The Madrid Railway Museum, occupies the former Delicias Station, very close to Atocha Rail Station. This Museum is managed by the Spanish Railways Foundation, and it is sponsored by RENFE, ADIF, and the Community (Local Government) of Madrid. This museum, first opened in Fernan Nunez Palace, where currently, we have the the Spanish Railways Foundation […]
Also known as “Anden 0”, and ghost station of Madrid Metro, this station was closed down in 1966, since it couldn’t be extended of adapted to the new length of 90 meters, they needed for the 6 wagon trains. Until then, these trains comprised 4 cars, which only needed platforms of 60 meters. Metro Line […]
The sculpture La Mariblanca is a copy of the original, located on the top of a column at the confluence of where Arenal street meet with Puerta del Sol. La Mariblanca, has an unknown origin, nevertheless it is known that it was purchased in 1625, to decorate the now missing Fountain of Faith (Fuente de […]
It seems that in the Spanish Golden Age, many writers and scholars worked on a legend to explain the origin of the name of Madrid. This legend begins with the survivors of the Battle of Troy, and being Prince Bianor one of them, who tried to return to Greece, without success. Eventually he settled and […]
This point or mark on the sidewalk in front of the “Casa de Correos”, (current headquarters of the Community of Madrid), in Puerta del Sol, sets the zero kilometer point, from where the six national roads or motorways A-1 to A-6, start. Also from here the numbering of the streets of Madrid begin, being the […]
Tree of Love Cercis siliquastrum This crooked trunk tree, share family with the legumes, like chickpeas, beans, peas, etc.. Its fruits are a bean sheath, in which the seeds grow, but unlike many other vegetables, they are not edible. Flowering of these trees, begin with the early days of heat. Its flowers, have a butterfly […]
Next to the Prado Museum, we have the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid, which has been in this location on the Paseo del Prado, since 1781. Previously (inaugurated in 1755), these gardens were at another location near the River Manzanares, in a place which today is called Puerta de Hierro. In the early nineteenth century, […]
White Night in Madrid, is a cultural initiative that begun in Berlin in 1997, and then continued in Paris in 2002. After this, it continued in other European cities. During one night a year, usually in the month of September, many of the attractions of the city remain open to the public, until dawn the […]
Locomotora de vapor 141-F-2416. Rodaje tipo Mikado (Talleres Euskalduna, España, 1960) These train engines correspond to a batch of 217 produced entirely in Spain. They are of the type called Mikado, because of the construction and disposition of the axes, in a 1-4-1 way, a guidance front axle, 4 motor and traction, and a final […]
6101 Electric Locomotive (Westinghouse and Baldwin, United States, 1924) In the early days of electric traction at Pajares Ramp in Asturias, Spain, this locomotive (as well as the 6005) made the journey through this difficult mountain pass, on the way to Busdongo Station in León. From Busdongo, a change was made to a steam locomotive […]
4020 Diesel Locomotive Krauss Maffei and Babcock & Wilcox, Germany – Spain, 1966 The 4020 is a Diesel locomotive of great power, that derives from the V-200 series of the German railways. These locomotives were the only diesel with hydromechanical transmission Mekydro that circulated in Spain. When RENFE incorporated them into their engine park, these […]
The Mahou Tower, with its 85 meters and 29 floors, it is the seventeenth tallest building in Madrid. It is located in the AZCA complex, near the new Windsor building, and El Corte Inglés in La Castellana Avenue. The Torre Alfredo Mahou, as it is also called in Spanish, was built from 1987 to 1990. […]
The Municipal Transport Company of Madrid, EMT for short of (Empresa Municipal de Transportes), is a corporation owned by the Madrid City Council, responsible for the provision of public collective urban transport for the city of Madrid. The EMT is integrated into the Consorcio Regional de Transportes de Madrid, the institutional entity responsible for the […]
The intercity bus network of Madrid, called “Autobuses Interurbanos, is composed of a set of lines connecting the municipalities of this region each operated by public or private companies under a government concession from Consorcio Regional de Transportes de Madrid (Regional Transport Consortium of Madrid.) This network was integrated on December 31, 2007, by 459 […]
The Madrid Metro is the sixth longest underground passenger transport in the world, although the city of Madrid, is just the 60th, in the ranking of population. The growth of Metro de Madrid in the last 20 years, has been very rapid. The first line of the Madrid Metro started operating on the 17th, October […]
The central station for the AVE (Spanish High Speed Rail), is Atocha Station. As seen in the picture, inside the old station, with an area of 4,000 square meters (4,783 yd²), is a large greenhouse containing an interesting botanical garden with 7,200 plants of 260 different tropical and subtropical, species. Some notes to mention, of […]
El Prado Museum has one of the world’s finest collections of European art, from the twelfth to the nineteenth century, and undoubtedly the best single collection of Spanish art.
