Madrid

Each year as winter starts to loose its grip on us we look for a place to visit the sun. This year we visited Madrid for a four day weekend to celebrate Easter where we enjoyed the wonderful people of Spain, warm sun, blue skies and many observations of Easter.

We began our explore with a walk to Plaza de Cibeles in search of the famous Cibeles Statue and fountain.  We found the statue but the fountain was not operating…oh well. The Cibeles Statue is one of the most recognizable icons in the city. This is the place where Real Madrid football fans celebrate big wins, and they do have lots of reasons to celebrate. The statue placed here in 1782 is Goddess Cybele driving a chariot pulled by lions. It sits in a square in front of the very impressive City Hall building that was built in 1909.

City Hall

We ventured on to find the Puerto del Sol, the Gate of the Sun which is one of the busiest and most recognized places in the city. This large square is the center of a radial network of roads and is marked as Km 0, the starting place to all roads from here. This was once one of the gates of the city wall which protected Madrid in the 15th century. The gate was named for the rising sun as this was the eastern entrance of the city. Today it is a popular meeting place with a number of notable monuments, crowds of people and plenty of entertainment including musicians, showmen and all manner of character actors.

The most famous symbol of the city is also prominently displayed here, a statue of a bear eating fruits from a tree, officially "El Oso y EL Madrono". Madrid was originally called Ursaria, or the land of the bears, because the surrounding forests were quite full of bears. Today the Bear and the Strawberry Tree are recognized as the symbol of Madrid.

A Mariachi Band at Puerto del Sol

Next for us was the Plaza Mayor and lunch. The Plaza Mayor is very large and colorful and considered the center piece of Madrid. You just can't visit Madrid and not visit this place. 

This place has a long history, not all of it pleasant. Of course it's a great place for big celebrations and in the past was even home to bull fighting and football games. More infamously, during the Spanish Inquisition the Plaza saw the ritual of public penance, "autos de fe", imposed upon supposed heretics, or if penance was not in order, the executions of those condemned to death. We are glad to report that those days are long past and that everyone we met was extremely friendly.

Today Plaza Mayor is a fun place to visit surrounded by distinct architecture with many wonderful outdoor cafes. We enjoyed a couple of relaxed lunches here; tapas, paella and a beverage or two in the warm sun while taking in the sights. 

The colorful buildings of Plaza Mayor

Sights along the Gran Via, the Main Street of Madrid with great buildings, shops and lots of people. The Principal Hotel where we stayed is the building on the right. The Rolex building is to the left, the Metropolis would be to the extreme left.

The Royal Palace was built here on the site of a Moorish fortress or Alcazar. The palace was completely destroyed by fire in 1734. It was rebuilt from 1738 to 1764  uniquely constructed of all stone and brick with no wood to guard against a future fire.

Right next to the Palace, Cathedral de La Almudena was a long time in the planning and was also under construction for a very long time. Built on the site of a medieval mosque that was destroyed in 1083 when Alfonso VI reconquered Madrid, construction of this structure began in 1879. The project was abandoned during the Spanish Civil War and then restarted in 1950. The cathedral was finally completed in 1993. It was consecrated by Pope John Paul II. The interior is Neo-Gothic and is a modern place of worship. We visited during the day and then went back at night during evening services.

Cathedral de La Almudena

The Palace at night

We were told that Madrid is the place to find traditional Flamenco. We asked for some help and were directed to Corral de la Moreria as host to one of the best Flamenco shows in the city.

We had a great time. We enjoyed a lovely traditional Spanish meal and were treated to an outstanding show of classic guitar, singing and, of course, lots of dance. The artists are first class professionals and the passion they bring to their presentation of Flamenco certainly distinguishes them and their art form. 

Puerta de Toledo

Metropolis

Museau de Prado

We really enjoy strolling through art museums and spent the better part of the next day at Museau de Prado. This is the largest museum in Spain and holds a collection of 7600 paintings, 1000 sculptures, 4800 prints, and 8200 drawings of which about 1300 are on display…wow. We did our best to see it all but we are sure we missed some. Artists include Francisco de Goya, Diego Velazquez, Peter Rubens, and Hieronymus Bosh among many, many others. We had a great day.

Museau de Prado

There are great fountains all over the city of Madrid. Just a short walk from the Prado is this fantastic fountain, Fuente de Neptuno, the fountain of Neptune. It is located in the Plaza de Canovas del Castillo. It depicts Neptune on a conch shell chariot being pulled by sea horses. 

The steps of the National Congress 

We walked all around Madrid enjoying the sights and checking out the statues that adorn the buildings. Here are a few of our favorites including the Lion guarding the Congress of Deputies (National Congress), the Winged Victory which sits on top of the dome of the Metropolis Building and the Minerva from the deck of the Circulo de Bellas Artes Building. In all during our visit we walked about 16 miles through the city. Madrid is a great city with lots of parks and gardens full of beautiful fountains and sculptures.

We had a great time in Madrid. We found the sun!  The food of madrid is great, the sights of Madrid are great. But above all the people of Madrid are fantastic!

BBVA Bank Building Quadrige (four horse chariot) Sculptures

atop the Ministry of Agriculture