The City
Madrid's main sights occupy a compact area between the
Palacio Real (Royal Palace) and the gardens of El
Retiro . The great trio of museums - the Prado,
Thyssen-Bornemisza and Reina Sofía - are ranged along
the Paseo del Prado, over towards the Retiro. The oldest part of
the city, an area known as Madrid de los Austrias after the
Habsburg monarchs who built it, is centred on the gorgeous, arcaded
Plaza Mayor , just to the east of the Palacio Real.
If you have very limited time, you might well do no more
sightseeing than this. However, monuments are not really what
Madrid is about, and to get a feel for the city you need to branch
out a little, and experience the contrasting character and life of
the various barrios . The most central and rewarding of
these are the areas around Plaza de Santa Ana and c/Huertas
, east of Puerta del Sol; La Latina and Lavapiés , south of
Plaza Mayor, where the Sunday market, El Rastro , takes
place; and Malasaña and Chueca , north of Gran Vía. By happy
circumstance, these barrios have some of Madrid's finest
concentrations of tapas bars and restaurants.
Copyright Rough Guides Ltd as trustee for its authors. Published by Rough Guides. All rights reserved.
The Rough Guides name is a trademark of Rough Guides Ltd.