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OLD MADRID

Old Town Photo Gallery

Madrid, the capital and largest city in Spain, is famous for its historical landmarks, world-class museums and galleries, lively street life, grand boulevards, and bustling sidewalk cafes. Geographically situated in an interior region that Spaniards call the heart of the country, Madrid is Spain’s administrative, financial and transportation center. Madrid hosts nearly seven million tourists annually making it the fourth most visited capital city in Europe after London, Paris and Rome.  

With its diversity of architectural styles, Madrid has been called the “city of a thousand faces”. The city absorbed foreign influences and adapted them over the centuries, so today the city has an eclectic mix of architectural styles that include Art Deco, Baroque, Art Nouveau, Francoesque, Neo-classical, and Modernism among others. Visitors will not be disappointed by Madrid’s grandiose vistas.

Many of the historic neighborhoods in Madrid retain their traditional ambience even as the city has developed an infrastructure that provides modern efficient services to its more than three million urban inhabitants. At the heart of the city is Old Madrid where most of the tourist attractions and night-time action can be found. Classy and dignified Ensanche, Madrid’s grandest area, is the home of upscale residences, designer boutiques, embassy buildings and elegant hotels. Of less interest to visitors are the growing suburban regions on the periphery of the city.

Madrid has a relatively homogenous society. Just under 85% of its inhabitants are Spaniards of different backgrounds and ethnicities. In recent years, many young Spaniards have migrated to Madrid from surrounding small rural villages seeking to improve their social life and economic status. Also seeking a better life in this perceived prosperous metropolis are recent immigrants from Latin America, Europe, Asia, North Africa and West Africa.   

At around three square miles, Old Madrid’s narrow winding calles (streets) and broad avenidas (avenues) are easily explored on foot. A fun, adventurous way to discover the city is to simply let your curiosity lead you down one street after the other. An early morning stroll down the small streets will take you past markets just setting out fresh fruits and flowers, poultry, fish, and a wide variety of jamón (ham). You’ll pass boutique owners preparing for a busy day, small family owned cafes serving up strong café con leche (coffee with milk), fresh squeezed orange juice and warm croissants.  

For tourists seeking a more structured and informative itinerary, the Madrid Tourist Information Center located in Plaza Mayor can recommend one of several guided walking tours. The Madrid of Cervantes tour, for instance, focuses on the time of the famous writer Cervantes, author of The Adventures of Don Quixote. The walk follows the streets of an area that at one time was home to great composers, writers, comics and poets. The Medieval Madrid tour takes you through Madrid of the 14th and 15th centuries. You’ll see some of the most ancient and tiny streets that you might miss by following your curiosity. These and other walking tours, costing around $5.00 and lasting for about 90 minutes, are led by knowledgeable and informative guides who speak Spanish, English and, in some cases, French.

Another great way to get a unique view of Madrid is to board one of the open-top Madrid Vision double-decker buses. Following either the Historical or Modern Madrid route, these big red hop on hop off buses make more than 20 stops and cover all of the city’s highlights, from historical sites and monuments to the modern Madrid of skyscrapers and cosmopolitan architecture. After boarding the bus at any of the stops, tourists receive headphones that provide access to audio-guides of the sites in English as well as seven other languages. A ticket for two consecutive days of sightseeing is less than $30.00.  

An even better deal is to buy a MadridCard which includes free or reduced admission to more than 40 major museums, palaces, gardens, theaters, tours including Madrid Vision, car rentals, dining and shopping. Visitors reap additional rewards when they combine the MadridCard with the Tourist Travel Pass, which provides unlimited trips on all of Madrid’s public transportation. Tickets can be purchased online at a 5% discount or in Madrid at the tourist offices, major hotels, the airport or train station and other outlets around the city.  

Regardless of how visitors move around the city, they will find museums, theaters, cathedrals, gardens, plazas, bars, restaurants and busy streets that capture the sum and substance of Old Madrid. In such a compact place, there really is a lot to see and do.

With so many museums to chose from, most visitors put three of them at the top of their must see list - the Museo Prado, one of the finest museums in the world that houses thousands of old masters; the Renina Sofía which displays contemporary art including that of Pablo Picasso; and the Thyssen-Bornemisza which displays Western art from the 13th to the 20th century. This triángulo de arte or triangle of art is considered a must-see experience for true art lovers.  
 
A museum where you will not see any paintings is the Museo del Jamón. This pork palace, located across the street from the Prado, displays 600 hams hanging aromatically from the ceiling and serves up Spain’s best variety of hams, sausages and cheeses. A chain of theme restaurants devoted to the world of ham and sausage, it has additional locations all around Madrid. Ham lovers describe the Jamón Serrano, a kind of smoky, dried ham, as heavenly.