Are you the type who believes that a photo on Gran Vía, a stroll through Puerta del Sol, a beer in Malasaña, a ride on the metro, or a visit to the Bernabéu already means you’ve seen Madrid? That you can say with total ease “From Madrid to heaven” and remain perfectly at ease? That you already hold the Madrileño identity badge? Think again. Because Madrid, as those who tread its streets daily know full well, cannot be grasped so quickly. Madrid demands time, energy, and in return offers you an incredible city.
Because no, it’s not enough to have seen the Metropolis Building lit up or to have crossed Kilometer Zero. Madrid is not exhausted by its most repeated postcard. Madrid, in fact, begins right when you step off the planned route. When you take the wrong street. When you decide to get a bit lost. That’s where the interesting part begins. This city has something nearly inexhaustible, an infinite capacity to rewrite itself neighborhood by neighborhood. And if you think you already know it, you’re probably missing streets. Quite a few.
Don Quijote te espera
One of the areas where that mismatch between what you think you know and what actually is becomes most evident is the Plaza de España. Renovated, open, turned into a genuine pedestrian crossroads, today functions as a hinge between several different Madrids. Here not only is the famous monument to Cervantes, with Don Quixote and Sancho watching over the passage of time, but also converge some of the city’s most representative buildings of the skyline historic, those skyscrapers that for decades marked Madrid’s modernity, such as the Torre de Madrid or the Edificio España.
But the interesting part begins when you move a few meters. Because from here you can glide toward quieter squares, such as the Comendadoras or the Guards of the Corps’ Square simply by climbing a couple of half-hidden stairs, or draw near to the nearby Palacio de Liria, one of the city’s most important noble residences. This house-museum, which houses from stunning works by Goya to the first edition of Don Quixote, is open to visitors and, moreover, frequently hosts temporary exhibitions.
