Si viajas a españa

Madrid is a city with a great offer, you have a lot to visit during the day but also a fabulous nighlife to discover. We offer different routes to learn to know the numerous facets of the city, to discover the fashion's center and the most lordly areas. The common denominator is that all these areas are full of art, culture, green areas and original places. As a matter of course we don't forget to suggest some typical places to have a Spanish lunch, the typical tapas.
You'll also find a few informations for those having time and feeling like knowing the Madrid surroundings.

We have to start our day having a coffee at the Circulo de Bellas Artes Café, also known as La Pecera (the aquarium).This building is the arts badge, work of Antonio Palacios, and its columns, its marble and front steps dazzle the people from Madrid and the tourists since 1919. We always have the possibility to visit on of its exhibitions or conferences from 5pm. If we follow a cultural route on the Alcala street, in direction of the Retiro and its famous Alcala Door, we will find a Catalonian library (Alcala 44) called Blanquerna. Then, near the Cibeles square, where the Real Madrid fans celebrate the main victories, you'll find the Bank of Spain, recently reformed.

The fountain is decorated with the statue of the Cibeles goddess, one of the icon of the city since its construction in the era of Carlos III. Quickly we look at the Madrid town hall building (since 2009). Before ot sheltered the Communications Palace, the headquarters of the post office. The building celebrated its 100. anniverary last year 2009 and will soon offer a panoramic restaurant and some cultural facilities. In front, a very frenchy palace, The Linare Palace, old mansion of the Linares marquess, today it is yje House of America. You can visit it but only by appointment (7 euros), we can see some movies from Latin America. Furthermore we celebrate some cultural events from each country of Latin America (place de Cibeles, 2. 915 954 800, www.casadeamerica.es).
From this point you have a lot of options, take your time: you can take the Recoletos Promenade and have a coffee at the Café Gijón, with its perpetual aroma to literary meetings since 1888. Close by the Mapfre Fundation and La Central library, offering a lot of exhibitions. Close by a lot of bars and fashion restaurants. We recommend the Bristol Bar with its Chesterfield sofa, you can have brunch there on week-ends.

If we go through the small street on the right, Tamayo y Baus, we will find the Maria Guerrero Theater (913 102 949; https://cdn.mcu.es/tmg.php), headquarter of the National Dramatic Center with an excellent programming. If we continue on the Marques de la Ensanada street, on the Villa de Paris square you'll find the Supreme Tribunal.

Turning on the right, on the Génova street, and crossing the modern building of the French Institute, we have to visit two incontrovertible places: the National Library and the Colon square. The National Library is a building with double aims, the guardian of the Spanish bibliographical heritage, but also the headquarters of the archeological Museum (Serrano street. 915 777 912 www.man.mcu.es). The Discovery Park on the Colon square offers imposing sculptures made of concrete, ordered in 1977 to the artist Joaquin Vaquero Turcios to commemorate the discovery of America.
We can now follow the Jorge Juan street, at the corner with the library and the square, to walk in the Salamanca area, the fashion epicentre,  art galleries and traditional glamour. This area is called like that because of the Marquis of Salamanca, who lived there during the XIX. Century and who lined the streets. We realize that the disctrict seems very ordained and majestic. The area atmosphere is worthwhile. 

Reaching the crossroads with the Juan Bravo Street, we discover a raised way crossing the Castellana Promenade. We can walk down the lateral stairs to visit the shopping center ABC Serrano and see its beautiful neomudejar front, created by the same architect of the Spain square in Sevilla, Anibal Gonzalez. In the area we can also visit the Open Museum of the Sculptures, with art works of Chillida, Julio Gonzalez, Miro or Gerardo Rueda. Back on the Serrano street, near the number 122, we will reach the Lázaro Galdiano Museum (915 616 084; www.flg.es) and its imposing collection of various objects: pieces of jewellery, objets made of enamel or ivory, and also paintings of European artists such as Goy and El Greco.

