Discovering new places

The Market of San Miguel (Spanish: Mercado de San Micuel) is a covered market originally built in 1916, it was purchased by private investors in 2003 who renovated the iron structure and reopened it in 2009.

San Miguel Market is the most popular market in Madrid among tourists since it is located in the center of Madrid, within walking distance from Plaza Mayor. The market is not a traditional grocery market but a gourmet tapas market, with over 30 different vendors selling a wide variety of freshly prepared tapas, hams, olives, baked goods and other foods. Beer, wine and champagne are also available.

The Puerta del Sol (Spanish for “Gate of the Sun”) is a Madrid public square, one of the best known and busiest places in the city. This is the centre (Km 0) of the radial network of Spanish roads. The square also contains the famous clock whose bells mark the traditional eating of the Twelve Grapes and the beginning of a new year. The New Year’s celebration has been broadcast live on national television since 31 December 1962.

La Latina is one of the most genuinely authentic neighbourhoods in the city of Madrid. It is located in the centre, and its mediaeval streets are arranged around the squares of La Cebada and La Paja.

Together with Cibeles Fountain, Neptuno Fountain is one of the most beautiful and majestic fountains in Madrid. Both gods occupy prominent positions within Greek mythological hierarchy and are rivals on the sports field, since the followers of Atlético de Madrid celebrate their victories in the square that plays tribute to the god of the sea, while those of Real Madrid do so in the Plaza de la Cibeles.

The Cibeles Fountain, built in 1782 is one of the symbols of Madrid. Situated in the center of the Plaza de Cibeles, the square to which it has lent its name, it is surrounded by the buildings of Buenavista Palace (the Army Headquarters), Linares Palace (the Casa de América cultural institution), Palacio de Comunicaciones (which was previously the main Post Office and is now Madrid City Hall), and the Bank of Spain.

At over a hundred years old, Gran Vía, in the Sol / Gran Vía area, is one of the city’s main arteries and one of its most iconic avenues. Its construction, between 1910 and 1931, marked the beginning of the modernisation of the city, with the appearance of the country’s first skyscrapers and the adoption of modern architectural trends originating in the United States.

The Plaza Callao, famed as much for its role as the heart of cinematic and theatrical Madrid as it is for its eternal bustle and art deco style. Architecture, cinema buffs, and interested visitors will all find much to discover here. Beyond a wide variety of plays and movies, the square itself looks like the embodiment of an 1920s architect’s imagined “city of the future”. It’s a place for gawking as much as exploring.

This is an Egyptian temple dating back to the 2nd century BC, transported to Madrid’s Cuartel de la Montaña Park. The temple was donated to Spain by the Egyptian government to save it from floods following the construction of the great Aswan Dam.

Home to the Kings of Spain from Charles III to Alfonso XIII, Madrid’s Royal Palace takes us on a journey through the history of Spain. Though it is no longer the royal family’s home, it continues to be their official residence.

Long before Madrid became the capital of Spain, Emir Mohamed I chose Magerit (the city’s Arabic name) as the site for a fortress to protect Toledo from the advancing Christians. The building was eventually used by the Kings of Castille until finally becoming what would be known as the Antiguo Alcázar (Old Fortress) in the 14th century. Charles I and his son Philip II turned the building into a permanent residence for the Spanish royal family. However, in 1734 a fire burnt the Palace of Los Austrias to the ground, and Philip V ordered the construction of the palace that stands today.

Madrid’s opera house, designed by the architect Antonio López Aguado during the reign of Queen Isabella I, was inaugurated in 1850 (although the first stone was laid on 23 April 1818). Located a stone’s throw from Puerta del Sol, the building was one of Europe’s leading theatres for over 75 years, until it was deemed unsafe in 1925 and closed for 41 years. In 1966 it was reopened as a concert hall with the Spanish National Orchestra as its resident orchestra. In 1977 it was declared a National Monument and in 1997, after 7 years of extensive works, the Teatro Real once again became home to Madrid’s opera scene.

The street Calle Mayor in Madrid hides a treasure from the Spanish Golden Age, whose existence is not commonly known. It is the ¨ narrow building¨, the house where lived the famous Spanish dramaturge Pedro Calderón de la Barca.