Majestic Madrid – Bourbon Madrid  Free Tour

As it could not be otherwise, we started the tour in the most famous square in Madrid, Puerta del Sol.

The statue of Carlos III in the Puerta del Sol is one of three dedicated to the monarch in the city, but the only one in which he appears on a horse.

It was built in 1993 at the initiative of the City Council, as a tribute to the king who is known as the best mayor of Madrid, for the improvements that the city experienced during his reign.

The location of the statue was decided by the Madrilenians themselves and the story goes that inside the statue there are messages that the Madrilenians wrote to the monarch as thanks for the improvements he promoted in the city.

After seeing the Casa Real de la Aduana we will arrive at this emblematic building known as the Academia de Bellas Artes.

It is the artistic institution with the longest cultural trajectory in Spain. Its construction is due to the painter Antonio Meléndez, who in 1726 proposed to Felipe V to found an Academy of the Arts of design, painting, sculpture and architecture.

It currently has more than 1,400 paintings, including masterpieces of Spanish, Italian and Flemish art, 600 sculptures and 15,000 drawings, as well as a large collection of tapestries, silverware, ceramics, porcelain, clocks, furniture and medals, and a permanent photography room.

This fountain, which was built in 1782, is one of the most representative symbols of the city.

It represents the Roman goddess Cybele, symbol of the earth, agriculture and fertility, and on a chariot pulled by two lions, the mythological characters Hippomenes and Atalanta.

The intention of building the fountain was not only artistic, but it served as a water supply for the people of Madrid until 1862. It had two water pipes: one was used by the official water carriers, who carried the water to the houses, and the other was used by the general public. The horses used to drink from the water trough.

We will see the fountain of Apollo and then we will arrive at the fountain of Neptune, in the Cánovas del Castillo square.

Like Cibeles, it is one of the most important fountains in the city. Both are dedicated to important gods of Greek mythology.

Originally, Ventura Rodriguez arranged both fountains facing each other, facing each other, on one side of the Paseo del Prado. Together with the Apollo fountain, they were part of the decoration for the Prado Hall, designed by Charles III.

Later, at the end of the 19th century, they were restructured and moved to their current locations.

Between Cibeles and Neptuno is located, in the Plaza de la Lealtad in Madrid, the place where the French troops under the command of General Murat shot a large number of Madrilenians after the uprising of May 2, 1808.

In this same place a monument to the fallen was built on May 2, which is remembered every year as the day of the Community of Madrid.

It has four statues representing Constancy, Courage, Virtue and Patriotism, and a large obelisk 56 meters high. The monument features an urn containing the ashes of the Madrilenians shot in this uprising and a gas flame that burns permanently in memory of the fallen.

After seeing the monument to the fallen on May 2, we will enter the Retiro Park.

In front of this spectacular park we will see the Casón del Buen Retiro, one of the only two buildings that have survived the destruction of the Buen Retiro Palace.

Afterwards, we will walk along the Paseo de las Estatuas or Pase de Argentina. In this tour we will find 13 sculptures on both sides that belong to the monarchs: Fernando IV of León and Castilla, Sancho IV of León and Castilla, Enrique II of Castilla, García I of León, Urraca of León and Castilla, Berenguela of Castilla, Gundemaro, Carlos I of Spain, Carlos II of Spain, Ramón Berenguer IV, Chintila, Alfonso I of Aragón and Sancho IV the Brave.