Now we can have a break to eat something, some "pinchos" in a traditional café of the area: the brasserie José Luis for example. And if we have enough energy we can visit two museums: Biology (José Gutiérrez Abascal, 2. 914 111 328; www.mncn.csic.es; 5 euros)  and the Students Residence (www.residencia.csic.es), with its curious temporary exhibitions, always linked to the Spanish culture of the XX. Century. This is also the district of the embassies and probably the area with the best and most expensive restaurant from Madrid: Zalacaín (915 615 935; www.restaurantezalacain.com), in the Alvarez de Baena 4 street, with one star Michelin and five forks.

In front of the Gran Via, reaching the areas of Chueca and Malasaña, we have a more alternate and exciting nightlife. But a diurnal walk offers some surprises: we start in the Callao square, where the great movie centers are concentrated, and we go in the Pez Street, a good place for night leisure. There you'll find the Alfil Theater, with its humorous shows, and a lot of restaurants, original ones like Gumbo (Pez, 15), serving food from Mew Orleans. The Palentino bar is a good example of this typical place, very illuminated and the holy place for the youngs of the area.

Any area has its epicentre and in this case it is the Dos de Mayo square. A very fashionable street is the Espiritu Santo street from the sixties, and reaching the number 12 you'll find an American diner: Home Burger. We can give the Guinness Award for the very high number of bars in this area. 

Another way to explain Malasaña is through their thematic routes, for example, the "azulejos" route. Some of the oldest houses are still made of these typical "azulejos". A great example is the drugstore between the street San Andres and San Vicente Ferrer: the advertisments on the "azulejos" remind us past times. Also a old eggs shop is still showing some old "azulejos", today it is a bar, Casa Compañeiro, also in the San Vicente Ferrer street.

If we prefer the fashion, we recommend the Barco street: offering nice vintage shops, with clothes from the twenties to the seventies. Visit Corachan and Delgado. To find European clothing the shop Solo Amor, also very interesting is the small bookstore second hand "Arrebato Libros", in the street Palma 21. You will find some treasures of the pop culture.

In the other side of the street Fuencarral, the real paradise for the alternative fashion: we are in Chueca, the gay friendly district in Madrid. The Chueca square is the heart of the area, with the tavern Angel Sierra, an inevitable stop.

If we turn over to Gran Via we can walk on Libertad street, Infantas or Reina. In this area, near the Alcala street, you'll find the best cocktails bars: two excelent options are on the Infantas street: Isolée (www.isolee.com), for white wines lovers, and PauseCaféPatisserie, with very good cakes. Great offer in this area that never sleeps.

Esta zona es donde vivieron Quevedo, Góngora y Lope de Vega en el siglo XVII y probablemente repetirían hoy: un barrio lleno de librerías anticuarias, salas de exposiciones, cafés y restaurantes, tiendas de muebles y artesanía y además, con un precioso convento, el de las Trinitarias, que nos traslada al época barroca en la que vivieron los tres sescritores.

Comenzaremos el paseo visitando uno de los edificios más novedosos de la zona: el centro cultural Caixa-forum (paseo del Prado, 36; www.lacaixa.es/obrasocial), proyectado por los arquitectos Herzog y De Meuron e inaugurado en febrero de 2008. La principal atracción del lugar además de sus exposiciones de arte universal, café-restaurante, conciertos y otros eventos, es su bucólico jardín vertical florido, cuya presencia sorprende agradablemente a madrileños y visitantes.

En la plaza contigua está Medialab-Prado (paseo del Prado, 36; www.medialab-prado.es), centro de producción y creación de are y cultura digitales. Y adentrándonos un poco más en el barrio de Las Letras encontramos La Fábrica (plaza de Las Letras; www.lafabrica.es)., una galería de arte especializada en fotografía donde siempre hay alguna exposición que merece la pena. Además, posee una pequeña librería en el número 13 de la cercana calle de Verónica donde se pueden adquirir todas sus cuidadas publicaciones.

We turn to the right by the Fucar street, that changed the name almost immediatly to call Jesus: if we go around there until its corner wwith Lope de Vega Street, we arrive to the Jesus de Medinaceli Church, which sculpture is venerated all fridays and, specially, during the Holy Week. Behind you there is Huertas street, probably the liveliest of the area from the sunset, that is when groups of people of all all ages and places look for bars. But we go on by Lope de Vega looking for the convent of the Trinitarias Descalzas, at the high of the number 18. 

