Madrid
If a wealthy Madrid nobleman ever wanted to impress, he went to the Real Fábrica de Tapices, where royalty commissioned the pieces that adorned their…
Must-see attractions in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid’s botanical gardens are a leafy oasis in the centre of town, though they're not as expansive or as popular as the Parque del Buen Retiro. With some…
Madrid
The Valencian artist Joaquín Sorolla immortalised the clear Mediterranean light of the Valencian coast. His Madrid house, a quiet mansion surrounded by…
Madrid
This imposing triumphal gate was once the main entrance to the city (its name derives from the fact that the road that passed under it led to Alcalá de…
Madrid
This museum will appeal to those who always wondered what the Spanish Armada really looked like. On display are quite extraordinary models of ships from…
Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Buen Consejo
La Latina & Lavapiés
Towering above the northern end of bustling Calle de Toledo, and visible through the arches from Plaza Mayor, this imposing church long served as the city…
Madrid
This extraordinary structure is one of Madrid's most eye-catching landmarks. Seeming to hover above the ground, the brick edifice is topped by an…
Museo Municipal de Arte Contemporáneo
Malasaña & Conde Duque
This rich collection of modern Spanish art includes mostly paintings and graphic art with a smattering of photography, sculpture and drawings. Highlights…
Madrid
Plaza de Olavide is one of Madrid’s most agreeable public spaces, a real barrio special. There are park benches, two children's playgrounds, and bars with…
Salamanca
The showpiece National Archaeology Museum contains a sweeping accumulation of artefacts behind its towering facade. Daringly redesigned within, the museum…
Madrid
The exquisite frescoes of the 17th-century Real Casa de la Panadería rank among Madrid’s more eye-catching sights. The present frescoes date to just 1992…
Iglesia de San Jerónimo El Real
Madrid
Tucked away behind Museo del Prado, this chapel was traditionally favoured by the Spanish royal family, and King Juan Carlos I was crowned here in 1975…
Salamanca
This fascinating open-air collection of 17 abstract sculptures includes works by renowned Basque artist Eduardo Chillida, Catalan master Joan Miró, as…
Madrid
Founded by Empress Margarita de Austria, this 17th-century mansion built in the Madrid baroque style (a pleasing amalgam of brick, exposed stone and…
Madrid
One of Madrid's more surprising and diverse cultural spaces, CentroCentro is housed in the grand Palacio de Comunicaciones. It has cutting-edge…
Madrid
After a decade closed, this supremely ugly Madrid landmark just in front of Museo de América reopened in 2015. It looks out over the northern corner of…
La Latina & Lavapiés
The area stretching northwest from Iglesia de San Andrés to the viaduct was the heart of the morería (Moorish Quarter). Strain the imagination a little…
Madrid
The focal point for so much of El Retiro’s life is the artificial estanque (lake), which is watched over by the massive ornamental structure of the…
Madrid
In the northeastern corner of El Retiro, this small country chapel is among the few, albeit modest, examples of extant Romanesque architecture in Madrid…
Madrid
The formal French-style Jardines de Sabatini are to the north of the Palacio Real, a palace with lush gardens.
Madrid
This amusement park in the Casa de Campo has the usual collection of high-adrenaline rides, shows for the kids and kitsch at every turn. In the Zona de…
Madrid
Madrid’s zoo, in the Casa de Campo, is a fairly standard European city zoo home to about 3000 animals. Exhibits range from white Siberian tigers to mambas…
Madrid
You don’t have to be a trainspotter to enjoy this railway museum – you’ll see as many kids as anoraks – but it helps. Housed in the disused 1880s Estación…
Ateneo Científico, Literario y Artístico de Madrid
Madrid
This venerable club of learned types was founded in 1821, although the building took on its present form in 1884. Its library prompted Benito Pérez Galdós…
Madrid
The main building on the Plaza de la Puerta del Sol houses the regional government of the Comunidad de Madrid. The Casa de Correos was built as the city’s…
Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Almudena
Madrid
Paris has Notre Dame and Rome has St Peter’s Basilica. In fact, almost every European city of stature has its signature cathedral, a standout monument to…
Madrid
Sometimes called the ‘lungs of Madrid’, this 17-sq-km stand of greenery stretches west of the Río Manzanares. There are prettier and more central parks in…
Museo Nacional de Antropología
Madrid
The National Anthropology Museum houses collections of clothing, images and everyday objects from indigenous cultures in Africa, Asia and the Americas…
Madrid
The Plaza de la Puerta del Sol owes its present appearance in part to the Bourbon king Carlos III (r 1759–88), whose equestrian statue (complete with his…
Madrid
In 1992 the northwestern wing of the Antigua Estación de Atocha was given a stunning overhaul. The structure of this grand iron-and-glass relic from the…
La Latina & Lavapiés
The Capilla del Obispo is a hugely important site on the historical map of Madrid. It was here that San Isidro Labrador, patron saint of Madrid, was first…
Madrid
Look out for the statue of a bear nuzzling a madroño (strawberry tree) at the eastern end of the Plaza de la Puerta del Sol; this is the official symbol…
Madrid
Empire may have become a dirty word but it defined how Spain saw itself for centuries. Spanish vessels crossed the Atlantic to the Spanish colonies in…
La Latina & Lavapiés
High above Calle de Segovia, Madrid's viaduct, which connects La Morería with the cathedral and royal palace, was built in the 19th century and replaced…
Madrid
The 17th-century Casa de la Villa (old town hall), on the western side of the Plaza de la Villa, is a typical Habsburg edifice with Herrerian slate-tiled…
Madrid
This pleasant little triangle of open space is not without historical intrigue. Joseph Bonaparte ordered the destruction of the Iglesia de San Juanito to…
Madrid
Behind the cathedral apse and down Cuesta de la Vega is a short stretch of the original ‘Arab Wall’, the city wall built by Madrid’s early-medieval Muslim…
La Latina & Lavapiés
This fine old church is one of the few remaining windows on post-Muslim Madrid, most notably its clearly Mudéjar (a Moorish architectural style) brick…
Antiguo Cuartel del Conde Duque
Malasaña & Conde Duque
This grand former barracks dominates Conde Duque on Malasaña's western fringe with its imposing facade stretching 228m down the hill. Built in 1717 under…
Salamanca
So extraordinary is the Palacio de Comunicaciones on Plaza de la Cibeles that many visitors fail to notice this fine 19th-century pleasure dome that…