Alonso Martínez is the meeting point not only of several Metro lines (5, 10 and 4), but also of several neighborhoods in Madrid -Malasaña, Chueca, Chamberí and Salesas-. This reality makes it often a perfect meeting point, especially convenient also because of the number and extent of the terraces of the Plaza de Santa Barbara (where the main exit of this Metro stop is located).
Pasajes Bookstore
Just outside the Alonso Martínez station, we find an essential place for lovers of reading. It is Pasajes, the international bookstore that has been selling novels, essays and guides in different languages for more than 20 years. There are copies in English, French, Russian, German…. Here there are no linguistic frontiers.
The careful and original selection of new editions that reach its shelves does not go unnoticed: Pasajes won the Bibliodiversity Award in 2008 and was in one of the top positions in the list of best multilingual bookstores in the world created by the Financial Times in 2012.
📍Location: Calle Génova, 3
Balbisiana Pastry Shop
Balbisiana is an ideal place for those looking for an elegant place to have a sweet snack and chat for hours. As soon as you enter, its sophisticated decoration in pastel tones and its incredible showcase of handmade cakes invites you to stay.
The star of its menu is its glorious key lime pie, a reinterpretation of the American lemon pie that stands out for its refreshing lime cream combined with baked cookie and whipped cream. The salted caramel cake, with sablé dough and crushed walnuts on top, is also very successful.
📍Location: Calle Génova, 1
Barrutia y el nueve
A place that goes unnoticed. A good way to approach Barrutia y el nueve could be that: its appearance is not that of a gourmet bar (neither is its interior), the name has an enigmatic component and its interior hides nothing more and nothing less than a menu composed of that entelechy of dishes that is home-made and traditional food -with a personal touch, they say.
Let’s say it’s a seven in everything and you won’t come out saying it’s the best meal of your life, but dishes like the torreznos de Soria, marinated in oil for 24 hours, accompanied by boletus puree and toasted yemita are to stay at the place.
📍Location: Santa Teresa street, 9
DSTAgE
Let’s put an almost dreamlike scenario in which a genie appears before you and tells you that you can choose three places in Madrid where you can eat for free. Would you have a clear answer? I would, and one of them would be DSTAgE.
The two-Michelin-starred restaurant headed by Diego Guerrero is more like a laboratory than a restaurant per se. The adjective exciting can rarely fit the definition of a meal and here it is at home as are all its organoleptic choices. A constantly changing menu and a place to come on a pilgrimage.
📍Location: Calle de Regueros, 8
Gran Café Santander
At the corner of Santa Barbara square and Sagasta street, the Gran Café Santander has been there for decades, although it has recently been acquired and renovated by the Cañadío Group. Its tortilla pinchos (not quite done) maintain the essence of the old bar. Its terrace is one of the smallest in the square, which in itself is usually full of people, especially in the evenings, when the workday ends in the offices in the area.
📍Location: Plaza de Sta. Bárbara, 4
Museum of Romanticism
350 meters from the Alonso Martinez Metro exit, in Plaza de Santa Barbara, is the Museum of Romanticism. This museum is the dream of a nobleman, Benigno de la Vega-Inclán y Flaquer, who after presenting an important collection of paintings, furniture and objects of his property to an exhibition of the Society of Friends of Art, decided to create the Romantic Museum and later, in 1921, to donate it to the State. In 1924 the museum was finally inaugurated in the mansion where it is currently located.
In addition to the initial exhibition, donations and deposits of personalities of the time were added, such as the two paintings by Alenza donated by the Marquis of Cerralbo, or objects belonging to great literary figures such as Mariano José de Larra, José de Zorrilla, or Juan Ramón Jiménez.
📍Location: Calle de San Mateo, 13 (Malasaña)
Film Academy
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is not only an academic institution. In addition, through its foundation, it organizes various activities for lovers of the seventh art. Among them are screenings, meetings with directors, actors and actresses and other professionals and even a book club. You can consult all of them through its website.
📍Location: Calle de Zurbano, 3 (Chamberí)
La Peliculera
At La Peliculera you can have your analog photographs developed, order prints and buy almost any product related to this booming form of photography: reels of different formats, disposable cameras, second-hand cameras… And the catalog does not end there: they even offer workshops and photographic sessions or equipment rental options.
📍Location: Calle de Argensola, 2 (Chueca)
Palacio de Longoria (SGAE headquarters)
The Palacio de Longoria, current headquarters of the Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (SGAE), is worth a visit simply because of how spectacular the building is: an example of which there are not many left in the capital of modernist architecture, with a spectacular dome with stained glass windows. But, as if that were not enough, inside it houses free temporary exhibitions on various topics, such as music or television.
📍Location: entrance to the exhibitions on Calle de Pelayo, 61 (Chueca).
Visit the exhibitions at Espacio COAM
The Official College of Architects of Madrid (COAM) has its headquarters in the former Escuelas Pías de San Antón. The building has an exhibition hall where you can see the work of internationally renowned architects and draftsmen. The engravings of the artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi, the plans of Antonio Palacios and many more unique works have been preserved there.
To reach the hall you have to cross a bright inner garden where cultural, sporting and social events are held. This garden hosts the charming terrace of Bosco de Lobos, a charming Italian restaurant.
📍Location: Calle Hortaleza, 63
This article was written by Isabel Nieto, Helena Menéndez and Elena Francés.