The building is simple and sober. Its church is decorated with the marquis of Laguna coat of arms. The convent was declared national monument in 1921, and the academicians of the Language each 23 of april to pay tribute to Cervantes who was burried there in 1616. The museum- house of Lope de Vega is in the Cervantes street nº11.

If we want to let for a while the XVII century and go back to the XXI one, there is nothing better than go on by Cervantes street

until the corner with the Leon street: in this street, we find restaurants or bars like La Piola or the traditional

pizzeria Cervantes, that, moreover, is famous for its salted pies.

In some shops you can find strange objects and funny clothes of independent designers: La Integral y The rara shop. 

If we go on the walk, we will find the Prado street and with its international restaurant: Olsen, a Swedish with a

vodka night bar and delicious bread rolls in the set meal. 

We go on the street until Santa Ana Place, the most eye-catching of the area and one of the most famous among the

tourists from the north of europe.

In these pubs, Naturbier and Cerveceria Alemana have a german look, and look for echos from their country of origin.

The place displays buildings as the Spanish Theatre, one of the riskiest stages of Madrid. Just in front, on the other

side of the place, the hotel ME freshly renovated, keeps a secret when the sun rises: some sepctacular views from its

terrace roof.

And to end up the day, a classic plan but not less fascinating. It is to go to some bars that organize jazz in live in

the area like the Populart (Huertas 20), or the Cafe Central (plaza del angel nº10) are two nice choices.

And the admirers of the cine of Almodovar can not loose the facade of the Villa Rosa (plaza de Santa Anaº15), the club

where Miguel Bosé marks his bolero “high heel”.

Nuestro punto de partida será la Puerta del Sol, kilómetro cero de las carreteras peninsulares y lugar donde se dan cita miles de madrileños y vistantes a diario: esto la convierte en una especie de no-lugar hipertransitado, pero donde uno no se queda, salvo durante el momento de las campanadas de fin de año. Y no será porque no tiene lugares en los que permanecer: el más añejo de ellos es el salón situado en la planta de arriba de la pastalería La Mallorquina. 

Tras el desayuno continuemos el paseo hacia la plaza Mayor por la calle Postas y atravesemos la plaza para llegar al Arco de Cuchilleros, en torno al cual se apiñan los mesones tradicionales madrileños por especialidades culinarias: el de la tortilla y el del champiñón son de los más concurridos.

En el numéro 6 de la calle de Cuchilleros, Bodegas Ricla podría ser el comienzo de una larga lista de pequeñas tabernas en las que ir probando tapas. La siguiente, Revuelta (Latoneros, 3), con su bacalao rebozado. Pero el verdadero rosario de bares de tapas y restaurantes tradicionales está en la Cava Baja: taberna de Conspiradores, Casa Lucas o Los Huevos de Lucio.

Otro lugar del barrio donde se congregan tanto vecinos como visitantes es la plaza de la Paja, a la espalda de la iglesia de San Andrés. En ella podemos ver uno de los edificios más antiguos de Madrid: la Capilla del Obispo, del siglo XVI. Para contrastar con el estilo renacentista del edificio, muy cerca de él se halla un hombre de bronce sentado en un banco, convertido ya en personaje popular en la plaza. Otro clásico de este recinto es el restaurante ruso El Cosaco, que sirve comida de ese país en la ciudad desde 1969. 

Al abandonar la plaza es inevitable toparse con la basílica de San Francisco el Grande, que presume de cúpula grande: la segunda del mundo en diámetro después de la de San Pedro del Vaticano. No nos perdamos, una vez dentro, un lienzo titulado San Bernardino de Siena predicando, de Goya: en él aparece retratado el mismo pintor camuflado entre la multitud.

