio, in trendy La Latina, retains its cachet as the place to impress visiting VIPs.

Where to Close a Deal
Members-only establishments such as the Real Club Puerta de Hierro, Club Financiero, and Nuevo Club are where a lot of political and market intelligence is traded and where more than a few deals and conspiracy theories have been hatched. More-accessible places to generate intrigue include the main bars of the Ritz, the Palace, and the Villa Magna hotels, and the classic Cafe Gijon, a meeting place for artists and intellectuals since the late nineteenth century that today draws a mixed crowd of business movers, old-timers, and tourists.

Local Codes
The Spanish eat late, and restaurants make little concession for visitors who don't. Lunch rarely starts before two and can last until after four. The postprandial siesta, like other Spanish clichés, is a luxury these days, particularly among Madrileños. Dinner is served from nine. Dress is smart casual, though ties are required in most private clubs and some upscale restaurants. A more casual alternative is tapas bar-hopping, where anything goes. The Spaniards admire punctuality but struggle to adhere to it. Ask about families and favorite football teams during the pre-meal preamble, and avoid partisan political comments until the debate starts flowing.

Airport Intelligence
The new Terminal 4 at Barajas is easy on the eye but hard on the feet, with huge distances between check-in and departure gates. A clean, efficient metro line runs from the center of Madrid to the older terminals 1, 2, and 3. A regular shuttle service connects the old buildings with the new. Taxis are abundant, but beware the unscrupulous few drivers who won't hesitate to take unsuspecting visitors on circuitous routes into the city; a typical journey should cost between 20 and 30 euros ($26-$39).

The Three-Hour Tour
Ten years ago, Chueca was a no-go zone whose narrow streets, dark squares, and dilapidated tenements provided the perfect cover for drug dealers, prostitutes, and squatters. These days $1 million will buy you 1,300 square feet of Madrid's most rapidly gentrifying inner-city district. Colonized by the city's upwardly mobile gay community, Chueca is abuzz with fashion and design stores, restaurants, cafés, and the most colorful street life in the city. From Gran Via, head north along Fuencarral for the window shopping before swinging right into Augusto Figueroa, otherwise known as Designer Shoe Alley. Check out the nearby Mercado de Barcelo, a covered marketplace specializing in wine, food, and flowers, before heading back on Fuencarral. End the tour in the Museo Municipal, a converted poorhouse where the history of Madrid is well laid out. Nearby, the Palacio Longoria is an architectural folly designed by José Grases Riera, an obvious admirer of Antoni Gaudi.