Orientation

La Latina and Lavapiés lie just across the southern border of El Centro. These areas are young, hip, and distinctively madrileño. While accommodations are limited, these areas provide some of the finest dining and nightlife options in the city. Many unadventurous tourists will stick to the obvious food and drink options surrounding Puerta del Sol and Pl. Mayor, but the tabernas of Calle Cava Baja and Calle Alemendro serve some of the city’s best traditional Spanish cuisine. These narrow streets are packed with meal options and one rule is universal: quality matters. While Lavapiés is less active at night, it remains one the best neighborhoods for international cuisine, particularly along Calle Lavapiés with its many Indian restaurants. If you are sick of tapas, this is a great place to mix things up. La Latina and Lavapiés are great to explore day and night. If you have the time, try to make it to the Sunday flea market El Rastro.

Bordering the eastern edge of the city, Parque del Buen Retiro is Madrid’s Central Park. This is where the fast pace of cosmopolitan life breaks down, where madrileño families come to spend time together, where tourists can escape their hostel bunk beds. Retiro is its own world of walkways, gardens, fields, and trees, and it is deceptively close to the city center. The Avenida del Arte just west of Retiro is the city’s cultural endowment. While the city center is largely commercial (save the odd cathedral or convent), Avenida del Arte protects Spain’s most prized cultural artifacts, from Picasso’s Guernica to Goya’s Second and Third of May. While the Museo Nacional del Prado, the Reina Sofía, and the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza have become famous individually, it is their totality that makes the Avenida del Arte such a powerful display of Spain’s culture. The walk along the tree-lined Paseo del Prado has become a cultural phenomenon of its own, a celebration of the beauty and sophistication of this city.

Once the center of bohemian life in Madrid, and the birthplace of a counterculture movement (La Movida) in the 1970s and early ’80s, Malasaña is today somewhat of a caricature of its former self. Within a few decades, Malasaña has become one of the most expensive and image-driven barrios of the city, with high-end cafes and international novelty restaurants like creperies and fresh juice stands. It is rumored that somewhere in this barrio there is a place that sells “Russian Tapas,” which begs the question, “WTF?” (We couldn’t find it.) Art supply stores can be found on every other block, meaning that there are either a lot of artists in this neighborhood or a lot of people who like to spend money on expensive paints. For the traveler, Malasaña is a total playground, with the city’s best nightlife, live music, and dining.

Argüelles and Moncloa are quiet residential areas spanning the western edge of the city from the north of Pl. de España to the city’s northwest corner at Moncloa. While these areas are less geared towards tourists, they are great areas to explore madrileño life in its most simple and unpretentious manner. Plaza de España, Casa de Campo, and Parque del Oeste provide the city’s most expansive green spaces on the west side of Madrid, functioning as both sites of recreation and centers of culture. Outside of the major parks, in these neighborhoods, you will find quiet streets with bookstores, small shops, and uninspiring cafes. From Argüelles you can explore the odd and beautiful Templo de Debod to the west, and the great restaurants and nightlife options neighboring Malasaña just south. Moncloa is dominated by the presence of Franco’s Arco de la Victoria, and it is the best outpost from which to explore Parque del Oeste or journey by bus to the palace El Pardo. While accommodations are limited in this area, some tourists might find refuge staying in a quiet neighborhood a few stops removed from the chaotic city center.