The city’s bourgeois expansion is the Salamanca district, with its grand boulevards and orderly streets, where palatial embassies alternate, as that of Italy with the most luxurious stores and restaurants. Although no one knows it as such, it is actually a district that has six neighborhoods: Recoletos, Goya, Fuente del Berro, Guindalera, Lista and Castellana. It acquires the man of its promoter, creator and builder: the Marquis of Salamanca.
In the middle of the 19th century, the Villa y Corte was becoming too small and outdated and José de Salamanca y Mayol, the Marquis, spent his fortune in creating this new neighborhood, more modern, more hygienic (toilets in the bathrooms and running water were included) and more European. He would never recover financially, but the city gained its most buoyant and prosperous neighborhood, which has remained as wealthy and exclusive over time as it was conceived.
What to see in Salamanca neighborhood
The Arab House
The Casa Árabe is located on a kind of islet between roads in front of the Retiro. It is a neo-Mudejar building erected in 1886 by the architect Emilio Rodríguez Ayuso, who conceived it as a building capable of housing educational spaces of great innovation for the time, such as a gymnasium, library, school museum, playground, music room, and even a meteorological observatory located in the tower. In 2006, Casa Árabe was established here, which is a strategic center for Spain’s relations with the Arab world.
📍 Calle de Alcalá, 62
El Pilar School
The modern history of this country has been forged in the corridors of the Colegio Nuestra Señora del Pilar. Rubalcaba, Aznar, Savater, Cebrián… The list of relevant people who have been educated at this school is long and the parents who make the queue for a day and a half every year to enroll their children know this. The neo-Gothic and medievalist building dates back to 1910 and was founded by the Countess of Vega del Pozo and Duchess of Sevillano to provide training and instruction to poor girls.
📍 Calle de Castelló, 56
National Archaeological Museum
Its architecture alone (a renovation carried out by Frade Arquitectos in 2008) makes it worthwhile to enter this space of smooth lines, infinite vanishing points and an aesthetic that continues to faithfully respect the essence of what it was: the Palace of the Library and National Museums, a 19th-century neoclassical building that shares space with the current National Library.
Outside, a charming garden and a replica of the Altamira Cave that has been in this corner of the city since the 1960s. Inside, 40 rooms and more than 13,000 archaeological objects. From Prehistory to Greece through Egypt, the MAN is to go and not stop to return: the Lady of Elche, the Lady of Baza (a must), the bulls of Costitx, the coffin of Taremetchenbastet or the impressive box of ushebtis of Khabekhent …. a concentration of the great pieces that explain civilizations.
📍 Calle de Serrano,13
Modern Madrid
The houses of Madrid Moderno (houses of modernist aesthetics located in the neighborhood of Guindalera) began to be built in 1890 and were demolished during the 70s of the last century while some of the neighbors took a stand against this destruction. And although at the time a hundred modernist houses were built, there are now only about ten houses left standing. The remains of a Madrid that no longer exists.
📍Distributed between Castelar and Roma streets.
Valencia Tower
The Tower of Valencia, a reference work in the madrilenian brutalism and one of the residential buildings madrid, it does not go unnoticed.
At 94 meters high and 27 stories, the Torre de Valencia is now the fifteenth tallest building in Madrid and one of architect Javier Carvajal’s most recognized buildings. Any mention of the history of Torre de Valencia is usually accompanied by a question: how could such a tall building be built in such an area? With a couple of bureaucratic capers.
4 O’Donnell St. and 9 Menéndez Pelayo Ave
Amboage Palace
What is now the Italian Embassy was once the palace of the Marquis of Amboage, one of the most important Italian embassies in the world the most emblematic of the city. This giant that occupies an entire city block, built at the beginning of the 20th century, housed the Madrid City Hall for a time when the capital was ravaged by the Civil War. Finished in marble, bronze and wrought iron, its stained glass window from the Maumejean house, its art collection and other decorative elements make this 1,350-square-meter residence one of the neighborhood’s greatest treasures.
Mint Museum
Located next to the Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre, this museum is known to many for being one of the targets of what is probably the best known gang of thieves in Spanish fiction. Nevertheless, not everyone knows that the locations where Money Heist was actually filmed correspond to the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas and the presses of the ABC newspaper. Beyond its references in fiction, it is one of the most important museums in the world in this genre. Its unparalleled collection allows visitors to trace the history of money from its origins, and the visit is free of charge.
📍 Calle Dr. Esquerdo, 36
What to eat in Salamanca neighborhood
Treze
One of Salamanca’s must-visits: the Treze is on our list of the best restaurants in Salamanca best menus of the day this recognition is backed by many and has been earned by a gastronomic proposal that has been offering quality at a good price since it opened its doors in 2010. Whether you take advantage of their daily menu or not, eating at Treze is always a good choice.
