The Madrid subway system was super easy to use, including the automatic ticket machines in English and the informative signage everywhere. The trains and stations were super clean and without graffiti - a huge departure from the subway system we've been riding in Buenos Aires.
Here is a visual of the main Madrid landmarks in relation to each other. You can see that most of the sights fall between the Royal Palace on the west end and Retiro Park on the east end, which is only about 2.5 km or a 30-40 minute leisurely walk from end-to-end. CALLE MAYOR is the main east-west road and was the important street in Madrid during the Habsburg Monarchy.
The ROYAL PALACE OF MADRID (Palacio Real de Madrid) is the official Madrid residence of the Spanish royal family, but is only used for state ceremonies, so they don't actually live in this building. The royal family has been in Madrid since 1561 and this current palace was built back in 1764 to replace a previous one burnt by a fire. It is the largest palace in Europe.
ALMUDENA CATHEDRAL is the official cathedral of Madrid and is quite new for European standards. Construction began in 1883 but was stalled for many reasons, including changing the building plans from a church to a cathedral, civil war of the 1930s, and another change in design to match the architecture of the Royal Palace next door. The cathedral was finally completed in 1993.
PLAZA DE ORIENTE is a nice park, so named because it lies on the east side of the Royal Palace. The plaza is lined with 44 statues of former Spanish kings. A statue of King Felipe IV on a horse takes center stage.
The next major stopping point going east from the palace is PLAZA MAYOR. It is a huge rectangular plaza with many streets coming into it. There are 237 balconies facing the Plaza, most of which are actual residences. The Plaza has been around since early 1600s, but had to be reconstructed in 1790s due to a massive fire. The Plaza has changed names multiple times, and has seen many events including markets, bullfights, soccer games, and public executions during the Spanish Inquisition. The bronze statue is of King Philp II constructed in 1616.
Very close to Plaza Mayor to the west is MERCADO DE SAN MIGUEL. The name comes from a 13th century church by the name of Iglesia de San Martin de los Octoes that used to be here before a fire destroyed it. The open area then became a fish market, then a covered market in 1916. Unfortunately, the San Miguel market began to deteriorate due to growing competition from modern supermarkets. However, a group called El Gastrónomo de San Miguel bought and restored the marketplace, and has been a gourmet Spanish food center since 2009. There are many different food stalls specializing in Spanish ham, roasted nuts, olives, fruit, croquettes, meat, seafood, pasta, etc. Most vendors sell prepared foods that you can consume on-the-spot while you walk around with a glass of wine or sangria.
Our hostel and our friends' hotel were close to PUERTA DEL SOL, so this plaza was a good meeting spot. It means "Gate of the Sun" and is considered the symbolic center (kilometer 0) of Spain and also the heart of Madrid. It was truly a central hub, as most roads lead in and out of this square.
As we walk towards Retiro Park to the east, we come across PLAZA CIBELES with a huge fountain in the center of the roundabout which the football club, Real Madrid, has adopted and the fans use this area to celebrate its triumphs. A flag of Real Madrid is usually wrapped around the statue. A very prominent building is Palacio de Linares, originally built in 1873 by a rich banker. It is now a cultural center and gallery on Latin American art.
By walking a few minutes south from Plaza Cibeles down Paseo del Prado, we arrive at MUSEO DEL PRADO - one of the worlds greatest museums of art. One part of the museum exterior was being worked on, but we barely noticed the scaffolding because it was covered by a drawing of the exterior! Very clever.
There are large amounts of artwork by Spanish masters such as Velasquez and Goya. We didn't have a lot of time to spare, so it was helpful that the Prado map and brochure highlighted the top 50 or so paintings with their room numbers, so we primarily focused on viewing the essential pieces. Here are a few of the more famous paintings.
Above: Bosch's "The Garden of Earthly Delights"
Above: A room full of Goya's dark paintings
Above: Goya's "The Third of May 1808 in Madrid"
Above: Goya's "Saturn Devouring His Child"
Right next door to the Prado Museum is the ROYAL BOTANICAL GARDENS. The weather was so hot, the poor plants looked quite sad. However, the dahlias were blooming in the most vibrant colors and they seemed to be loving the 110F heat.
By walking all the way south on Paseo del Prado, we come across the more contemporary art museum, Reina Sofia. We had one singular objective in mind - to view the large Picasso masterpiece, The Guernica. We also got to see some famous originals by Dali. We were able to take photos of Dali paintings, but there were lots of security around the Guernica and definitely no photos, although I couldn't resist sneaking in a shot from behind one of the museum attendants.
One of the eastern most landmarks in Madrid's historic center is PUERTA DE ALCALÁ in Plaza de la Independencia. King Charles III commissioned this large monumental gate in 1774.
The entrance to PARQUÉ DEL BUEN RETIRO is right by the Puerta de Alcalá. Retiro Park was a bit big to spend a leisurely day in 110F heat, but we were champs and walked the entire length of the park. It looked like a nice place to hang out on a more cooler day. The heat was stifling, even in the shade.
We did all of this in 48 hours and in 110F heat! The only major sight we didn't get to see was the Temple of Debod, an ancient Egyptian temple donated to Spain in gratitude for their help in saving some Egyptian temples from getting flooded by a dam that was being built in the 1960s.
We loved Madrid and wished we could stay longer. There's something full-circle about having spent 3 months in South America where many of the areas we visited were colonized by Spain; to then come to the "mother-land" where it all started. They share many similarities, yet so different. Madrid was also a nice change where suddenly everything seemed to be a lot easier, more predictable, more structured, and less chaotic. We think it is a perfect city for a newbie traveler because it is such an easy city to get around, has all the history and beauty of an old European city, unique culture and food, with a modern infrastructure.
