Madrid Day 1: The Park, The Palace, The Prado & All Those Plazas

“Madrid is a strange place anyway…Yet when you get to know it, it is the most Spanish of all cities, the best to live in, the finest people, and month in and month out the finest climate.”

~Ernest Hemingway, Death in the Afternoon

Opening the door onto a morning in Madrid feels like stepping back in time. Elegant boulevards and diverse architecture from Gothic to Renaissance to Baroque weave through the city. Stone-paved plazas with names emblazoned on illustrated tiles spill from one into another. Statues of kings and rulers and writers call out from their pedestals around every corner of the old city, a nod to the Spanish capital’s rich history and important residents.

Madrid was founded in the late 9th century by the Cordobese Emir Muhammed I as a walled military outpost called Mayrit, “the place of many streams” in Arabic. In the eleventh century, it was conquered by the Christians and in the late Middle Ages became a town of the Crown of Castile. The city lies in the center of the country at 2,132 feet above sea level, the second highest capital in Europe.

Madrid is a city of seasons, and we landed here when the autumn foliage was on full display. It rained the night we arrived, but by morning, the only remnants of the storm were a few evaporating puddles and October leaves strewn on sidewalks. With a walking tour scheduled for the afternoon, Herb and I headed out from our hotel early to explore a few places not on the tour. It was an ambitious plan to be sure, but then again, I didn’t want to miss a thing!

Retiro Park

Retiro Park is a grand affair, covering 300 acres and filled with more than 15,000 trees – the oldest planted in 1633. The property belonged to the Spanish royal family until becoming a public park in the 19th century. We entered through the ornate Filipe IV Gate that dates to 1690 and leads to the French Garden.

I’d jotted down a few places I’d hoped to find in the park, but mostly we wandered, taking in the expansive landscape. It was surprisingly busy on a chilly weekday morning, with runners, cyclists and tourists filling the scene. I got the feeling that this was truly the people’s park, enjoyed and loved by the residents who were lucky enough to live nearby.

An Architectural Feast

We grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed toward our walking tour meeting point at Plaza Isabel II. Along the way, the city’s magnificent architecture dazzled, and I was struck by not only the variety of styles but the details that danced across the buildings. It was immediately clear that Madrid is a wonderfully walkable city designed to reflect the beauty and style of the day .

Plaza Isabel, Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol

About ten of us had gathered for Take Walks “Madrid in a Day” tour. Our guide José began with a walk through several plazas, the city’s pedestrian hubs that serve as shortcuts from one area to another. Although similar in design, each plaza clearly has its own personality and honors a key figure in Spanish history.

Plaza Isabel II

A statue of Isabel II stands in front of the Teatro Real Opera House, which was commissioned by Isabel II and constructed in 1850. The charming plaza is also known as Plaza de Ópera.

Plaza Mayor

This grand plaza is the central square in the heart of Old Madrid. Nine archways lead into a vast courtyard surrounded by 16th-century red terracotta balconied buildings. Plaza Mayor was constructed during the reign of Philip III, whose statue stands in the center of the action, as if ready to take off on horseback.

Puerta del Sol

The “Gate of the Sun” is a bustling plaza filled with interesting attractions. Kilometer Zero – a small stone slab marking the exact geographic center of Spain where all national roads begin – is embedded in the ground just outside the Old Royal Post Office. Madrid’s symbol of a bear eating fruit from a strawberry tree decorates one end of the plaza, and a statue of “the mayor king” Charles III stands at the other. A quirky Tío Pepe sign looks over the Puerta del Sol  from the top of the former Paris Hotel.

Puerta del Sol becomes a local mini-Times Square on New Year’s Eve, when bells from the Old Royal Post Office clock ring out to mark the beginning of the New Year.

Royal Palace of Madrid

Our next stop was the Royal Palace, the largest palace in Western Europe, with 3,418 rooms and 1,450,000 square feet. Built in the 18th century, the palace sits on the site of the old Alcázar of Madrid, a medieval fortress that was converted into a palace for Philip II in 1561. Although Spain’s royal family no longer lives here, the palace is used for official functions and is one of the few Heads of State residences open to the public.

A Churros Break

Before heading to our final stop of the tour, José took our group to Chocolatería 1902 for churros, Madrid’s wildly popular pastry treat. The chocolate factory is one of the oldest in the city and has been run by the same family for five generations. Our piping hot fried churros were formed into thick cylinders and thinner curved shapes and served with a cup of the richest hot chocolate I’ve ever tasted for dipping the churros. Herb and I enjoyed a few bites, but found it impossible to finish our serving!

Museo del Prado

Our day ended in the part of Madrid where it had begun. Museo del Prado, a short walk from Retiro Park, is Spain’s national art museum and a treasure house of 12th-to-early 20th-century works. Founded as a museum of paintings and sculpture in 1819, the Prado now contains 8,200 drawings, 7,600 paintings, 4,800 prints and 1,000 sculptures. Works by Francisco de Goya, El Greco, Peter Paul Rubens and Diego Velázquez are showcased here.

The Prado is a place where it is really helpful to have a guide. Although I was familiar with some of the art, I didn’t know the backstories behind the works and gained a better appreciation of these artists. Finding the highlight pieces was also much easier with José navigating us through the various rooms. Photography is not permitted inside, but I’ve included a few images of some key works.

The End of the Day

The sun sets early this time of year, and nightfall was settling over Madrid as we left the Prado. Back at the hotel, Herb pulled out his phone to check his exercise activity app. It turned out that we had been quite correct about predicting an ambitious day.

We had walked more than 24,000 steps through the streets of Madrid.