DK Travel : Madrid : History & Culture

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Parque del Retiro

This much-loved city park is a constant source of pleasure to madrileños , especially at weekends and during the hot summer months. There are open spaces to enjoy, as well as wooded areas and formal gardens (see Parque del Retiro).
Paseo de Recoletos

“Paseo” implies a stroll and this lovely avenue, at its best on a sunny morning or just after sunset, was designed precisely for that purpose. The first cafés began to appear in the 19th century when the boulevard was nicknamed “Recoletos beach”. Most of the originals had disappeared by the 1980s when the Movida gave the terraces a new lease of life (see People and Places of La Movida). The Pabellón de Espejo looks the part with its painted tiles and wrought-iron adornments but actually dates from the 1990s. No. 10 was the residence of the Marqués de Salamanca.
Pastrana

What draws visitors to the Alcarría region is the rugged scenery and peace and quiet. In Pastrana, first take a look at the Palacio Ducal in the main square. The Museo de la Colegiata (next to the church of the same name) has a splendid collection of 15th-century tapestries depicting the capture of Tangier by Alfonso V of Portugal. Just outside town is the Convento del Carmen, founded by St Teresa of Avila in the 16th century, with an exhibition on her life.
Pedro Almodóvar

The controversial Academy Award-winning film director shot his first movie, Pepi, Luci, Bom in 1980. Iconoclastic and subversive, his bizarre characters – drug-pushing nuns, pill-popping housewives and outrageous transvestites – shocked a society that was only just emerging from the Franco era and captured the spirit of the movida on celluloid.
Pedro Almodóvar

The film director released his first full-length film, Pepi, Luci, Bom, y otras chicas de Montón in 1980.
Plaza de Cibeles

One of Madrid’s busiest traffic intersections also boasts the city’s most famous landmark. The Fountain of Cybele, designed by Ventura Rodríguez, depicts the goddess of nature and abundance riding her chariot, hauled by a pair of prancing lions. (The water-spouting cherubs were added at the end of the 19th century.) The most striking architectural monument on the square is the wonderfully over-the-top Palacio de Comunicaciones (see Palacio de Comunicaciones). Opposite is the Neo-Baroque Palacio de Linares, one of the city’s finest 19th-century buildings, and now the Casa de América (see Casa de América). On the corner of Calle Recoletos, partly hidden from view by its steeply sloping gardens, is the former Palacio de Buenavista, commissioned in 1777 for the Duchess of Alba, a legendary beauty and one-time lover of artist Francisco de Goya. Today it is home to the General Army Barracks.
Plaza de Colón

This expansive square, named after Christopher Columbus, commemorates the discovery of the New World. The three monumental slabs near Calle de Serrano were designed by Joaquín Vaquero Turcíos to symbolize the three ships that made the voyage to America in 1492. In the centre of the square is a more conventional sculpture of Columbus, erected in the 19th century. Note a relief on the base which shows Queen Isabel of Castile selling her jewellery to finance his enterprise.
Plaza de España

A set piece of the Franco era, the huge square at the bottom of Gran Vía is dominated by Madrid’s first skyscrapers. The Edificio España (Gran Vía 86) was designed by the brothers Julien and Joaquín Otamendi in 1953. There are panoramic views of the city from the café on the top floor. Four years later, the same architects built the even taller Torre de Madrid (Plaza de España 5). The monument at the centre of the square commemorates Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote .
Plaza de la Lealtad

This leafy square honours the fallen heroes of the 1808 uprising against the French (see Insurrection). The ashes of the rebel leaders, immortalized in Goya’s famous painting (see Museo del Prado), were interred in the funerary urns beneath the obelisk when the project was finally completed in 1840. The beautifully proportioned Neo-Classical building occupying the north side of the square is the Madrid Stock Exchange, designed by Enrique María Repullés in 1884. Visitors may admire the Corinthian-columned façade at any time, but anyone wishing to see the trading floor from the gallery (parquet flooring, painted vaults, stained-glass ceiling and gilded clock) will have to join the guided tour at midday.
Plaza de la Villa

This historic square off Calle Mayor has been the centre of local government since medieval times. Opposite the Casa de la Villa, is the Casa y Torre de los Lujanes, Madrid’s oldest civil building (15th-century). In the centre of the square is a statue of Alvaro de Bazán, the Spanish admiral who defeated the Turks at Lepanto in 1571 (see Golden Age). Erected in the late 19th century, it is by sculptor Mariano Benlliure. The palace on the south side is the Casa de Cisneros (1537), built for one of Spain’s most powerful families.