We were going to Madrid for purely historical and artistic reasons. Or rather, my girlfriend was. She had looted our combined savings for this trip to visit three famous museums. Years back, while we were dating, I had feigned a great interest in her art studies, but the truth was that my devotion to matters artistic was a little thin.

Certainly, my enthusiasm for the great Spanish painters did not stretch to a holiday tramping past paintings hundreds of years old. For the past three weeks, she had been babbling on about Goya, El Greco and Picasso. I had no intention of dampening her enthusiasm, but I had my own reason for agreeing to visit Madrid which had little to do with the great masters.

My reason had to do with football and some of today's greatest players - Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Raul and, of course, David Beckham. Yes, I was going to watch Real Madrid play a home game. But not just any home game - as a result of some delaying tactics, I managed to plan our trip for the weekend when Real were playing at home against Barcelona. This is Spain's most fierce rivalry - Madrid's heroes against the stars from the Catalan state, the country's ruling champions.

As the aircraft came into land at Madrid Barajas Airport, I wondered whether I would also be able to slip away to watch a bullfight at the famous Las Ventas arena, which seat 32000 people and is the biggest in the country. Until then, I would be the perfect partner and enjoy seeing some great art with my personal museum guide.

I had taken great care in booking a good hotel, the four-star Hotel Senator Gran Via, situated on one of the most colourful avenues in the city and close to most historical sights. In researching the hotel, I noted that some customers had remarked that the bedrooms were small, so I heaved a sigh of relief when we were shown into a lovely, large room with a great view of the Gran Via. Besides the central location and the great service, a big plus was the free minibar in the room.

After dinner at a restaurant around the corner from the hotel, La Gloria de Montera, and an early night, we were up early the next morning to begin our sightseeing. We took the recommendation of the concierge and bought a day ticket for an open-top bus tour of the city, called Madrid Vision. This is a great way to see the city, as you can hop on and off the bus as many times as you like.

We started our tour at the Puerta del Sol, which is close to the hotel. This is the centre of Madrid and the point from which all Spain's radial highways begin; 'kilometre zero'. The point is marked by the statue of a bear standing against a tree, which is based on the city's coat of arms and replicated all over the city.

The double-decker bus service covers three routes, called "historical Madrid", "modern Madrid" and "monumental Madrid". We ended up doing bits of all three, but our longest stop was at the Royal Palace (Palacio Real). This is as grand a palace as you will find anywhere. It is the official residence of the King of Spain, but he only uses it for official ceremonies. Set in formal gardens on the site of a Moorish fortress that burned down in 1734, it consists of many vast rooms and royal collections.

My favourite room was the amazingly splendid Throne Room, with its vast mirrors and rich furnishings. I also spent an hour checking out the weapons in the armoury, which date back to the 13th century, and a Stradivarius violin. The palace is richly decorated by artists Velázquez, Tiepolo, Juan de Flandes, Caravaggio, and Goya, so my girlfriend was in seventh heaven.

The next day was earmarked for our art tours. There are enough museums in Madrid to keep visitors busy for weeks, but the big three are the Museo Nacional del Prado (the Prado), the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza (the Thyssen) and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (the Reina Sofia). You can buy a museum pass, which allows you to visit these three museums once or multiple times.

The Prado Museum is the pride of Madrid and one of the most important museums in the world. It houses the world's greatest collection of Spanish paintings, including works by three of the greatest art masters: Goya, Velazquez, and El Greco .The Prado first opened in 1819 to display the Spanish royal art collection and now the museum holds some seven thousand pieces of art. The collection includes sculptures, drawings, paintings and other art objects, It is vast - and one day is not enough to really see the important works on display.

The next day, I did not accompany Belinda to the Thyssen museum and spent a rather dull day visiting the Madrid offices of my company to catch up on some work. That night, she was full of praise for the collection which once belonged to Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza.

The next morning, I went with her to the Reina Sofia Museum mainly to see one of the world's most famous paintings, Picasso's Guernica. I was surprised how interesting I found it to view art with an expert. Belinda's knowledge meant I was able to get an insight into the artist and the work. Although the sheer volume of masterpieces on display meant I ended up dizzy with facts and figures, I would definitely be more willing to visit museums with her in the future.

Finally, Sunday dawned and I was on my way to the football. My girlfriend spent the day at the Rastro Sunday Market. Located on the streets of old Madrid, the Rastro is one of the world's largest flea markets. Besides some inexpensive gifts for family and friends back home, she found some rare banknotes at the stamp fair on the Plaza Mayor and valuable art catalogues at the book fair in the botanical gardens.

The football was a dream come true. The Santiago Bernabeu was absolutely packed and the atmosphere electric. With Barcelona heavy favourites to win, the home crowd went wild when Raul headed in a goal after only three minutes in the first half to give the local team the lead. From that moment, the singing and cheering never seemed to stop.

A deafening roar erupted in the second half when Real scored a second goal, this time thanks to Ruud van Nistelrooy. My hero, David Beckman, was not in the opening line-up, so I was delighted when he was sent on five minutes from the end. What a remarkable day - to be able to watch Real Madrid beat Barcelona will be hard to top as a football memory.

That was the highlight of the week for me, but among the other things we did was visit the massive Retiro Park (which has a lake, many fountains and great statues), take a day trip to El Escorial (a pretty village which has the official mausoleum of the Royal Family into the Palace of San Lorenzo), attend a flamenco dancing display in a little theatre in the city centre and buy a painting on the vibey, touristy, character-filled Plaza Mayor.

However, I never did get to see a bullfight and watch the world's greatest matadors in action. That will have to wait for another trip. We headed home knowing that we had both had a great time. Belinda had viewed her Goyas and Picassos, and I had witnessed the mighty Real Madrid score a famous victory. Madrid had been magic.