Madrid between City Routes, Art and History

Madrid on Foot and in the Urban Landscape

Madrid can be explored through a wide range of themes: city routes, historic buildings, art collections and a large park each offer a distinct perspective. When planning your stay, you can start with the focus that interests you most.

For exploring on foot, Anda Madrid offers a practical framework. The initiative of the Ayuntamiento de Madrid comprises six major, interconnected city routes covering some of Madrid’s best-known places. They are designed to be comfortably completed on foot. Depending on the route you choose and the stops you make, a route takes between one hour and two and a half hours. If you plan to make stops, factor them into your time estimate: they affect the duration, as does the route you choose.

Puerta del Sol and Royal History

Several historic and busy streets in Madrid converge at the semicircular Puerta del Sol. Since August 2020, the square has been a pedestrian zone. The Kilómetro Cero plaque marks the starting point there for measuring the distance of Spain’s national radial roads. The square thus combines a distinctive element of urban design with a reference point for the national road system.

A date with its own significance is December 31: every year, the clock at the Casa de Correos in Puerta del Sol rings in the New Year twelve times. A crowd gathers for the traditional grape-eating ceremony, and the celebration is broadcast on television. The square is therefore also the setting for a recurring public tradition, firmly associated with a particular date and the stroke of midnight.

The Palacio Real de Madrid offers a different historical perspective. After a fire destroyed the former Alcázar in 1734, Felipe V had the present palace built on its remains. The Palacio Real is the official residence of the Spanish kings, but it is not inhabited by the current monarchs. The Real Cocina in the palace is open to visitors and is a particularly significant surviving example of the historic kitchens of European royal residences.

Art Collections and Cultural Perspectives

The Paseo del Arte, also known as the Triángulo del Arte, brings together three of the world’s most important art museums along a stretch of just under two kilometres. In July 2021, UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site as a cultural landscape. The individual collections have different focuses: the Museo del Prado displays former royal collections representing the Spanish, Flemish and Italian schools. Founded in 1819, it is housed in a neoclassical building designed by Juan de Villanueva in 1785.

The Museo Reina Sofía presents modern and contemporary art from the late 19th century to the present, including Picasso’s Guernica. If you choose art by period, this offers a different focus from the Prado’s former royal collections: at the Reina Sofía, the time frame extends to the present, while the Prado brings together the aforementioned artistic schools in its collections.

The Galería de las Colecciones Reales offers another perspective on the history of the monarchy. It presents the history of the Spanish monarchy and the artistic tastes of its rulers—from the earliest medieval reigns to Juan Carlos I. Alongside the collections and their respective artistic focuses, the development of monarchs’ artistic tastes is also at the heart of this museum.

A Different Scale at Parque de El Retiro

Parque de El Retiro provides a scenic counterpoint to Madrid’s cultural attractions. It covers 125 hectares and contains more than 15,000 trees. Its scale is markedly different from the Paseo del Arte, which is just under two kilometres long: one offers an extensive park with a large number of trees, while the other brings three major art museums together in a concentrated area. When planning your trip, you can balance your interests among city routes, art, history and parkland.

Discover more destinations: Usera, Puente De Vallecas, El Álamo, Villanueva De La Cañada, San Martín De La Vega, Valdelaguna, La Serna Del Monte, Alameda del Valle.

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