Experience More

3

Colegiata de San Isidro

C4 Calle de Toledo 37 § 91 369 20 37 q La Latina, Tirso de Molina # Summer: 7:30am–1pm & 7–9pm daily; winter: 7:30am–1pm & 6–9pm daily

The Baroque-style Colegiata de San Isidro was built for the Jesuits in the mid-17th century. This twin-towered church was Madrid’s cathedral until La Almudena was completed in 1993. After Carlos III expelled the Jesuits from Spain in 1767, it was rededicated to Madrid’s patron saint, St Isidore. Two years later the saint’s remains were moved here from the Iglesia de San Andrés.

4

Puerta del Sol

D3 q Sol

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t Huge crowds gathering in the Puerta del Sol in the early evening

One of the city’s most popular meeting places, the Puerta del Sol is crowded and noisy with chatter. The square marks the site of the original eastern entrance to the city, once occupied by a gatehouse and castle. These disappeared long ago and a succession of churches came in their place. In the late 19th century the area was turned into a square and became the centre of café society.

Today the “square” is shaped like a half-moon, with a modern glass train station in front of the statue of Carlos III. The southern side of the square is edged by an austere red-brick building, home to the regional government. The buildings opposite it are arranged in a semicircle and contain modern shops and cafés. Originally the city’s post office, it was built in the 1760s under Carlos III. In 1847 it became the headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior. The clock tower, which gives the building much of its identity, was added in 1866. During the Franco regime, the police cells under the building were the site of human rights abuses. In 1963, Julián Grimau, a member of the underground Communist Party, allegedly fell from an upstairs window and miraculously survived, only to be executed soon afterwards.

The Puerta del Sol itself has witnessed many important historical events. On 2 May 1808 the uprising against the occupying French forces began here, but the crowd was crushed. In 1912 the liberal prime minister José Canalejas was assassinated in the square and, in 1931, the Second Republic was proclaimed from the balcony of the Ministry of the Interior.

On New Year’s Eve, crowds fill the square to eat a grape on each stroke of the clock, a tradition supposed to bring good luck for the year.

Did You Know?

The statue of the bear and the strawberry tree on the Puerta del Sol is the symbol of Madrid.

5

Plaza de la Villa

B3 q Ópera, Sol

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t The old ayuntamiento, or Town Hall, on Madrid’s Plaza de la Villa

The much-restored Plaza de la Villa is one of the most atmospheric spots in Madrid. Some of the city’s most historic secular buildings are situated around this square.

The oldest building is the early 15th-century Torre de los Lujanes, with its Gothic portal and Mudéjar-style horseshoe arches. The Casa de Cisneros was built in 1537 for the nephew of Cardinal Cisneros, founder of the University of Alcalá. The main façade, on the Calle de Sacramento, is a fine example of the Plateresque style.

Linked to this building, by an enclosed bridge, is the old ayuntamiento. Designed in the 1640s by Juan Gómez de Mora, architect of the Plaza Mayor, it exhibits the same combination of steep roofs with dormer windows, steeple-like towers at the corners and an austere façade of brick and stone. Before construction was finished – over 30 years later – the building had acquired handsome Baroque doorways. A balcony was later added by Juan de Villanueva, the architect of the Prado, so that the royal family could watch Corpus Christi processions passing by.

6

Iglesia de San Nicolás de Bari

B3 Plaza de San Nicolás 6 § 91 559 40 64 q Ópera # 8:30am–1pm & 7–8:30pm Mon, 8:30–9:30am & 6:30–8:30pm Tue–Sat, 10am–1:45pm & 6:30–8:45pm Sun & public hols

The first mention of the church of San Nicolás is in a document of 1202. Its brick tower, with horseshoe arches, is the oldest surviving ecclesiastical structure in Madrid. It is thought to be 12th-century Mudéjar in style, and may have originally been the minaret of a Moorish mosque.

7 " '

Monasterio de la Encarnación

B2 Plaza de la Encarnación 1 q Ópera, Santo Domingo # 10am–2pm, 4–6:30pm Tue–Sat, 10am–3pm Sun & public hols ¢ Easter, 17–20 Apr, 1 May, 24, 25 & 31 Dec patrimonionacional.es

Standing in a delightful tree-shaded square, this tranquil Augustinian convent was founded in 1611 for Margaret of Austria, wife of Felipe III.

