Sights

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Palacio Real
EL CENTRO
C. de Bailén
}91 454 88 00; www.patrimonionacional.es
El Palacio Real is the ultimate symbol of the Spanish Empire’s wealth and power. The palace was constructed by King Phil…
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Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
AVENIDA DEL ARTE
C. Santa Isabel, 52
}91 774 10 00; www.museoreinasofia.es
Juan Carlos I named the Reina Sofía for his wife and declared it a national museum in 1988. The building itself is a mas…
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Museo Nacional del Prado
AVENIDA DEL ARTE
C. Ruiz de Alarcón, 23
}91 330 28 00; www.museodelprado.es
El Prado is one of the greatest art museums in the world. Built from the original collection of the Spanish royal family…
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Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
AVENIDA DEL ARTE
Paseo del Prado, 8
}91 369 01 51; www.museothyssen.org
The Thyssen-Bornemisza has a bit more of an international emphasis than either the Reina Sofía or the Prado. The museum …
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Caixaforum
AVENIDA DEL ARTE
Paseo del Prado, 36
}91 389 65 45
The CaixaForum is a visual magnet along Paseo del Prado. The 19th-century factory seems to float on one corner of La Ave…
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Plaza de España
GRAN VÍA
In a city filled with statues of Spanish royalty and Roman deities, Pl. de España is something of an anomaly. Located on…
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Templo de Debod
ARGÜELLES AND MONCLOA
Paseo del Pintor Rosales, 2
}91 366 74 15; www.munimadrid.es/templodebod
On a nice day, this is one of the most beautiful spots in Madrid. In the ’60s, the rapid industrialization taking place …
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El Pardo
ARGÜELLES AND MONCLOA
C. de Manuel Alonso s/n
}91 376 15 00
Originally built in the 15th century as a hunting lodge for Henry IV, El Pardo is today most famous having been the priv…
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Museo Sorolla
SALAMANCA
Paseo General Martínez Campos, 47
}91 310 15 84; http://museosorolla.mcu.es/
This museum will surprise you. While the Valencian painter Joaquim Sorolla (1863-1923) is not quite a household name, he…
Plaza Mayor
EL CENTRO
Today Pl. Mayor is something of a vestigial structure in the bustling cosmopolitan center of Madrid. It may be about as …
Puerta del Sol
EL CENTRO
Spain’s Kilometro Cero, the point from which all distances in Spain are measured, is located in Puerta del Sol. You cert…
Catedral de la Almudena
EL CENTRO
C. de Bailén, 8-10
}91 542 22 00
Catedral de la Almudena is in many ways a freak of history. While Madrid became the official capital of the Spanish King…
Plaza de Oriente
EL CENTRO
Across the way from the Spanish Royal Palace, Pl. de Oriente is a monument to the empire in its own right. Formal garden…
Jardines de Sabatini
EL CENTRO
C. de Bailén, 9
}91 588 53 42
This maze of trees, hedges, and fountains stands on what used to be the stable grounds of El Palacio Real, originally de…
Plaza de la Villa
EL CENTRO
Many of the neighboring plazas in El Centro are bigger, but it isn’t size that really matters... right ladies? In any ca…
Convento de la Encarnación
EL CENTRO
Pl. de la Encarnación, 1
}91 454 88 00
Every July 27th, it is said that the blood of St. Panthalon, held in a crystal orb, visibly liquefies. It is not entirel…
Basilica de San Francisco el Grande
LA LATINA AND LAVAPIÉS
C. de San Buenaventura
}91 365 38 00
This Roman Catholic Church is one of the most distinctive structures in La Latina. The basilica, designed in a Neoclassi…
La Iglesia de San Andrés
LA LATINA AND LAVAPIÉS
Pl. de San Andrés
One of the oldest parishes in Madrid, La Iglesia de San Andrés used to be the go-to church for La Latina local San Isidr…
Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando
LAS HUERTAS
C. de Alcalá, 13
}91 524 08 64; rabasf.insde.es
The oldest permanent art institute in Madrid, the Real Academia de Bellas Artes is a short walk away from bustling Puert…
Parque del Buen Retiro
AVENIDA DEL ARTE
C. Alfonso XII, 48
}91 429 82 40; www.parquedelretiro.es
When a run-of-the-mill millionaire needs a break, he goes to a spa. When a Spanish monarch needs some time off, he build…

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