The broad sweep of the Gran Vía was created at the dawn of a new age, wide enough for motor cars and lined with the city’s first skyscrapers and cinemas (many of which preserve the old tradition of using handpainted billboards). Now a busy, traffic-clogged shopping street, it’s looking a bit down-at-heel, but its brash, larger-than-life appeal still lingers. To the north of the Gran Vía are two formerly rundown neighbourhoods which have become the focal point of the city’s heady nightlife: Chueca and Malasaña, which have both been dramatically cleaned up in the last decade. Chueca is the focal point of Madrid’s gay community and Malasaña has a youthful, bohemian edge, but both are packed with some of the city’s best cafés, most fashionable clubs and trendiest shopping. The Parque del Oeste runs along the northwest of the city; this is where the cable car leaves for the wild expanse of the Casa de Campo (with its zoo and funpark) and where you’ll find the path to Goya’s beautiful pantheon. SightsCalle Alcalá and Círculo de Bellas Artes C Alcalá 42, T 91 360 5400. Exhibitions Tue-Fri 1700-2100, Sat-Sun 1100-1400; café Mon-Thu, Sun 0900-1400, Fri-Sat 0900-0400. Metro Banco de España. Calle Alcalá is a swaggering introduction to the Gran Vía, with which it connects on the eastern side of the city. It’s lined with flamboyant belle époque buildings, like the glamorous Casino at number 15, (members only, unless you can talk the doormen into giving you a glimpse of the billowing staircase), and the beautiful art deco Círculo de Bellas Artes, now an excellent café-bar and cultural centre. Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando C Alcalá 13. T 91 524 08 64. Tue-Fri 0900-1900, Sat-Mon and holidays 0900-1430; guided visits Oct-Jun 1700 (Spanish only). €2.50/1.25 concessions. Free on Wed. The Royal Academy of Fine Arts has barely changed since Dalí was a student here in the 1920s, before he was expelled for questioning his professors’ competence, and there’s a lingering sense that the appreciation of art is a solemn business and any frivolity will be frowned upon. Nonetheless, the academy houses a surprisingly extensive collection of paintings and drawings (many of which were appropriated after the Jesuits were expelled from Spain in 1767) including works by El Greco, Velázquez, Zurbarán, Ribera, Murillo, Titian, Rubens, Fragonard and Van Dyck. The academy is proudest of its large collection of paintings by Goya, including several of his later works which are imbued with an unsettling undercurrent. Torre Telefónica Gran Vía 28. Metro Gran Vía. Spain’s first skyscraper, a slick, 29-storey art deco construction, was built in 1929 to house an American telephone company. As the most instantly recognisable landmark in the city centre, it was targeted by Franco’s forces during the Civil War, and children used to collect the still-hot shrapnel embedded in its smooth façade. Spain’s former national telephone company Telefónica owns the building and has invested billions in an exhibition space. Plaza de España Metro Plaza de España. The Plaza de España is a large, sandy square with a pair of huge ornamental fountains and a couple of grassy areas usually colonized by picnicking office-workers and the odd tramp. At the centre, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza sally forth, while Cervantes looks on gloomily. The square is overshadowed by two bombastic skyscapers: the Edificio de España (1948) and the Torre de Madrid (1957). Sabatini Gardens and the Templo de Debod are a short stroll from the plaza, both are much prettier. Museo Cerralbo C Ventura Rodríguez 17, T 91 547 36 46. Tue-Sat 0930-1430, Sun 1000-1400. €2.50/1.25 concessions. Free on Sun and Wed. This beautiful 19th-century palace belonged to the 17th Marqués de Cerralbo, who crammed it with treasures picked up on his many travels. On his death in 1922 he bequeathed the palace and its contents to the state, with the stipulation that nothing was to be moved. As a result, it’s delightfully, eccentrically cluttered, with Roman busts rubbing shoulders with Flemish tapestries, and paintings by Ribera, Murillo and Zurbarán jostle together in unfash- ionable proximity. The palace is fitted with breathtaking opulence; even the bathrooms are works of art, with pretty shell-shaped sinks and porcelain toilets. The chandelier collection is extraordinary; don’t miss the ultra-kitsch pink-and-blue one in the Music Room. Plaza de Chueca Metro Chueca. Chueca is the heart of gay Madrid but it’s also where most of the nightlife is concentrated. This square, with its terrace cafés and bars, may be quiet and nondescript by day, but it livens up dramatically at night and is a great place to start the night. Museo Municipal C Fuencarral 78, T 91 588 86 72. Tue-Fri 0930-2000, Sat-Sun 1000-1400. €1.80/0.90 concessions. Metro Tribunal. Madrid’s town museum boasts one of the most extraordinary doorways in the city, a gushing Churrigueresque