Still inhabited by nuns, the convent has blue and white Talavera tiles, wooden doors, exposed beams and portraits of royal benefactors. Inside is a collection of 17th-century art, with paintings by José de Ribera and Vincente Carducho.

The convent’s main attraction is the reliquary chamber with a ceiling painted by Carducho. A phial containing the dried blood of St Pantaleon can be found here. According to a popular myth, the blood liquefies each year on 27 July, the anniversary of the saint’s death. Should the blood fail to liquefy, it is said that disaster will befall Madrid.

EXPERIENCE West Madrid

Eat

El Sobrino de Botín

The world’s oldest restaurant, set in rustic dining rooms, is justly lauded for its excellent cochinillo (roast suckling pig).

C4 Calle Cuchilleros 17 botin.es

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Mercado de San Miguel

An elegant century-old glass and iron construction houses this gastro food court.

C3 Plaza de San Miguel s/n mercadodesanmiguel.es

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Casa Ciriaco

A Madrid institution serving traditional dishes. It was once a meeting place for the literary set.

B3 Calle Mayor 84 casaciriaco.es

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8 "

Catedral de la Almudena

B3 Calle de Bailén 10 q Ópera # 9am–8:30pm daily (10am–9pm Jul & Aug); Museum & Dome: 10am–2:30pm Mon–Sat catedraldelaalmudena.es

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t Visitors admiring the altar inside the Catedral de la Almudena

Dedicated to the city’s patron, the cathedral was begun in 1883 and completed over a century later. The Neo-Gothic grey and white façade is similar to that of the Palacio Real opposite. The crypt houses a 16th-century image of the Virgen de la Almudena, while the dome offers grand views of the city. The first royal wedding also took place here between Prince Felipe (now King Felipe VI) and Letizia Ortiz in May 2004.

9

Plaza de Oriente

B3 q Ópera

While king of Spain, Joseph Bonaparte carved out this stirrup-shaped space from the jumble of buildings to the east of the Palacio Real, providing the view of the palace seen today. The square was once an important meeting place for state occasions; kings, queens and dictators all made public appearances on the palace balcony. The statues of kings that stand here were originally intended for the palace roof, but proved too heavy. The equestrian statue of Felipe IV in the centre of the square is by Italian sculptor Pietro Tacca, and is based on drawings by Velázquez. Across the square is the imposing Teatro Real, or Teatro de la Ópera, inaugurated in 1850 by Isabel II.

10

Campo del Moro

A3 Paseo de la Virgen del Puerto s/n q Ópera, Príncipe Pío # Oct–Mar: 10am–6pm daily; Apr–Sep: 10am–8pm daily ¢ 1 & 6 Jan, 1 & 15 May, 12 Oct, 9 Nov, 24, 25 & 31 Dec and for official functions patrimonionacional.es

The Campo del Moro (the “Field of the Moor”) is a pleasing park, rising steeply from the Río Manzanares to offer one of the finest views of the Palacio Real.

The park has a varied history. In 1109 a Moorish army led by Ali ben Yusuf camped here, hence the name. It went on to become a jousting ground for Christian knights. In the late 19th century it was used as a lavish playground for royal children. Around the same time it was landscaped in what is described as English style, with winding paths, grass and woodland, fountains and statues. It was reopened to the public in 1931 under the Second Republic, then closed again under Franco, and not reopened until 1978.

11 " '

Museo Cerralbo

B2 Calle de Ventura Rodríguez 17 q Plaza de España, Ventura Rodríguez # 9:30am–3pm Tue–Sat (also 5–8pm Thu), 10am–3pm Sun ¢ Mon, 1 & 6 Jan, 1 May & some public hols culturaydeporte.gob.es/mcerralbo

This 19th-century mansion is a monument to Enrique de Aguilera y Gamboa, the 17th Marquis of Cerralbo. A compulsive collector of art and artifacts, he bequeathed his lifetime’s collection to the nation in 1922, stipulating that the exhibits be arranged exactly as he left them. They range from Iberian pottery to 18th-century marble busts.

One of the star exhibits is El Greco’s magnificent The Ecstasy of Saint Francis of Assisi. There are also paintings by Ribera, Zurbarán, Cano and Goya.

The focal point of the main floor is the ballroom, lavishly decorated with mirrors. A large collection of weaponry is on display on this floor.

