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The Plaza Mayor, a grand arcaded square in the center of Madrid is very popular with tourists and locals alike. The symmetrical rectangular square features a uniform architecture, very similar to the contemporary Place des Vosges in Paris. History During the middle ages the site was just a market place outside the city walls. In the 1560s, King Philip II asked Juan de Herrera, architect of the Escorial, to turn the market place into a real square. It would take until 1617, during the reign of King Philips III, before the construction of the new Plaza Mayor started. Under the direction of Herrera's successor, Statue of King Philips III, Plaza Mayor Statue of King Philips III Juan Gómez de la Mora, the plaza was completed in just two years.
The result was a large square, measuring 120m long and 90m wide (394ft x 295ft). It was surrounded by wooden buildings, at one point up to six stories high. Fires destroyed all the buildings around the Plaza Mayor three times in history: in 1631, 1672 and 1790. Each time they were rebuilt, the last reconstruction after a design by Juan de Villanueva is what we see today.
Plaza Mayor Festivities Since its creation, the Plaza Mayor has been the center of festivities, bull fights, royal coronations and executions. These would be attended by as many as 50,000 spectators. It is still used today for public celebrations.
Statue At the center of the square is a bronze statue of King Philips III, constructed in 1616 by the Italian sculptors Giovanni de Bologna and his apprentice Pietro Tacca. In 1848 it was moved from the Casa de Casa de la Panaderia, Plaza Mayor, Madrid Casa de la Panaderia Campo to the Plaza Mayor. Around the same time, the plaza was redesigned with gardens, but those were removed in 1936.
Casa de la Panaderia The most prominent building on the Plaza Mayor is the Casa de la Panaderia, the seat of the powerful baker's guilt. It was completed as early as 1590, before the square was even laid out. Its current design with symmetric towers dates from after the last fire in 1790. The colorful allegoric murals were only added recently, in 1992.
2. Royal Palace
The Palacio Real or Royal Palace is the largest and certainly one of the most impressive palaces in Europe. It has more than 2000 luxuriously decorated rooms, 50 of which can be visited. It is located on the east of Madrid's historic center, within walking distance of the Plaza de España. History Royal Palace, Madrid Royal Palace Soon after the Royal Fortress burned down on Christmas Eve of 1734, King Philips V wanted to replace the fortress by a palace, this time built from limestone and granite to make it fireproof. It was to be modeled loosely on the Versailles Palace near Paris, where Philips V had spent part of his youth. Construction of the new palace started in 1938 based on a design by the Italian architect Juan Bautista Sachetti. 26 Years and three kings later, the huge palace, covering an area of 135,000m2, was completed. It would take another 100 Plaza de la Armeria, Palacio Real, Madrid Plaza de la Armeria years before all the rooms were decorated.
The Palace Visitors enter the Palace via the large Plaza de la Armería. Some of the sumptuous rooms accessible to visitors are the 400m2 large dining room, the Sala de Porcelana (china room) and the Salón del Trono (throne room) with red velvet walls. The palace also includes the Arméria Real, the royal army museum. It contains a beautiful collection of armory, including King Charles V's armour suit.
Royal Residence King Carlos III, son of King Philips V moved into the new palace in 1764. The Palacio Real would be the main residence of the Spanish kings until 1931, when king Alfonso XIII went into exile Royal Palace from the Campo del Moro, Madrid View from the Campo del Moro after republicans had won the elections and demanded him to step down. Today the royal family lives in the small Zarzuela Palace, a former hunting lodge outside Madrid. The Royal Palace is still used for official ceremonies and receptions.
Campo del Moro The Palace is bordered on the east by the Campo del Moro, a large park that goes uphill from the Rio Manzanares Plaza de Oriente, Madrid Plaza Oriente to the Royal Palace. From the green lawn in front of the park, you have a nice unobstructed view of the palace.
Plaza Oriente In front of the Palace is the Plaza Oriente, a beautiful square with an equestrian statue of Philips IV. The Royal Palace originally bore the same name as the square, Palacio Oriente, or East Palace. Statues of queens are all over the square. The intention was to put these statues on top of the palace but they were too heavy, so they were placed on the square in front of the palace instead.
3. Parque del Retiro
The Parque del Buen Retiro is the most popular park in Madrid. It can get crowded during weekends when many Madrilenian families go for a stroll in the park and street musicians, sidewalk painters, fortune tellers, jugglers and street performers animate the crowd. Parque del Retiro, Madrid A Royal Park The Retiro Park was created as a royal park; it belonged to the Real Sitio del Buen Retiro palace. In 1632, the palace was built by King Philips IV as a retreat for the Royal family. Retiro stands for retreat, hence the name of the park and palace. At the time the park was well outside the city walls, but now Madrid has completely enclosed the Retiro park. The 130ha or 320acre large royal park opened to the public in 1868. It Fountain at the Retiro Park is partially laid out in a formal French style, while other parts are more natural.
Museo del Ejército Of the original palace, only two buildings survived, the rest was destroyed during the Napoleonic wars. One of the remaining buildings houses the Museo del Ejército, an army museum. The museum covers Spain's military history. It contains a nice collection of armor. The most important item in the collection is the sword of El Cid or La Tizona. Not really weaponry, but another notable item on display Alfonso XII Monument, Retiro Park Alfonso XII Monument is the cross that Columbus took with him to the New World. The other surviving building is the Casón del Buen Retiro, a museum with a collection of 19th and 20th century paintings, including works by Joaquín Sorolla.
