Among the basic rules of the tourist is to try to prioritize the order of icons to see, especially when it comes to a city like Madrid. Like any capital with a lot of history, it can be overwhelming to choose the essential among so many monuments and relevant buildings, and even when you already know by hearsay what to see, you don’t know why.
This is a list in which the order has no special relevance because sooner or later you will go through these places, but so that when you do you have a slight idea of what you’re seeing and you can make yourself understood (even before some Madrileño).
1. La Gran Vía
Gran Vía is “the backbone of the city” as the band Pereza used to say. This street that vertebrates the city is relatively recent. In 1910 began the works inaugurated with silver picket in hand by Alfonso XIII. The idea was to create a great commercial and luxurious avenue that would bring the capital closer to the twentieth century.
Following the aesthetic wake that was imposed in the United States with the current City Beautiful Movement, Madrid decided to premiere century changing the map of the city. First with the Puerta del Sol -which had been under construction for almost the entire 19th century and practically never stopped- and new, more affluent residential areas were being created, such as the Salamanca neighborhood.
In this new urban future there were many proposals and finally it was decided that the Velasco Project was the most convenient. Then it took 20 years to finish the works, but for a more graphic explanation, that of artist and urban studies expert Erik Harley in the video above.
2. Palacio Real de Madrid
The first stop is a visit to the Royal Palace of Madrid, seeing the immense facade from the Plaza de Oriente, impresses, but the best is inside. The largest palace in Western Europe is no longer the official residence of the royal family since the time of Alfonso XIII. It is now a museum that can be visited and is only used sporadically for important events. Its baroque and neoclassical architecture bursts with its monumentality in the middle of the city.
It was built in the eighteenth century, was erected on the ashes of the old fortress of the Austrias, smaller and wooden, which did not convince the Bourbons. The new dynasty, which arrived with Philip V, decided to build a palace in the style of their country of origin: France.
It is also surrounded by the Sabatini gardens and the Campo del Moro, which originally linked it to the Casa de Campo, where the monarchs hunted.
It is worth the queue to see the true splendor and opulence that the Spanish monarchy condensed here. On display is an extraordinary collection of art, furniture, tapestries, porcelains and masterpieces by painters such as Velázquez, Goya or Caravaggio. Some of its rooms, such as the Throne Room and the Gasparini Room, are the summary of this power.
3. Prado Museum
The most visited museum in Spain is undoubtedly imperative in the list. We owe the Prado Museum to Charles III, who commissioned not a few icons of the capital to raise it to the level and taste of the time.
Initially, the building designed by Juan de Villanueva in 1785 was to be the Cabinet of Natural Sciences. Years later, Queen Maria Isabel de Braganza decided to use this building for the creation of a Royal Museum of Paintings and Sculptures, which opened its doors in 1819.
Its vast collection focuses on European art, especially from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. Among so many masterpieces there is one that steals the attention more than others: Las Meninas by Velázquez. Although The Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch or The 3rd of May in Madrid by Goya are also accustomed to selfies. In addition to great Spanish artists, the museum has a wide variety of Flemish and Italian art, including Raphael, Rubens or Rembrandt, as a legacy of the Spanish dominions in both territories.
4. Plaza Mayor
In its 400 years of history the square has evolved so much that it has changed its name – originally it was called Plaza del Arrabal – but it continues to be a social center that is a legacy of the Madrid de los Austrias.
Although the space was already used to hold fairs since 1463 when Henry IV granted the town this privilege, the original design is that of Juan de Herrera (who also designed El Escorial) in the 16th century. It was later restructured by Francisco and Juan Gómez de Mora.
The square, originally with wooden arcades, went through several reforms until it became the great Plaza Mayor of Madrid in 1617, when the architect Gómez de Mora managed to provide it and frame it within a rectangle 152 meters long by 94 meters wide.
5. Temple of Debod
Next stop is a 2,000-year-old Egyptian temple in an open-air park in the heart of Madrid. The Temple of Debod is a gift from the Government of Egypt to Spain after its collaboration in the archaeological rescue of the temples of the Nubian Valley organized by UNESCO. The integrity of these temples was in danger due to the floods of the Aswan Dam and its transfer was carried out stone by stone around 1972.
In addition to the construction itself, the location is a place of pilgrimage to see the Madrilenian sunsets. Given its location, in the park of Cuartel de la Montaña, its vicinity offers privileged views of the city.
6. Puerta de Alcalá
It’s as hard to see the Puerta de Alcalá without humming some song that mentions it as it is to pass through the Plaza de la Independencia without being in the background of a tourist’s photo. This icon of the city is at the intersection of Calle de Alcalá and Calle de Alfonso XII, welcoming the Retiro Park.
The neoclassical gate was built by order of Charles III, the king known for beautifying the capital, between 1769 and 1778 as one of the five royal gates that gave access to the city of Madrid. It was commissioned to the Italian architect Francesco Sabatini, and its construction was directed by Francisco Moradillo.
7. Parque del Retiro
More to see in the Retiro than to stroll around. The most central park was originally the rest and recreation area for Philip IV in the 17th century. But the era of splendor of the Buen Retiro comes with Ferdinand VII (but not the country). With the “desired king” is carried out the replanting of the park and the Casa de Fieras, the Real Embarcadero and the Garden of Caprichos or Reserved, of which some buildings remain as the Artificial Mountain and the Casita del Pescador.
During the War of Independence it suffered several damages, since it was used as a fortress and barracks by the French and was destroyed by the English. During the 19th century it was used for some of the international exhibitions held in the city, for which the Palacio de Velázquez and the Palacio de Cristal were built. And since 1935 it has been a Historical Artistic Garden for public use by citizens.
8. Almudena Cathedral
Editorial credit: Shutterstock
The cathedral has more than a few detractors, but besides being adjacent to the Royal Palace, it is visible from many points in the city. For La Almudena to become the cathedral of Madrid it was necessary to wait more than a century, since Alfonso XII laid the first stone in 1868 until its consecration in 1993.
It was originally designed by Francisco de Cubas, the work evolved over the years with contributions from other architects, such as Chueca Goitia and Carlos Sidro, adapting the project to harmonize with the environment, particularly with the Royal Palace. The result of so much intervention is that it has little to do with the initial project. The final style is somewhere between neo-Gothic and neoclassical.
The interior is its strong point and houses works of art such as the Crucified Christ of Juan de Mesa. It has a Latin cross plan with decorative elements, stained glass windows and chapels dedicated to Madrid saints.
9. Museo Reina Sofía
Once you’ve made the visit to the Prado Museum you may want to cross the promenade to Santa Isabel Street and continue to the Reina Sofia Museum if you prefer modern art.
The museum is located in a remodeled former hospital of the eighteenth century and is relevant for albergar emblematic works of Spanish and international artists of the last century and contemporary. Many admirers of Picasso come here to see Guernica, a masterpiece that symbolizes human suffering during the Spanish Civil War. In addition, the museum exhibits works by Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró, Juan Gris, and other Spanish artists, as well as international figures such as Francis Bacon and Yves Klein.
It has four different venues: the Main Headquarters, formed by the Sabatini building and the Nouvel building, and the venues of the Retiro Park, Velázquez Palace and Crystal Palace.
10. Puerta del Sol
Puerta del Sol is loved and hated in equal parts and each generation of Madrileños has experienced a different work that has just left it increasingly white and polished. But there are always people crossing the old and true heart of the city, no matter the time.
The Puerta del Sol clock is the protagonist of the square and of every Spanish New Year’s Eve. The kilometer zero and the statue of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree are mandatory photography if it is your first visit to Madrid.