fantasy sculpted by Pedro de Ribera in the 17th century. Inside, there are plenty of plans and models, including Teixera’s famous takes pride of place. When it was first painted in 1810, the frame held by the female figure contained a portrait of Napoleon, but when the French were being beaten back a few years later, the offending portrait was painted over. Then Napoleon returned to power and the painting had to be retouched again. The uncertain political climate meant the painting was eventually ’adjusted’ seven times. Finally it was painted over with the words 2 de Mayo (Second of May), as a reminder of the uprising against the French occupiers. Plaza de Dos de Mayo Metro Malsaña. This square is named for the famous uprising against the French in 1808 (see box) and is the focal point of Malasaña’s excellent nightlife, with plenty of terrace cafés, clubs and bars. It used to be the scene of a huge botellón every weekend, when a sea of teenagers would descend, clutching their plastic bottles of beer, wine and spirits (hence the name). But Madrid has cracked down firmly on the botellón and cleaners stand by with hoses to make sure they don’t come back. Just off the square is Calle San Vicente Ferrer, which is sprinkled with old tiled shopfronts. At night this street is crammed pierced navel to pierced navel with hip students and teenagers queuing for the endless line of bars. Centro Cultural Conde Duque Plaza Conde Duque 9-11, T 91 588 58 34. Tue-Sat 1000-1400 and 1730-2100. Sat 1030-1330. Free. Metro Noviciado. This cultural centre puts on excellent temporary shows and is also the home of the city’s large collection of contemporary art. Just to the north is the Plaza de los Comendadores, with a handful of hip terrace cafés, a good place for a post-museum drink. Parque del Oeste Jardines de Templo del Debod, C Ferraz s/n, T 91 765 10 08. Tue-Fri Apr-Sep 1000-1400 and 1800-2000, Oct-Mar 0945-1345, 1615-1815. Metro Ventura Rodríguez. This cool, shady park spreads along the western flank of the city just a few minutes’ stroll north of the Plaza de España. One of its most surprising sights is a 2,000-year-old Templo de Debod, a gift from the Egyptians, perched on a low hill and reflected in a still pond in the south of the park. The surrounding peaceful gardens are very popular on Sunday mornings, when the benches are filled with locals reading their newspapers. Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida y Museo Panteón de Goya Glorieta de la Florida 5, T 91 542 07 22. Tue-Fri 1000-1400, 1600-2000, Sat-Sun 1000-1400. €1.80/0.90 concessions, free Wed and Sun. Metro Príncipe Pío. Head downhill along Calle Francisco y Jacinto Alcántara towards a pedestrian bridge which crosses the train tracks and leads to the Goya Pantheon. Goya was commissioned to decorate a new hermitage sheltering a cult statue of St Anthony of Padua in 1798. He worked rapidly, completing the frescoes in just 120 days and utterly transforming the simple chapel. In the cupola St Anthony raises a murdered man to life in order to exonerate his own father who had been unjustly accused of the crime. Around him swirl Goya’s famous ’angelitas’, the plump, rosy-cheeked ’majas’ of La Latina and Lavapiés who appear in his joyful paintings of local festivals – except this time they have been transformed into angels. Goya’s remains were brought here in 1919 and the chapel was closed for worship a decade later. The replica chapel directly opposite is used for services and is still the focus of a popular pilgrimage each year on 13 June. Teleférico and the Casa de Campo Teleférico, Paseo Pintor Rosales s/n, T 91 541 74 50. Mon-Fri 1200-2000, Sat-Sun and holidays 1100-2030. €2.80 single, €4 return. Metro Argüelles. Madrid’s cable car sways giddily across the city and out to the vast Casa de Campo, a huge and beautiful park full of shady walks and cycling paths. There’s a lake at the centre with cafés and a lively trade in prostitution which doesn’t seem to faze anyone. There’s a park information centre close to the lake which has information on botanic walks and wildlife. Also in the park are Madrid’s zoo-aquarium and theme park, Parque de Atracciones. Museo de América Av Reyes Católicos 6, T 91 549 2641. Tue-Sat 1000-1500, Sun and holidays 1000-1430. €3/1.50 concessions. Free Sun. Metro Moncloa. This handsome, red-brick art deco museum displays Spain’s collection of booty from the Americas and attempts to explain what Spain was doing there in the first place. It’s large, extremely well laid out and there’s plenty to amuse children, from shrunken heads and mummies, to slide shows and special family events. The highlights include ’The Treasure of the Quimbayas’, the most important collection of pre-Columbian gold in the world, and an extremely rare Maya Codex (13th-16th centuries) that recounts the arrival of the Spanish. Opposite is the Faro de Madrid, a glassy observation tower.
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