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t The exquisite staircase inside the Museo Cerralbo, lined with beautiful artifacts

12 " '

Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales

C3 Plaza de las Descalzas 3 q Sol, Callao # 10am–2pm & 4–6:30pm Tue–Sat, 10am–3pm Sun & public hols ¢ 1 & 6 Jan, Easter, 1 May, 24, 25 & 31 Dec patrimonionacional.es

Around 1560, Felipe II’s sister, Doña Juana, decided to convert the original medieval palace that stood here into a convent for nuns. Her status accounts for the huge collection of art and enormous wealth of the Convent of Las Descalzas Reales (Royal Barefooted).

The stairway has a fresco of Felipe IV’s family looking down, as if from a balcony, and a fine ceiling by Claudio Coello and his pupils. It leads up to a first-floor cloister, ringed with chapels containing works of art relating to the lives of the former nuns. The main chapel houses Doña Juana’s tomb. The Sala de Tapices has a series of tapestries, one woven in 1627 for Felipe II’s daughter, Isabel Clara Eugenia. Another, The Triumph of the Eucharist, is based on cartoons by Rubens.

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Great View

Staircase to Heaven

Inside the Museo Cerralbo, no angle is more striking than the view up the staircase, resplendent with a large coat of arms framed by two 17th-century tapestries.

13

Plaza de España

B2 q Plaza de España

One of Madrid’s busiest traffic intersections is the Plaza de España, which slopes down towards the Palacio Real and the Sabatini Gardens.

The square acquired its present appearance during the Franco period, with the construction, on the northern side, of the massive Edificio España between 1947 and 1953. Across the square is the Torre de Madrid (1957), known as La Jirafa (The Giraffe), which, for a while, was the tallest concrete structure in the world. The most attractive part of the square is its centre, occupied by a massive stone obelisk built in 1928. In front of it is a statue of the author Cervantes. Below him, Don Quixote rides his horse Rocinante while the plump Sancho Panza trots alongside on his donkey. On the left-hand side is Dulcinea, Don Quixote’s sweetheart.

Work is ongoing to remodel the square, and will see the addition of 1,000 trees and pedestrianized areas by 2021.

14 " '

Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando

D3 Calle de Alcalá 13 q Banco de España, Gran Vía, Sevilla, Sol # 10am–3pm Tue–Sun ¢ Aug & some public hols realacademiabellasartessanfernando.com

Former students of this fine arts academy, which is housed in an 18th-century building by José Benito de Churriguera, include Dalí and Picasso. Its art gallery’s collection includes drawings by Raphael and Titian and, among the old masters, are huge paintings by Van Dyck and Rubens. Spanish artists from the 16th to the 19th centuries are also well represented. One of the highlights is Zurbarán’s Fray Pedro Machado, typical of the artist’s paintings of monks.

An entire room is devoted to Goya, a former director of the academy. On show here are his paintings of a relaxed Manuel Godoy, the Burial of the Sardine, the grim Madhouse and a self-portrait painted in 1815.

15

Gran Vía

C2 q Plaza de España, Santo Domingo, Callao, Gran Vía

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t Traffic passing the Edificio Metrópolis on the Gran Vía

A main traffic artery of the modern city, the Gran Vía was inaugurated in 1910, and its construction spanned several decades. Nowadays, the road is at the centre of city life and, following a restoration programme, has become an architectural showpiece.

The most interesting buildings are clustered at the Alcalá end, starting with the Corinthian columns, high-level statuary and tiled dome of the Edificio Metrópolis.

A temple with Art Nouveau mosaics on its upper levels crowns No 1 Gran Vía. One striking feature of the buildings at this end of the street is colonnaded galleries on the upper floors, imitating medieval Aragonese and Catalan architecture. Another is the fine wrought-iron balconies and carved stone details, such as the gargoyle-like caryatids at No 12.

On the Red de San Luis, an intersection of four major roads, is the Telefónica building, the first skyscraper to be erected in the capital, built between 1926 and 1929.

EXPERIENCE West Madrid

Drink

West Madrid has more than its fair share of tabernas, where beer, sherry and other tipples are served alongside hearty bar snacks. Here are some of our favourite local watering holes.

Casa Labra

C3 Calle de Tetuán 12 casalabra.es


Casa Revuelta

C4 Calle de Latoneros 3 § 913 66 33 32


El Anciano Rey de los Vinos

B3 Calle de Bailén 19 elancianoreydelosvinos.es


La Casa del Abuelo

D3 Calle de la Victoria 12 lacasadelabuelo.es

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