Centro
With Madrid’s uninspiring Manzanares river hovering on the western edge of the city, it’s left to the wide and equally uninspiring Gran Via to form the city’s natural north–south divide. The mercantile boulevard is always packed with traffic and pedestrians; it is Madrid’s equivalent to Oxford Street and the retail centre of the city.
The grand early 20th-century buildings are now home to shops, offices and hotels, some of them considerably more aesthetically pleasing than others. The Gran Via was built in three phases over nearly five years, replacing 14 smaller streets, and its construction was viewed as a symbol of Spain moving into the 20th century.
To the south of the Gran Via lies the Puerta del Sol, which marks the epicentre of the city and of Spain. This is the spot from which all distances in Spain are measured. Since it’s the nucleus of Madrid’s public transport network, it is a popular meeting-place and a focal point for tourists. Unfortunately, the prevalence of visitors inevitably attracts pickpockets, so keep an eye on your possessions.
Although the location is ideal, many of the hotels in this part of town are a little tired, but the recent arrival of Hotel Quo looks set to change all this. Its funky interiors and enthusiastic young staff make this a welcome addition to Madrid’s hotel scene.
Mid-priced shops are clustered around Calle de Preciados and Calle Carmen, while some of the larger chain stores line the Gran Via, including the city’s largest Zara. There are many little souvenir and dedicated handicraft shops in the area that sell everything from delicious nougat to intricately patterned fans, so it’s worth trawling the side streets looking for that authentic Madrid memento.
To the south-east of Sol is the Plaza Santa Ana, a touristy but pleasant square surrounded by cafés and restaurants. Head further east and you’ll find the streets of Las Huertas, lined with more places to eat and drink. It’s relatively quiet here by day but at night the shuttered doors and windows open to reveal cocktail bars, discos, karaoke joints and music clubs that keep going until the early hours.
Calle Jesus is home to a string of funky little tapas bars, such as Los Gatos and Taberna Maceira, where locals and tourists alike work their way along the street enjoying a quick bite to eat and a glass of tinto at each one.
The streets here lead down to the Paseo del Prado, where you’ll find the city’s golden triangle of museums: the Thyssen, the Reina Sofia and, of course, the famous Prado. Madrid’s three major museums and galleries are conveniently located within a short walk of each other, although there is far too much to see in just one day.
There are some reasonably priced hotels here, like the Hotel Mora, and perhaps Madrid’s most famous hotel, the Ritz. Even if you don’t stay here, it’s worth dropping by to see the ornate interiors and to enjoy afternoon tea.
Chueca and Malasana
Just north of the Gran Via lie the districts of Chueca and Malasana, both known for their trendy but laid-back bars, cafés and clubs, all with their own distinctive identities.
Chueca is Madrid’s gay quarter, although it’s just as popular with the city’s trendy non-gay crowd. In fact, many gays now complain that the area is just not gay enough. The focus of the scene is the Plaza de Chueca, which comes alive on summer evenings when all and sundry gather on the terraces of its bars and restaurants. The plaza is undergoing a bit of a revival right now, spurred on by the arrival of Azul Profundo, a concept restaurant owned by top chef Andres Madrigal which offers a unique culinary experience.
The shops here reflect the character of the area – they’re bold, colourful, alternative and often outrageous – and range from bargain basements to the exclusive and pricey. Chueca is also a shoe-lovers’ heaven, with one street – Calle Augusto Figueroa – devoted almost entirely to footwear.
Fuencarral, which forms the border between Chueca and Malasana, is great for club-wear and low-priced clothes. Towards Recoletos, on the east side of Chueca, you’ll find the more up-market fashion shops and exclusive restaurants and cafés, including Olivera and Indochina, that cater for the business crowd.
Meanwhile, Malasana, stretching west as far as San Bernardo, is more grungy and studenty. It was once the centre of resistance against the French in 1808 and is named after a young seamstress, Manuela Malasana, who was shot by the French invaders for carrying ammunition (her scissors) to the Spanish troops.
