Iglesia de San Nicolás de los Servitas
Madrid
Tucked away up the hill from Calle Mayor, this intimate little church is Madrid’s oldest surviving building of worship; it may have been built on the site…
Must-see attractions in Madrid
Madrid
In the modern northeastern corner of the Antigua Estación de Atocha, this memorial is a moving monument to the victims of the 2004 terrorist attack at the…
Madrid
On the opposite side of the square from the Casa de la Villa, the 15th-century Casa de los Lujanes is Gothic in conception with a clear Mudéjar (a Moorish…
Madrid
Spain’s lower house of parliament was originally a Renaissance building, but it was completely revamped in 1850 and given a facade with a neoclassical…
Madrid
One of few vestiges of the 17th-century Palacio del Buen Retiro, this austere building overlooking the Parque del Buen Retiro has been restored and now…
Madrid
Lope de Vega may be little known outside the Spanish-speaking world, but he was one of the greatest playwrights ever to write in Spanish, not to mention…
Biblioteca Nacional & Museo del Libro
Salamanca
Perhaps the most impressive of the grand edifices erected along the Paseo de los Recoletos in the 19th century, the 1892 Biblioteca Nacional (National…
Chueca
This wax museum, with more than 450 characters, is a fairly standard version of the genre. Models range from the Beatles to Bart Simpson, and from…
Madrid
Officially known as Plaza de Cánovas del Castillo, the next roundabout south of Cibeles is something of a crossroads of Spanish nobility. The Ritz and the…
Madrid
This central Madrid square was being given a major overhaul when we last visited. They'll no doubt find room for the 1927 statue of Cervantes, alongside a…
Madrid
Sloping down the hill behind the Moncloa metro station, Parque del Oeste is quite beautiful, with plenty of shady corners where you can recline under a…
Madrid
One attraction specifically for visually impaired travellers and Spaniards is the Museo Tifológico. Run by the National Organisation for the Blind (ONCE),…
Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas
Madrid
Those who love sumptuous period furniture, ceramics, carpets, tapestries and the like will find themselves passing a worthwhile hour or two here. There’s…
Madrid
Hidden away off Calle de Segovia, this basilica is something of a surprise. Its convex, late-baroque facade sits in harmony with the surrounding buildings…
Madrid
When Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra died in 1616, his body was interred at the Convento de las Trinitarias, which is marked by a plaque. For centuries, no…
Madrid
Architecturally nondescript but culturally curious, this church hides behind sober brickwork on the western end of a quiet square. A closed order of nuns…
Malasaña & Conde Duque
Dominating the skyline about one-third of the way along Gran Vía is the 1920s-era Telefónica building, which was for years the highest building in the…
Madrid
Until recently this 19th-century Italianate palace was a nightclub. It has since been artfully converted to a dynamic artistic space, with major temporary…
Salamanca
The Museo Taurino inhabits a renovated space dedicated to bullfighting legend Manolete, as well as a curious collection of paraphernalia, costumes (the…
Madrid
The Spanish version of the tooth fairy is a cute little mouse called 'El Ratón Perez', and this small museum close to Sol takes you into a recreation of…
Madrid
The plateresque Casa de Cisneros, built in 1537 by the nephew of Cardinal Cisneros, a key adviser to Queen Isabel, was much restored and altered at the…
La Latina & Lavapiés
The triangular Plaza de Lavapiés is one of the few open spaces in Lavapiés and is a magnet for all that’s good (a thriving cultural life) and bad (drugs…
La Latina & Lavapiés
West across Calle de Bailén from La Morería are the terrazas (open-air cafes) of Jardines de Las Vistillas, which offer one of the best vantage points in…
La Latina & Lavapiés
This proud church is more imposing than beautiful. Stern, dark columns with gold-leaf capitals against the rear wall lead your eyes up into the dome – all…
Madrid
Just off the southeastern corner of Plaza Mayor and dominating Plaza de Santa Cruz is this baroque edifice, which houses the Ministerio de Asuntos…
Chueca
Set back amid gardens on the northwest edge of Plaza de la Cibeles stands the Palacio Buenavista, now occupied by the army (and not open to the public)…
La Latina & Lavapiés
Next door to the Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Buen Consejo, the Instituto de San Isidro once went by the name of Colegio Imperial and, from the 16th…
Malasaña & Conde Duque
This 18th-century mansion, rebuilt after a fire in 1936, nestles amid the modern architecture just north of Plaza de España as a reminder of the days when…
La Latina & Lavapiés
This cultural centre is utterly unpredictable, if only because of the quantity and scope of its activities – everything from exhibitions to cinema…
Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía
Madrid
On the western side of Plaza de Ramales is the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, a prestigious musical conservatory that sometimes hosts concerts…
Chueca
A block northwest of the Plaza de la Cibeles is this 16th-century mansion that takes its name from the seven chimneys it still boasts. They say that the…
Salamanca
This foundation organises some of the better temporary exhibitions in Madrid each year and it’s always worth checking its website to see what's on or just…
La Latina & Lavapiés
One building that catches the community spirit of the lively Lavapiés is La Corrala, an example of an intriguing traditional (if much tidied up) tenement…
Madrid
Just down the hill from Plaza de la Villa is the 18th-century baroque remake of the Palacio del Duque de Uceda. Now used as a military headquarters (the…
Madrid
Just inside the Retiro's Puerta de Felipe IV stands what is thought to be Madrid’s oldest tree, a Mexican conifer (ahuehuete) planted in 1633. With a…
Madrid
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547–1616), the author of Don Quijote, spent much of his adult life in Madrid and lived and died at Calle de Cervantes 2; a…
Madrid
The Farmacia Real, at the southern end of the Plaza de la Armería courtyard inside the Palacio Real compound, contains a formidable collection of medicine…
Madrid
On the southern end of the estanque (lake) in the Parque del Buen Retiro, the odd structure decorated with sphinxes is the Fuente Egipcia: legend has it…
Iglesia de Jesús de Medinaceli
Madrid
Up to 100,000 people crowd Iglesia de Jesús de Medinaceli on the first Friday of Lent to kiss the right foot of a wooden sculpture of Christ (besapié;…
Madrid
In the heart of the Parque del Buen Retiro, this building is occasionally used for temporary exhibitions as well as teatro infantil (children’s theatre)…