MADRID, España

Bristol Mike · May 15th, 2009, 11:45 PM

MADRID, España

Country: Spain
Region: Community of Madrid
Founded: 9th Century
Mayor: Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón
Elevation: 667m (2,188 ft)
Population
- City: 3,213,271
- Metro: 7,061,748

During April, I spent three days in Madrid, the capital city of Spain. Having been there already in April 2006, I knew a lot of the places but I enjoyed this visit even more. I discovered many more parts of the city that I missed three years ago and I have plenty of photos to show you.

Madrid is the third-most populous municipality in the European Union after Greater London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the fourth-most populous urban area in the European Union after London, Paris, and the Ruhr Area. The city is located on the river Manzanares in the centre of both the country and the Community of Madrid (which comprises the city of Madrid, its conurbation and extended suburbs and villages); this community is bordered by the autonomous communities of Castile and León and Castile-La Mancha.

I hope you enjoy these pictures of the wonderful city of Madrid and the azulness of the Castilian skies.

Bristol Mike · May 16th, 2009, 12:09 AM

PART I
Puerta del Sol to Plaza Mayor

Staying in the Hotel Carlos V, just off Calle Preciados, a large pedestrianised street between Callao and Puerta del Sol, myself and my Grandfather were in a perfect central situation. We started off by crossing Sol and into the streets on the other side of Sol where we passed through the Plaza de Provincia, Plaza de Santa Cruz and eventually found ourself in the central Plaza Mayor. At 09:00am it was very quiet in the square with cafes and restaurants just opening up for the day.

'Puerta del Sol' means 'Gateway to the Sun'. It is Madrid's bustling riposte to the Piccadilly Circus or Times Square of London. In the 15th Century it was the city's easternmost gate. Nowadays however, three big streets branch off from the Puerta del Sol: Calle de Alcalá runs in a roughly east to northeasterly direction the Plaza de Cibeles, Carrera de San Jerónimo runs roughly southeast towards the Paseo del Prado and Calle Mayor runs westwards towards Calle de Bailén and the Palacio Real.

Calle Preciados (View North)

Calle Preciados (View South)

Calle Maestro Victoria, Hotel Carlos V

Puerta del Sol

Plaza Jacinto Benavente

Plaza de Santa Cruz, Tower of Palacio de Santa Cruz

Plaza de Santa Cruz

Plaza de la Provincia

Calle Esperarteros, Casa del Peine

Plaza de la Provincia View to Plaza Mayor

Calle Esperarteros, Plaza Mayor Northeast Entrance

Calle Esperarteros, Casa del Peine

Plaza Mayor, Northeast Entrance

Plaza Mayor

Plaza Mayor, Casa de la Panaderia

Plaza Mayor

Plaza Mayor, Casa de la Panaderia

Plaza Mayor

Plaza Mayor, Statue of Felipe III

Plaza Mayor

Plaza Mayor, Casa de la Panaderia

diegodbs · May 16th, 2009, 12:24 AM

Preciosas las fotos y muy buenas las explicaciones.

Supongo que habrá más fotos, ¿no?

Me ha gustado lo de azulness, jejeje

JoseRodolfo · May 16th, 2009, 01:02 AM

Very nice!

JPBrazil · May 16th, 2009, 02:31 AM

Very nice pictures, Madrid seems to be an amazing city.

***christos-greece*** · May 16th, 2009, 10:30 AM

Very nice thread Mike, Madrid is awesome city

madridhere · May 16th, 2009, 12:38 PM

Wonderful pictures and explanations, as always, Mike.Thanks.

Bristol Mike · May 16th, 2009, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by diegodbs

Preciosas las fotos y muy buenas las explicaciones.

Supongo que habrá más fotos, ¿no?

Me ha gustado lo de azulness, jejeje

Hola Diego! Sí, estás correcto pensar que habrá más. Tengo muchos más para mostrar. Por favor, corrija mis datos en mis explicaciones si alguno de ellos están equivocados. Gracias.

Y sí, me gusta inventar varias palabras

.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoseRodolfo

Very nice!

Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPBrazil

Very nice pictures, Madrid seems to be an amazing city.

Thank you. I agree. I was very impressed with Madrid, both architecturally and the way the whole city functioned - well worth a visit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by christos-greece

Very nice thread Mike, Madrid is awesome city

Thanks for the support mate

.

Quote:

Originally Posted by madridhere

Wonderful pictures and explanations, as always, Mike.Thanks.

Hey, thanks. Well, like I said to Diego, should there be any incorrect explanations of place names, please do correct me on them.

Bristol Mike · May 16th, 2009, 04:44 PM

PART II
Calle Mayor to Calle de Bailén

On exiting Plaza Mayor, we met Calle Mayor which means 'High Street'. It runs directly west from Puerta del Sol and joins Calle de Bailén by the Almudena Cathedral. If you turn left along Calle de Bailén, you cross El Viaducto which does have wonderful views across to the snowcapped Sierra Guadarrama but unfortunately now is guarded on either side by large glass walls. This was once a favourite spot for suicides in Madrid apparently.

On the other side of El Viaducto, it is possible to cut down some narrow streets on to Calle de Segovia which, running westwards, takes you under El Viaducto right down to the Puente Segovia where it crosses the Manzanares River. From there one can get some fabulous views up to the Palacio Real and Torre de Madrid above the trees of the Campo del Moro. A nice walk through the Parque de Atenas then brought us up to the Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Almudena.