In the 1970s it became the focus of the Movida Madrilena, the ‘Happening Scene’, where bars opened all over the place and drugs were sold on the streets in a time of new-found freedom. In the 1980s the area degenerated into a hang-out for drug users and drunks, but urban renovation has cleaned it up considerably. The main square, Plaza Dos de Mayo, has been redeveloped but the streets to the south of it are still best avoided late at night.
Some streets still look a bit tatty, and that’s part of the charm, but the recent arrival of more sophisticated restaurants, such as Nina, looks set to turn Malasana more up-market. However, old favourites such as El Parnasillo and Café del Foro will ensure that Malasana always retains its alternative and slightly eccentric feel.
In this part of the city, pretty much anything goes.
The Old City / La Latina
South of the Gran Via, between the Plaza Mayor, the Palacio Real and San Francisco el Grande, lies the oldest part of Madrid, with the oldest part of all found between the Plaza de la Cebada, Plaza Mayor and the Palacio Real. This is the site of the medieval Muslim town, characterized by winding, often hilly cobbled streets which are now home to exclusive restaurants and wine bars.
Plaza Mayor is the obvious meeting-place, but the area is dotted with other squares that are prettier and less touristy. Head south to the series of squares in La Latina (Plaza de la Paja, Plaza de San Andres, Plaza de la Cebada), which are surrounded by some of the city’s coolest and more chilled bars and cafés. Delic, La Musa Latina, Carpanta and Lamiak are hugely popular hang-outs, just far enough away from the centre not to be plagued by tourists. This mainly pedestrianized area is great on a sunny afternoon but comes into its own at night, when crowds of trendy Madrilenos gather here for wine and tapas.
One of Madrid’s most famous meeting-places, the three-storey El Viajero is a great place to start off the evening, before moving between the different bars. On summer evenings it seems as if there are as many people on the streets, walking between venues, as there are inside them.
East of here is the colourful working-class neighbourhood of Lavapies, with an ethnic mix of North Africans, Indians, Chinese and Turks. It’s home to the city’s famous Sunday market, El Rastro, where thousands of people flock in search of bargains, but shops selling cheap clothes and leather are open all week.
To the west of the Plaza Mayor lies Royal Madrid, encompassing the impressive royal palace, the cathedral, the theatre and the Campo del Moro park, beyond which stretches the Casa de Campo wilderness. Tourists and locals sip coffee in atmospheric cafés, such as Café de los Austrias and Café de Oriente, whose beautiful terrace overlooks the palace.
The Old City is naturally the most touristy part of Madrid and some of its restaurants and bars are overpriced, but it’s worth paying that little bit extra for the pleasure of the surroundings. This is the prettiest and most atmospheric part of the city; take time off for an afternoon stroll and wonder at the architecture and the history.
Madrid
It would be hard to find a city that lends itself more readily to the pursuit of hedonism than Madrid. Known as the party capital of Europe, it has a level of vibrancy and energy unparalleled in other cities, and this is largely because of the character of its people.
Visitors will be left wondering when these crazy Madrilenos find time to sleep, or go to work. Indeed, no matter what night of the week, you’ll find bars and restaurants bursting with people well into the early hours.The Madrilenos love to get dressed up, meet with friends, talk, drink, eat and talk some more – at full volume – and such inconsequential things as work and sleep seem to take second place. Even on the rare dull and drizzly days, the locals are still out and about enjoying themselves and making the most of what their city has to offer.Madrid is the highest, sunniest and greenest capital in Europe and, according to its natives, is the closest place you’ll get to heaven – ‘Desde Madrid al Cielo’ goes the saying.
It does, of course, have the same problems with traffic and overcrowding as any other major European city, but one of its major selling-points is its small size. Madrid is so compact that even in an afternoon you can cover considerable ground. What’s more, the street layout is straightforward and most of the major attractions are within easy reach.
If time allows, however, it’s definitely worth exploring the districts that lie beyond the city centre, such as Salamanca, La Latina and Malasana, each with its own distinctive character. In this guide, we’ve divided the city into four areas: Centro, Chueca and Malasana, The Old City/La Latina and Salamanca, and in a weekend you should be able to experience them all.