The Lake Close to the northern entrance of the Parque del Retiro is a large artificial lake, the Estanque del Retiro. Here you can rent a rowing boat, especially popular during weekends. A large monument with an equestrian statue of King Alfonso XII overlooks the lake. The monument, erected in 1922 by King Alfonso's mother, consists of a semicircular colonnade with an Palacio de Cristal Parque del Retiro Palacio de Cristal equestrian statue of the King in front.
Palacios More to the south is another, much smaller lake. At the edge of the lake is a beautiful glass building, the Palacio de Cristal. Built in 1887 by Ricardo Velázquez Bosco after the Crystal Palace in London, it was initially used to house exotic plants brought over from the Philippines. It is now mainly used for temporary exhibitions. Nearby is another pavilion, the Palacio de Velázquez, designed in 1884 by the same architect. Now also used Palacio de Velázquez, Parque del Retiro Palacio de Velázquez for temporary exhibitions, it originally served as a pavilion for the national exhibition of the mining, metal, glass and ceramics industry.
Satan Another feature of the park is the Rose Garden, the Rosaleda. And possibly the most remarkable feature of the Retiro Park is one of its statues, El Angel Caído. It is dedicated to Satan, possibly the only such statue in Europe.
Location The Retiro Park is located east of the city center, not far from the Prado Museum. Its main entrance is near the Alcala Gate, at the Plaza de la Independence.
4. Gran Via
The one street you shouldn't miss on your trip to Madrid is the Gran Via, a showcase of early 20th century architecture. Gran Via, Madrid Gran Via The lively street is one of the city's most important shopping areas. It also contains a large number of hotels and large movie theaters. But what makes this street so special it the architectural design of many of the large buildings. While walking through this crowded street make sure you look up once in a while and admire the often lavishly decorated grand 'edificios'.
Conception In the mid 19th century, Madrid's urban planners decided that a new thoroughfare had to be created, connecting the Calle de Alcalá with the Plaza de España. The project required many buildings in Metropolis Building, Madrid Edificio Metropolis (left) Edificio Grassy (right) the center of the city to be demolished. Decades after the first plans were made, construction still hadn't started and the media ridiculed the project, cynically calling it the 'Gran Via' or 'Great Road'. Finally in 1904 it was approved and construction started a couple of years later. The last part of the street was completed in 1929.
Grand Edificios The new road created opportunities for architects, who had the ability to create large buildings in the latest architectural styles. The first eye catching building starting from the Calle de Alcalá is the most famous of all, the Edificio Metrópolis or Metropolis building. The landmark was built between 1907 and 1911 after a design by the architects Jules & Raymond Février. The original statue was Edificio Telefonica, Madrid Edificio Telefónica replaced in 1975 by a statue of a winged Goddess Victoria.
A bit further along the Gran Via, on the left hand side is another landmark, the Edificio Grassy, another corner building with a small tower. It was built in 1917. From the Edificio Grassy, you can already see the tower of the Telefónica building, a skyscraper built between 1926 and 1929 for the Spanish telecommunications company. The 88m/290ft high building was the largest in Madrid and would have been a good fit in Chicago. Not surprisingly, the architect of the Telefónica building was an American, Louis S. Weeks.
Plaza del Callao If you walk further in the direction of the Plaza de España the Gran Edificio de Espana Edificio de España Via crosses a small square, the Plaza del Callao. This square is the heart of cinematic Madrid, with about six movie theaters. One of them, the Capitol, is located in a beautiful Art Deco building.
Plaza de España The last part of the Gran Via, constructed between 1925 and 1929 leads to the Plaza de España, a large square dominated by two skyscrapers built in the 1950s, the symmetric Edificio de España and the Torre de Madrid. Here the Gran Via becomes the Calle de Princessa, leading north to the Arco de la Victoria.
5. Plaza de España
The Plaza de España is one of Madrid's largest and most popular squares. On a sunny day it is filled with street vendors, tourists and sunbathing locals. Edificio de Espana Edificio de España The square is located at the end of the beautiful Gran Via, one of Madrid's busiest streets. The green square is surrounded by streets, but it is still a very relaxing place during daytime. It features a large fountain and famous statue honoring the Spanish writer Cervantes.
History Located close to the Palacio Real (Royal Palace), the site was occupied by Torre de Madrid Torre de Madrid a barrack. After it was demolished, a new public square was created. It became a popular meeting place in the 1950s, after two of Madrid's largest buildings were constructed: the Edificio de España and the Torre de Madrid. Both buildings were constructed by the project developer Metropolitana and designed by the Otamendi brothers.
Skyscrapers The Edificio de España was built between 1947 and 1953 and is the most elegant of the two skyscrapers. It consists of a central 25 story tower flanked by two wings. The Torre de Madrid was built in 1957. At the time of construction, it was the tallest concrete building in the Monument to Miguel de Cervantes, Plaza de Espana Monument to Miguel de Cervantes world with a height of 142m or almost 466ft. Nicknamed La Jirafe or 'giraffe', it was the tallest building in Madrid until the Torre Picasso was built in 1989.
Monument to Miguel de Cervantes The most popular sight at the Plaza de España is the monument to Miguel de Cervantes, writer of the world famous story of Don Quixote de la Mancha and his trusty squire, Sancho Panza. Visitors flock to the monument to get their picture taken in front of the bronze statues of Don Quixote on his horse and Sancho Panza on his mule. Behind them a is statue of Cervantes himself, looking over his creations.