📍 Calle del General Pardiñas, 34
Bel Mondo
Bel Mondo is that Italian restaurant that teeters on the line between good and tacky. The difficult thing in a world conquered by pasta dishes is to be surprised by any of them, this restaurant manages to do it. Its cuisine is very authentic, despite looking like the set of a romantic movie filmed in Little Italy, most of its workers are originally from the country of carbonara without cream. Since it opened, it has been one of the city’s leading Italian restaurants.
📍 Calle de Velázquez, 39
Dani House
The essence of the neighborhood is lost among so many fancy stores, but when you enter the Mercado de la Paz something is recovered and Casa Dani is a fundamental factor. It’s hard to match the Spanish omelette at this place. There is no award,nor expert who can explain how this egg and potato dumpling tastes. To say it is the best tortilla in Spain is no exaggeration.
📍 Calle de Ayala, 28B
The secret corner
That Salvador Bachiller’s restaurant spaces are from the restaurants most beautiful and instagrammable of Madrid is no secret. Each one of them, although sharing the same care in terms of decoration and care of the space, is different, and its headquarters in the Salamanca neighborhood is El Rincón Secreto. The firm defines it as a “clandestine and unexpected” space, with a decoration in the style of English tea rooms.
📍 Calle de Alcalá, 151
Terracotta
Terracotta’s menu picks up a minimal factor that says a lot about the restaurant. Each day is printed on paper and the corresponding DIN A4 has a stamp on the side on which you can read the date. That is to say, you will not see the same menu if you go one day as if you go another; that is to say, Terracotta’s menu depends on the market; that is to say, also on the season. Terracotta is a living restaurant.
Some of their dishes: the socarrat (with a powerful background, nothing to do with the Valencian rice, the rice in a perfect point) or the foie ramen broth, siu mai de tenera with citrus aroma and egg at low temperature.
📍Calle de Velázquez, 80
Marcano Restaurant
Not surprisingly, the word casa accompanies Marcano’s individual review. The feeling is purely homey with one caveat: there is no one at home who cooks like David Marcano. With experience in the kitchens of Arzak and Wellington, Marcano launched a few years ago a more than consolidated bet in the Salamanca neighborhood. A place to eat well with two immovable bases: Marcano’s experience and the product. The quality of the latter, like the effort with the Atlético de Madrid coach, is not negotiable. It should be mandatory to order the rice dishes, the fish, the ensaladilla and, of course, their gilda.
📍Doctor Castelo St., 31
Santerra Restaurant
The best croquettes in Madrid(and the world). If you are looking for a restaurant based on the arguments it can give you, there is no better justification than this one. The croquettes are ham croquettes and the author is chef Miguel Carretero. In 2018 they won at Madrid Fusion the award for the best croquette in the world. And in 2022 they revalidated that award. You come to Santerra for the croquette and stay for the rest.
56 General Pardiñas Street, 56
Dani Garcia’s BiBo
Another guarantor of quality is Dani García: his restaurants have accumulated Michelin stars (Smoked Room(he has had two in just six months open) and BiBo is a safe bet. One of the great attractions of this restaurant (in addition to the space) is the brunch it offers: a proposal 360º, innovative and creative. To taste like oxtail brioche, langoustines from Sánlucar and mortadella sandwich from Bologna. For dessert, a “nitro” ice cream. The space, illuminated with 7,000 light bulbs, recreates the atmosphere of the Malaga Fair.
Paseo de la Castellana, 52
42 with this plan.
Yue Lai
One of those restaurants that allow you to travel without moving from Madrid is in the Salamanca neighborhood and is, in fact, one of the most important best Chinese restaurants in town. Undoubtedly, Yue Lai is the right place to be introduced to the art of the hot pot, that culinary technique with which the food is cooked at the table itself, introducing the ingredients in a hot broth located in the center. Authenticity at a good price.
101 Hermosilla Street, Hermosilla, 101
Drinking coffee in the Salamanca neighborhood
Religion Speciality Coffee
Coffee, for many, is religion. It is the light that guides the mornings and the bitter taste that awakens our taste buds, helps to lift the blinds of our eyes and… feeds the soul. Religion Speciality Coffee came to town in 2018 to sweep coffee awards. Over the years, a legion of pilgrims and devotees have come to the Salamanca neighborhood to enjoy one of the best coffees in Madrid.
And much more, of course, because the menu is full of all those dishes that make us salivate very hard: sourdough toast with avocado, poached egg and radishes; vegan ricotta bagels, heura and lettuce; Turkish eggs with homemade labneh, poached eggs, halloumi, cucumber, a very spicy sauce and bread … or that cardinal sin that is the Belgian waffle with avocado, beans, tomato, cilantro and halloumi.
