Back in the 1990s Madrid seemed forever destined to play second fiddle to its perennial rival, Barcelona. Even while the capital was enjoying its role as European City of Culture in 1992, most eyes were focused on Barcelona, then hosting the Olympic Games. Since the dawning of the new millennium, however, Madrid has discovered a dynamism previously lacking with the launch of its own ambitious bid to stage the 2012 Games. Meanwhile all three major art galleries are expanding, there are radical plans to remodel the Paseo del Prado, the metro is growing at a phenominal rate and Barajas airport will double its operational capacity by 2005. Yet despite Madrid's increasingly forward-looking image Archibald Lyall's observation from the 1960s, that Madrid was both the most Spanish and the least Spanish city on the peninsula, still rings true.