Next to the Thyssen Museum, we are crossing the Paseo del Prado, towards the Ritz Hotel, and to the right we can see one of the entrances to the Prado Museum.
This picture above, is the beginning of Alcalá Street, close to Puerta del Sol. To the right of the picture, is what was known to be the building of Banesto, Spanish Bank of Credit, and to the left, the Casino de Madrid. On the block where we have the Banesto building, a large shopping complex […]
Madrid Atocha Station, also called Madrid Puerta de Atocha, is the largest railway station in Madrid. At this same site, the first railway station in Madrid was opened on February 9, 1851 under the name of Atocha-Mediodía. Este edificio fue reconstruido y reabierto en 1892, después de que fue destruido en gran parte por un […]
Mayan Ritual today in Plaza Colon in Madrid, starting at 12:12 hours. Preparing to receive the New Age that begins with the end of the Mayan Calendar.
The Madrid-Barajas Airport is located in the vicinity, northeast of Madrid city center. It is the first Spanish airport by traffic of passenger, and air cargo operations, the fourth largest in Europe, and the eleventh in the world. Barajas Airport, has 4 terminals, from which terminals 1, 2, and 3, flights are classified according to […]
The San Miguel Market is located in the plaza of the same name, next to the Plaza Mayor of Madrid. It preserves the original interesting iron structure of the early twentieth century. This building has been closed for many years, and currently a group of private individuals came with the idea to open a very […]
Torre Picasso is located in Madrid, Spain, and it is one of AZCA commercial business complex skyscrapers. It is next to Paseo de la Castellana, one of the most important avenues of Madrid. Until 2007, this building was the tallest skyscraper of Madrid. Since that year, La Torre Espacio, which is at the CTBA complex, […]
The Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, was inaugurated on December, 14, 1947 and it is owned by Real Madrid Football Club. It is located on the Paseo de la Castellana, very close to the AZCA commercial complex, where most of Madrid’s skyscrapers are. This is the reason to include it on the skyline walking tour section of […]
The four buildings of the CTBA, are standing next to each other, and on this photo, you can see the reflection of Torre Espacio (Space Tower), on the Crystal Tower. The Crystal Tower, is located North of Madrid. With its 249 meters and 52 storeys, it is the tallest building in Spain and the eighth […]
The monument to King Alfonso XII, is a sculpture located at the east side of the pond, near the center of the Retiro Park. The monument, funded by public subscription, was inaugurated on June 6, 1922. It is composed of a large colonnade with large number of sculptures that surround the equestrian statue of the […]
The Crystal Palace, has in front an artificial lake, where you can find bald cypress trees (Taxodium distichum), with their main characteristic, that part of the trunk, and roots are under water. The building is surrounded by Buckeyes or Spanish Chestnut trees. The palace has suffered great damage over time, due to the wars, but […]
Retiro Park has many beautiful sculptures and fountains, and this one called La Alcachofa (artichoke) was designed by Ventura Rodríguez and decorated with sculptures by Alfonso Giraldo Bergaz, and Antonio Primo. It was built in 1781 and located close to Puerta de Atocha. It was transferred in 1880 to its present location in the southwest […]
This is the back (at the east), of the Prado Museum. It is the newly built part (2007), with the back of the original building at your left, and the new Moneo Cube or Los Jerónimos building, to the right of the church with the same name. A better view of the Moneo Cube: The […]
Brief History: Neoclassical marble sculpture, from the second half of XVIII, was part of the idea of King Carlos III to modernize the city of Madrid. This modernization plan included the placement of emblematic monuments. Today: It’s the meeting point of the Atlético de Madrid football team, when they win important games and titles. Location: […]
Just outside one of the gates of El Retiro Park, we get this building, right in front of us. El Casón del Buen Retiro, is one the two buildings that survived the destruction of the Buen Retiro Palace. Built in 1637 by Alonso Carbonell, it was initially designed as a ballroom space for the Court […]
We call it Madrid’s Lungs, due to its dimensions, and natural vegetation. Casa de Campo, is the main park of Madrid with its 1722 Hectares, it is twice the size of Bois de Boulogne in Paris, and 6.5 times larger than Hyde Park in London. It gives us an escape from the noise, and other […]