Calle Mayor

Calle Mayor, Windows

Calle Mayor, El Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) & Plaza de la Villa

Calle Mayor, El Ayuntamiento

Calle Mayor, La Catedral Iglesia de Santa Maria

Calle Mayor, La Catedral Iglesia de Santa Maria, The Dome

Calle Mayor

Calle Mayor, La Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Almudena

El Viaducto, La Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Almudena

Plaza del Almillo

Calle de Segovia

Calle de Segovia, El Viaducto

Calle de Segovia

Puente de Segovia

Puente de Segovia & El Rio Manzanares

Puente de Segovia, View of Palacio Real

Puente de Segovia, View of Torre de Madrid

Paseo de la Virgen del Puerto

Parque de Atenas

Parque de Atenas, Puente de Segovia

Parque de Atenas, View of La Catedral Almudena

Parque de Atenas

Parque de Atenas, View of La Catedral Almudena

Parque de Atenas, Paseo Ciudad de la Plasencia

Parque de Atenas, View of La Catedral Almudena

Parque de Atenas, View to El Barrio Puerta del Angel

El Cripto de Almudena

Camilo_Costa · May 16th, 2009, 07:10 PM

Wonderful Madrid!

***weird*** · May 16th, 2009, 07:36 PM

Nice pics. Glad to see that you enjoyed

NEWWORLD · May 16th, 2009, 07:53 PM

Great pictures! beautiful city!

madridhere · May 17th, 2009, 02:06 AM

Wondeful pictures, MIke.

Maybe we should add that the part of te river is going to becompletely canged because theyre making a park there. It´ll have 5-6 ks lng. They have promised to finished 70% for he end of the ya. We are bit tired of waiting because after putting the road "down the earth" with a tunner twoyears have already passed. ANyway, we hope this time is the definitive time to do it.

It seems you have walked a lot this trip, MIke.

Peshu · May 17th, 2009, 04:48 AM

Wonderfull portrait of my fav city in Europe . Good on ya Bristol Mike

oduguy1999 · May 17th, 2009, 06:58 AM

Great pics bud, beautiful city.

Bristol Mike · May 17th, 2009, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camilo_Costa

Wonderful Madrid!

Thanks

.

Quote:

Originally Posted by weird

Nice pics. Glad to see that you enjoyed

Thanks, I certainly did

.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NEWWORLD

Great pictures! beautiful city!

Thanks

.

Quote:

Originally Posted by madridhere

Wondeful pictures, MIke.

Maybe we should add that the part of the river is going to becompletely canged because theyre making a park there. It´ll have 5-6 ks lng. They have promised to finished 70% for he end of the ya. We are bit tired of waiting because after putting the road "down the earth" with a tunner twoyears have already passed. ANyway, we hope this time is the definitive time to do it.

It seems you have walked a lot this trip, MIke.

Yes I was very interested about that. My Grandad described the bit of the river that we saw a 'mess'

but the plans that were shown on the boards around it looked interesting. The addition of more trees and walkways looks fantastic so perhaps when it is finished I should come down again and have a good look. I know what you mean about delayed construction though, there's plenty of that around in Bristol.

As for distance, my pedometer on my phone measured 9.8km on the first day and 10.2km on the second. Quite a long way for a city if you ask me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peshu

Wonderfull portrait of my fav city in Europe . Good on ya Bristol Mike

Hey, thanks. Glad you like the pictures. Madrid is in definitely in my top 5 at the moment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by oduguy1999

Great pics bud, beautiful city.

Thanks

.

Bristol Mike · May 17th, 2009, 12:34 PM

PART III
Calle de Bailén to Plaza de Oriente

On leaving the crypt of La Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Almudena, you find yourself on Calle de Bailén once again. This road runs northwards passed the Cathedral and Palacio Real and Plaza de Oriente before meeting a junction in front of Plaza de España.

La Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Almudena
This Cathedral could be described as never finished. It was 'completed' in 1993, more than 350 years after the cornerstone was laid. The Cathedral is built atop the site of Muslim Mayrit, bit its most historic surviving feature is that which was shown in PART II in the crypt - the Virgen de la Almudena, the patroness of Madrid. It is clear that the Cathedral has had a few false starts during the later centuries due to the mix of Gothic and Neo-Classical architecture that comprises this edifice.

Palacio Real
The Royal Palace of Madrid (Spanish: Palacio Real de Madrid) is the official residence of the King of Spain. King Juan Carlos and the royal family do not reside in this palace, instead choosing the smaller Palacio de la Zarzuela, on the outskirts of Madrid. However, the Palacio Real de Madrid is still used for state occasions. The site of the palace dates from a 10th-century fortress, called 'mayrit', constructed as an outpost by Mohammed I, Emir of Córdoba and inherited after 1036 by the independent Moorish Kingdom of Toledo. After Madrid fell to Alfonso VI of Castile in 1085, the edifice was only rarely used by the kings of Castile. In 1329, King Alfonso XI of Castile brought together the cortes of Madrid for the first time. Philip II moved his court to Madrid in 1561.

The Antiguo Alcázar ("Old Castle") was built on the location in the 16th century. It burned on December 24, 1734; King Philip V ordered a new palace built on the same location. Construction spanned the years 1738 to 1755 and followed a Berniniesque design by Filippo Juvarra and Giovanni Battista Tiepolo in cooperation with Ventura Rodríguez, Francesco Sabatini, and Scirmento. The new palace, directly facing the cathedral across the Plaza de Armas, was occupied by Carlos III in 1764.

Plaza de Oriente
This lovely square sits next to the Palacio Real and is overlooked by both Palacio Real and Opera. Nowadays the area is pedestrianised though I have heard 1997 saw a bulldozing affair to built an underground car park. There stands a statue of Felipe IV, designed by the Italian Pietro Tacca. He designed it on the drawings made by Velázquez. It was the first successful statue of a rearing horse.

While we were there we witnessed the changing of the guards - a frequent ceremony held outside the Palacio Real for all the public to see.