María de Molina, 34
Hat Coffee
Most of the reviews of Hat Coffee have the same point, that they stumbled upon the place by chance and that they found a coffee so exquisite that it deserved to be written down. The breakfasts and brunches follow the same standard of quality, especially their toasts, which are of a remarkable size and have almost as many ingredients as a pizza (in fact, there are some with pesto). They also serve bagels and American-style cookies.
Calle de Padilla, 68
What to do in the Salamanca neighborhood
Quinta de la Fuente del Berro Park
Flowerbeds, fountains, statues, idyllic walks among trees and plants… and, when you look up in the distance, Torrespaña among the vegetation. The Quinta de la Fuente del Berro Park was born in the seventeenth century as a recreational village to be opened to all the people of Madrid in 1954 (date on which it became municipal property).
This Quinta was famous for being a fertile place, a manna of waters. The famous fountain that gives its name to the Quinta (and to the park) was accessible to all the neighbors and, from it, the Royal House was also fed. It was King Charles III who decided that the fountain should be part of the Quinta, removing it from the neighborhood gaze and renaming it ‘Fuente del Rey’ (King’s Fountain). Its water was then channeled to the Buen Retiro Palace.
The park has experienced the architectural changes and the growth of the city of Madrid. Today it is cloistered in one of its borders by the M30 ring road. In spite of everything, it manages to maintain the intimate character away from the runrun of the streets and the design of the English gardens of the beginning of the century that brings so much peace and harmony.
Calle del Alcalde Sainz de Baranda, 94
Pergamo Bookstore
A few months ago, the people of Madrid were a little bit heartbroken by the closing of one of the city’s “mythical” bookstores. Fortunately, the miracle came just in time. And Pérgamo will remain open since its opening in 1944 and will continue to be the oldest bookstore in Madrid. In December 2021, Lourdes and Ana Serrano, the sisters who had inherited the bookstore business from their parents, announced their retirement and, with shock and sorrow, the closing of the bookstore. Things of life, things of the neighborhoods of Madrid, a businessman who bought in Pergamo since he was a child, decided to keep its doors open.
24 General Oráa Street, 24
Lázaro Galdiano Museum
This is one of those museums in Madrid that not so well known but worth a visit. Its collection has more than 12,000 works of art, including masterpieces by artists such as Goya, El Greco, Velázquez, Murillo and Federico de Madrazo. In addition, the palace itself and its garden are worth a visit in themselves.
Visiting hours are from Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm and Sundays from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. The general ticket costs 7 € and the reduced ticket costs 4 € and is free during the last hour of opening, for children under 12 years, unemployed people and teachers.
📍 Calle de Serrano, 122
San Manuel and San Benito Church
It could belong to that group of churches that a must-see because of its originality in Madrid, and its history is no less fascinating than its architecture: it has been the ‘home’ of the Augustinians and the headquarters of the Communist Party. Although it is true that it does not go unnoticed as it is located in front of the Retiro Park, not many know what is hidden inside this impressive religious building of neo-Byzantine style in Madrid.
Its decoration, based on colored tesserae and Carrara and Macael marble, is well worth a visit. It dates from the beginning of the 20th century and was the work of Fernando Arbós y Tremanti, the same man who gave shape to the Pantheon of Illustrious Men or to the Bauer family cemetery, located at the british cemetery.
📍 Calle de Alcalá, 83
Castellana Open Air Sculpture Museum
In Madrid art can not only be found in museums, in the most conventional sense of the word: the city itself also becomes, either temporarily or permanently, an exhibition space. And that is the case of the Castellana Open Air Sculpture Museum.
It has been located under the overpass that joins Juan Bravo and Eduardo Dato since 1970 and opened to the public in 1972. It occupies 4,200 square meters and features works by artists such as Chillida, Francisco Sobrino, José María Subirachs, Rafael Leoz, Eusebio Sempere, Andreu Alfaro and Marcel Martí.
📍 Paseo de la Castellana, 40
Cornelius Tattoo
One of the best tattoo studios of Madrid. When talking about tattoos it is often mistakenly said that there is nothing written about tastes. There is much written and much thought. And in Cornelius Tattoo there are very talented artists such as Surimi, El Bueno or El Raro.
📍Calle del Duque de Sesto, 48
The Salamanca neighborhood is a must-see. It seems static in time and is of a cold beauty but its streets keep gastronomic, architectural and cultural bends suitable for all audiences and wallets.
This article has been written by fourteen hands by Alberto del Castillo, María F. Carballo, Selene Garcia, Isabel Nieto, y Elena French.