Discover Madrid: From Medieval to Modern

Our busiest square and one of the first square squares in Spain. It is an obligatory stop for anyone who knows Madrid. You can’t imagine all the history and curiosities it hides…

It is the meeting place for walkers, artists, tourists, and anyone who is in love with this city. It is difficult to be in the center of Madrid and not go to see the Plaza Mayor, it is one of those places where you never get tired of being.

The San Miguel Market is a historical and monumental place, full of literary reminiscences. A market with a lot of history within its walls… And a perfect place with a lot of charm if you want to have a drink and enjoy the atmosphere of Madrid.

It is located next to the Plaza Mayor, leaving by one of its streets. It was originally a fish market, and has undergone several demolitions and modifications until it reached its current state. It is currently the only market of the so-called iron architecture that has survived to the present day.

This square was one of the main centers of medieval Madrid, since it is the origin of three small streets corresponding to the primitive layout of the city: El Codo, Cordón and Madrid.

We can say that it is a square formed by a set of monuments, as it is surrounded by important buildings of great historical and artistic value, which were built in different centuries. The three oldest are La Casa y la Torre de los Lujanes, La Casa de Cisneros and La Casa de La Villa.

Our cathedral is modern but has a lot of history behind it. It began to be built as a pantheon for Queen Maria de las Mercedes in 1883, but the project became more ambitious and a Gothic style cathedral with a large neo-Romanesque crypt was planned.

Finally it was decided that a Gothic cathedral would not be built because of the contrast it produced in the surroundings, and the architects Fernando Chueca Goitia and Carlos Sidro were in charge of continuing the design and construction of the Cathedral in 1950. The exterior would now be neoclassical, this being the aspect it maintains today.

It is the largest palace in Western Europe, and one of the largest in the world. It was built on the ashes of the Old Alcazar where Charles I and his son Philip II resided permanently.

A fire destroyed the Alcázar in 1734 and, on its remains, Felipe V ordered the construction of the current palace.

The building is inspired by the sketches made by Bernini for the construction of the Louvre in Paris. It is arranged around a square courtyard and has a gallery and a Plaza de Armas, where the main facade of the palace is located.

The Royal Theater or Opera House, declared as Spanish Historical Heritage in the category of monument.

The theater is a project of the municipal architect Antonio López Aguado under the reign of Isabel I, was inaugurated in 1850 (although the first stone was laid on April 23, 1818).

For 75 years it was one of the main theaters in Europe, but in 1925 one of its parts collapsed and it was closed for 41 long years.