The construction of Puente de Segovia, was ordered by King Phillip II to his favorite architect Juan de Herrera, between 1582 and 1584, who followed the classical solution used in the Roman bridges. The Bridge over the Manzanares River, is made out of granite with 9 arched padded spans, and on the parapet of the […]
The Vicente Calderón Stadium is located on the east bank of the Manzanares River, in Arganzuela district. It is owned by Atletico de Madrid SAD, team owner of Club Atlético de Madrid. The Club Atlético de Madrid, Mahou brewery, and the city of Madrid, signed on the 30th of July 2007, an agreement by which […]
The Puente de Toledo was built between 1718 and 1732, by the architect Pedro de Ribera. This bridge connects the two banks of the Manzanares River, linking the Glorieta Pirámides, on the east bank, with the Marqués de Vadillo on the west bank. Baroque style, this bridge was built between 1718 and 1732. In 1956, […]
The Arganzuela Bridge crosses the Manzanares River, and the Madrid Rio Park, linking two of Madrid´s districts, Carabanchel and Arganzuela. This bridge was designed by French architect Dominique Perrault, and its construction began late on year 2010. It was opened in March 2011. It consists of two tubular sections of 278 meters in length, that […]
The “Campo del Moro”, is a 49 acres park located in the western part of the Palacio Real. It is the area that goes from the palace, down the slope towards the Manzanares River, and it is one of three gardens, surrounding the palace. After the first attempts, by King Philip II (1527-1598), the final […]
The monumental work “Brushstroke” (1996), was installed in the central square of the building designed by Jean Nouvel. This was done to expand the Reina Sofia Museum, and for this occasion, the great exhibition of Roy Lichtenstein’s work, “All About Art”, which took place in 2004. After that, the sculpture Brushstroke, became part of the […]
The photo shows the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum in the Villahermosa Palace, at the corner of Paseo del Prado, with Carrera de San Jerónimo. The Thyssen Bornemisza Museum is named after the Thyssen family, who began collecting art since 1920. In the 80s, what was considered the largest private art collection in the world, was donated to […]
Walking down from Callao, to Plaza España, a few meters to the right of Gran Via, you may find a traditional market called Los Mostenses. In your walking tour, you could give it a quick look, or continue on to Plaza España.
Just a few meters off Gran Via, there is this traditional food market. Visiting these markets, is a good way to see the life style of local people doing a very common everyday activity. It’s interesting to see how the products sold on this market, have changed with time. Ten years ago, there was mostly […]
The Debod Temple is an ancient Egyptian construction that was originally in a small locality next to the Nile River with the name of Debod. Currently was moved, stone by stone, and located in Madrid. Debod Temple was a gift from Egypt to Spain in 1968, in return for Spanish assistance, following the international call […]
Madrid is sunny most of the year, but in autumn the sky gets just the right amount of clouds and tones, that make it very beautiful to watch and photograph. Because of being on a small hill, and overlooking the West from the Debod Temple, is probably one of the best spots to see a […]
On our way to Palacio Real and Sabatini Gardens, before leaving the Debod Temple area, we give it the last glimpse with the stunning illumination.
Plaza España is a large square in the historic centre of the city. The sculpture highlighted on this photo, is dedicated to Miguel de Cervantes, and his main work Don Quixote. In Plaza España, is where two main avenues start, The Gran Via and Calle de la Princesa. Shortly before the construction of Gran Vía, […]
Once we have been observing the magnificent views from the rooftop of the Circulo de Bellas Artes, why not review the program of activities, with a drink in the fabulous terrace at 42 Alcala Street. The Fine Arts Circle, is a private cultural non profit institution, founded in 1880 by a group of artists. The […]
Halfway through the Paseo del Prado, we find the Fountain of Neptune, which is in Canovas del Castillo Plaza. In this square, we have many important landmarks of important touristic value, as two of the most important museums of art, as the Prado and the Thyssen Museums, two luxurious hotels with a long tradition, such […]
From Canalejas Square, a few meters away, we have the Puerta del Sol (Gate of the Sun in English), which is the geographical center, and meeting point for the city of Madrid. In this wide square, which already been closed to everyday traffic, and only maintain limited access to some tourist buses, and taxis, it […]
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