As a tourist destination Madrid is underrated and is often overlooked for its coastal rival, Barcelona. It is, however, home to three stunning and important museums and has several beautiful parks to make up for its lack of beaches.
It also offers a far more authentic Spanish experience than Barcelona. Not so much English is spoken (you’ll have to brush up on your Spanish vocab or invest in a phrase book), and Spanish traditions, such as long, leisurely lunches and late dinners, are still very much part of everyday life.
Luckily, this means you won’t have to rush around in the heat of the day in order to see as much of the city as possible. Temperatures soar into the 30s in the summer and many visitors will find it uncomfortable and exhausting to be out in the midday sun. At the height of the summer temperatures can creep into the 40s and, understandably, many Madrilenos pack up and leave for the latter half of July and throughout August.
At this time, you’ll get some great bargains on hotel rooms and the streets will be less crowded, but many of the better restaurants and bars will be closed. With the heat, it’s best to take things at an easy pace and to make the most of the fabulous restaurants and cafés that are open. Don’t grab snacks on the move. Do as the Madrilenos do and take your time.
This culture of long lunches and lazy, coffee-sipping afternoons means you won’t tire yourself out before heading off again for the long night ahead. Once the clock strikes midnight, Europe’s ultimate pleasure playground really comes into its own and will keep even the most hardcore party animal entertained until the sun comes up.
Salamanca
The swankiest part of Madrid, Salamanca is a grid of wide, elegant avenues lined with designer boutiques, luxury apartments and mansions, galleries and up-market restaurants.
It became the city’s rich neighbourhood towards the end of the 19th century when the Marques de Salamanca, a banker, politician and rogue known for his rather dubious business practices, built the first block of houses here, north-east of the city. His own house, on the Paseo de Recoletas, was the first in Madrid to have a flushing lavatory and Salamanca made sure these new developments had the same luxury. Soon other wealthy aristocrats realized the benefits of wider streets and new housing, compared with the narrow, musty streets of old Madrid, and flocked here in droves.
Today Salamanca remains home to Madrid’s ‘yuppies’ and their offspring (pijos or pijas) who dress head-to-toe in designer clothes, wear sunglasses year-round, and drive top of the range sports cars.
Many of the city’s most exclusive and stylish restaurants are to be found here, including Montana, Matilda and Iroco. Their minimalist, sometimes rather clinical interiors might not be to everyone’s taste, but the Salamanca set just can’t get enough of them.
You’ll also find some of Madrid’s most exclusive nightclubs in Salamanca, including Gabana, Moma and Fortuny, where the sports cars parked outside tell you a lot about the type of people inside.
While central Madrid is compact and manageable by foot, here in Salamanca the wide, long avenues mean you’ll have to drive, or rely more on taxis to get from one venue to the next.
The roads can get quite busy and on the main shopping streets the pavements become thick with people, particularly between 6pm and the time most shops close, between 8 and 9pm.
Apart from its restaurants and clubs, the main reason to come to Salamanca is for its shopping. Top designer stores are mainly found on calles Jorge Juan, Ortega y Gasset, Serrano and Juan Bravo, while there are cheaper stores towards the east end of Calle Goya and on Calle Alcala. Private art galleries line Calle Claudio Coello, which, along with Serrano and Lagasca, is one of the oldest streets in Salamanca. They are narrower and the shops are smaller and closer together, making it a good area for browsing and window shopping.
To the far east of Salamanca is Madrid’s famous bullfighting arena, Las Ventas, while to the west is its grand avenue, the Paseo de la Castellana. Many of the city’s largest and luxurious business hotels – the Hotel Hesperia Madrid, Hotel Villa Magna and the Gran Meliá Fénix – are located along this wide thoroughfare, amid the plush office blocks of leading banks and insurance companies.
South of Salamanca is the beautiful Parque del Retiro, where Madrilenos like to take a leisurely stroll all year round.