Y acercándonos a la estación de metro de La Latina nos aproximamos a los inicios del Rastro: la plaza de Tirso de Molina, son sus modernos quioscos de flores en forma de cubo. Tirso de Molina también es la frontera con el castizo barrio de Lavapiés: las calles que bajan desde allí en pronunciada pendiente (Jesús y María, Lavapiés) nos conducirán directas a la plaza que da el nombre al distrito. Se trata de un barrio muy internacional: asiáticos, africanos y latinos recorren las calles de lo que hoy es también su barrio. Los bares de la calle Argumosa son apuestas seguras, como el Automático y el Eucalipto. Otra opción es tomar la calle de Tribulete desde la plaza y acercarnos a la archipopular corrala de Sombrerete, declarada monumento nacional en 1977.  Situada en la esquina de las calles de Mesón de Paredes y Sombrerete, es la más grande y mejor conservada de esta modalidad de vivienda tradicional madrileña, en la que las puertas de cada uno de los pisos asoman a un patio central. Muy cerca está la preciosa biblioteca de la UNED, construida en las ruinas de la iglesia de las Escuelas Pías de San Fernando: merece la pena entrar a echarle un vistazo a su ingeniosa reforma arquietectónica. y como colofón, lo idóneo sería poder ver una panorámica del barrio desde lo alto: el café Gaudeamus que nos ofrece su azotea para cenar o tomar cafés y copas. Y si da tiempo, siempre se puede ir al antiguo Cine Doré, sede de la Filmoteca Nacional, donde siempre proyectan buen cine.

The building of the cultural centre Conde Duque (www.munimadrid.es/condeduque), an old barracks of the XVIII century, is a good starting point for our walk. It housed the “Reales Guardias de corps” Company at which belong the one who, after, will be the King Carlos IV, Manuel Godoy, painted by Goya in the painting “The battle of the oranges”.

The barracks owns two big courtyards and they show the exhibitions and the annual summer headquarters of the best concerts at open air in Madrid: there, played and sang some artists like Caetano Veloso, Paolo Conte or Cesaria Evora. The place of Comendadores deserves as well a visit with its typical bars like El Moderno and the one of the Comendadoras, classic places to meet in summer or in winter. If we go on on the street Conde Duque, and we go to the Cristino Martos Place, we will have very close the Princesa Street and the España place: we go towards there, very close to Liria Palace (Princesa 20; 915 410 377), residence of the consecutives duchesses of Alba from the beginning of the XIX century. The palace, with a magnificent art gallery and a nice garden, can be visited on Friday mornings before arranging an appointment.

After going all over the square, the best idea is to look for an Egyptian touch in Madrid: the Debod temple (Paseo Pintor Rosales s/n; from Tuesday to Friday, 9.45-13.45 and 16.15-18.15, Saturday and Sunday, 10.00-14.00), gift of the Egyptian government to the Spanish one in 1968 and declared good of cultural interest in 2008. The temple is posed on a platform surrounded by water, is very nice when it is getting dark. We can go on our walk by the nice Pintor Rosales Avenue, full of terraces, restaurants, or by the West Park.

But if we want to follow the steps of Goya, we have to go down the “cuesta san Vicente” and take the direction of the Paseo de la Florida: there is Principe Pio train station, in the style of the 19th century, that today counts on a new commercial and leisure centre inside.

But our destination is one block farer, in the Paseo: there is the San Antonio chapel (Glorieta de la Florida. Every day: 8.30-13.00 and 18.00-19.00) and its twin sister, built in the XXI century. The oldest is the Francisco de Goya Pantheon and there is no liturgy celebration, except the pagan pilgrimages to venerate the painter memory. It’s necessary to look up; there are frescos on the cupola and on the roof, painted by Goya in 1798. Completely restored in 2005, the paintings convert this old church in an unavoidable place to visit, not just to ask a boyfriend for the young women (Each 13th of June), but for everyone who wants to see the San Antonio miracle like Goya conceived it: with all the characters dressed with clothes from the XVIII typical from Madrid.

If we are hungry, we go to the Mingo House (Paseo de la Florida 34, every days from 11.00-24.00), where the posters of “singing is forbidden” discourages the potential customer to sing Asturia, dear homeland. We liked everything in the Mingo Home: entire chickens for 8.50€, portions of “cabrales” and the decoration in dark wood and the old waiters. In summer, after a delicious asturian dinner is possible to watch a movie outside close to eh Bombilla Park.