In order to get to South America for the 'secret honeymoon', I opted for us to fly via Madrid, taking a day/night stopover to see a bit of the city and have a nice romantic evening in Spain's capital. Little did Gill realise, but after this night of luxury, the accommodation was going to mainly consist of camping and potentially dubious backwater hotels ... she needed some softening up!

Where better to stay in Madrid on your first night of a honeymoon than the Westin Palace hotel, a 5-star house of elegance, oozing with Madrid-esque qualities. A booking error on the hotel's part led to us being upgraded to a near-presidential suite which was warmly received by us given the occasion.

In short, we loved Madrid ... much more than predicted. The city is a visual feast of architecture, clean, safe, excellent metro tube system and the people have that classic chilled out Mediterranean pace that you want on holiday. Absolutely no guilt about taking an afternoon siesta in a city like this. Madrid is a good destination for a cheap, relaxing weekend break.