Hi, I’m Lucy Iflyalot, star of the Fun Kids series Penguin Explorers! 

None of the penguins at Penguin School ever want to leave the iceberg – they don’t want to go on holiday! Anywhere!

But my family are world-famous explorers so I’m making some travel brochures to try and change their minds!

You’ve probably seen travel brochures in a travel agent. Tourist offices and travel companies create them to promote countries or regions of them.

Why don’t you make your own travel brochure with me?

Click here to learn how to make your own travel brochure!

Here’s some information about Madrid & Warsaw to help get you started…

Key facts

Population: Madrid: 3.1 million residents (2013) Warsaw: 1.7 million residents (2013)

Madrid Wins!

Size: Madrid: 233.89 sq mi Warsaw: 199.71 sq mi

Madrid Wins!

Number of visitors: Madrid: 6m Warsaw: 2m

Warsaw Wins!

Flight time: Madrid: 2 hours 25 minutes Warsaw: 2  hours 15 minutes

Paris Wins!

As you can see it’s a pretty close call between the two!

Both of these fantastic cities are closer than you might think. It only takes about two and a half hours to get to either of them, although you’ll be travelling in different directions. Warsaw is in Eastern Europe – but for Madrid, you’ll be going south!

If you were to put the two cities side by side you’d see that Madrid is roughly twice the size of Warsaw. Both in terms of size and population. Around 1.8 million people live in Warsaw – but in Madrid, it’s nearly double that at 3.4 million.

Now Madrid might be a busier city than Warsaw but it’s still a pretty laid back place. The climate tends to be very warm, especially in the summer, and Spanish people love to sit outside in plazas, like the 16^th Century Plaza Mayor, watching people go by or enjoying a meal. There are plenty of cool attractions too – like the Debod Temple – an authentic Egyptian temple dedicated to the gods Amon and Isis that dates from the 2^nd Century BC – it right in the middle of Madrid!

So what about Warsaw? Well, there are masses of beautiful places to check out in the Polish capital – although you’ll probably need to dress a little more warmly. Poland is further north and so the weather tends to be cooler. There’s the amazing Multimedia Fountain that combines music, light and, as the name suggests, fountains. In my opinion this is one of the best indoor fountains to bring kids to. The Palace of Culture and Science is the tallest building in Poland – as well as theatres, museums and a cinema, there’s a viewing platform on the 30^th floor with panoramic view of the city.

Spanish people enjoy a Mediterranean menu – this means lots of fresh vegetables with their meat and fish. Eating tapas is a very common practice in Madrid but if you are looking for a traditional Madrid dish tortilla de patata – a potato omelette – is one of most delicious.  You can have it plain or add onions, pepper and my favourite – tuna.  Yummy!! And for a traditional dessert, don’t leave without trying the nougat candy.

Polish food will definitely warm you up on a cold day – a big traditional food is soup – made with mushrooms, broth and beets. Then there are hearty stew called bigos – a combination of cabbage, mushrooms and various meats.

Well, my brochure is full of great reasons to visit both! I wonder which city break you’d choose?

Click here to learn how to make your own travel brochure!

Listen to this episode of Penguin Explorers below…