 MADRID
Art, flamenco, tapas & golf
 What to see
The capital of Spain is a cosmopolitan city of over three
million people. Business center, headquarters for the Public Administration, Government,
Spanish Parliament and the home of the Spanish Royal Family, Madrid is characterized by
intense cultural and artistic activity and a very lively nightlife.
If the grand metropolis of Madrid traces its origins to the times of Arab Emir Mohamed I
(852-886), it was only in 1562 that it became the Spanish capital. The defensive wall was
built and the roads of Segovia, Toledo and Valencia were traced in the 17th. The great
arteries of the city, such as the Paseo del Prado and Paseo las Acacias were designed
during the 18th and the commercial east-west avenue Gran Vía was built in the 19th
century while modern buildings, housing the major financial institutions date from the
1950's.
So Madrid is a typical European capital reflecting the whole history of the Spanish
country it represents. Even if the city is as modern and dynamic as many other great
cities, Madrid has a special touch of class coming from its long heritage scattered in and
out the walls through great monuments and in renowned paintings exposed in great museums.
- the monuments
The Puerta del Sol (Sun Gateway) is specifically "madrilena".
There stays the mark of the Spanish Kilometer Zero from which all the country's road
distances are measured and all national roads radiate as well as the numbers of the
streets. It was once a 15th century defensive bulwark, part of the wall which enclosed the
town. There the former Casa de Correos (Post Office) built in 1768 is crowned
with a tower with a clock on its four sides; it's the most famous timepiece in Madrid. At
the stroke of midnight on December 31st, madrileños usher here in the New Year.
Nearby, the Plaza Mayor, rectangular plaza around the statue of Felipe
III, with ground floor arcades, was used as a marketplace but, was also the scene of
popular events from bullfights to public announcement of sentences during the Inquisition.
The striking building is the Casa de la Panadería (Bakery house), with its
colorful fresco-adorned façade. Behind the place, old lively streets with shops and
restaurants.
The archway of Puerta de Toledo was a project of King José Bonaparte and
was built between 1817 and 1827.
The Palacio de Oriente usually called the Palacio Real was constructed on
the site of the Moorish fortress, destroyed by fire in 1734. Opposite to the main façade
facing towards the South, is the Plaza de la Armería (Royal Armory Square).
Great symbol of Madrid, the fountain in the Plaza de Cibeles is
surrounded by some of city's most important monuments: the Cuartel General del
Ejército (Military Headquarters), the Palacio de Linares, presently Casa de
América, a neobaroque structure from 1878 and the Palacio de Comunicaciones
(Main Post Office) with ornate stone walls, started in 1905.
Paseo del Prado is next to it with the Museo Naval, the Banco de España
which reflects neorenaissance tendencies from 1898. Continuing along the Calle Alcalá,
the impressive Puerta de Alcalá, gateway to the city by the Aragón
road, sits enthroned in the large Plaza de la Independencia.
Partly formed by gardens, palaces and dwelling houses constructed for royal use by order
of Felipe IV, inaugurated in 1632, the Parque del Retiro has several
entrances to the park where to admire the Palacio de Cristal and the Palacio
Velázquez.
(Continuation on next page)
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Plazza Cibeles and the House of Communcation
Gran Via (main street)
Plazza Mayor in the old streets
Plazza Espana and
its two national heroes of Cevantes, Don Quijote and Sancho Pança
El Retiro park
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