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SPAIN | Madrid, Spain Travel Guide
Saturday, November 30, 2024
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Madrid Orientation
Madrid Orientation
Madrid is large but manageable. The major points of interest are located within a relatively confined area bordered in the west by the Palacio Real (Royal Palace) and in the east by the wide avenue known as the Paseo del Prado. The three major museums are situated around the Paseo del Prado, while just to the east of it is the Parque del Retiro and the chance for a perfectly relaxing reprieve from the hyperactive city life. Following the Paseo del Prado north, it comes to be called the Paseo de los Recoletos, which is of less interest to most tourists; it is sided by tall office buildings housing many of the country’s most prominent businesses. Recoletos passes by the upscale grid of the Salamanca district in the northeast of the city, popular for its designer shopping appeal and polished restaurants.
West of the Paseo del Prado is the neighborhood known as Huertas, a traditional literary haunt and home to numerous cafés and tapas bars. Huertas merges with the crowded Puerta del Sol, which is the heart of the city and, for that matter, the country, with roads radiating off in all directions and people doing the same. From here, a number of pedestrian streets funnel crowds northward between department stores and boutique shops to the Gran Vía. This main commercial street runs east-west with theaters and less-than-appealing eateries spanning the length of it.
Immediately north of the Gran Vía are the trendy, trashed areas known as Malasaña and, just east of it, Chueca, both loaded with raging clubs, hip sipping spots and cheaper shopping choices than that of Sol or Salamanca. To the south and west of the Puerta del Sol is the area generally referred to as Hapsburg Madrid, with its ever-popular Plaza Mayor. South of it is La Latina, full of character and creativity and within sight of El Rastro flea market, along with many of Madrid’s most traditional restaurants.
Farther south is the white-collar barrio called Lavapiés. Northwest of the Plaza Mayor is the oldest district of Madrid, originally a Moorish quarter known as Morería and, finally, the Palacio Real, the grandest vestige of Habsburg Madrid in the area known as Ópera.
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