Monuments to visit Madrid

The project for a royal theatre, initiated by King Fernando VII, has seen its construction suspended on several occasions, as its location is at the confluence of various rivers, making it difficult to build. The problems have been repeated and multiplied over the years... But today, this imposing building, twenty-two floors high, is standing tall and bustling with activity. Costumes for ballets and operas are made here, as well as shoes and wigs. It can be visited with an audioguide.

The famous and prolific writer, author of comedies, lived there from 1610 to his death in 1635.

It ends the Gran Vía and combines a pyramidal structure with a Baroque-inspired façade. Built between 1948 and 1953 by the brothers Julian and José María Otamendi Machimbarrena, the building bears witness to the Francoist trend of alternating brick and limestone. In the 1950s, it was the highest building in Spain. For a long time it was known as the "swearing building" because of the astonishing swearwords that spontaneously came out of the mouths of onlookers who contemplated it. It is 117 metres high. The 28 floors and the rooftop pool were served by 32 elevators. Until 2005, the ground floor housed a luxury hotel. Since then, it has been bought by the Santander Group for its rehabilitation. After changing hands several times since then, it was the Riu Plaza Group that acquired it in 2017 and opened in August 2019, after more than twenty months of work, the Riu Plaza España Hotel. With 27 floors, 550 rooms, an outdoor pool and a Sky Bar, among other things, this is one of the new flagships of the Madrid hotel industry well installed in an emblematic building of the capital.

Opposite is the Torre de Madrid building, a 130 m high tower. It was built by the same architects as the Edificio España. Originally, it was the highest concrete building in the world.

In the centre of the square , don't miss the monument to Cervantes with Don Quixote and the hilarious Sancho Panza, both on their respective mounts, at the feet of their creator.

The casino of Madrid was founded in 1836, but it is in 1903 that it is built on its current site. The building is the work of Luis Esteve, making the plan of it, and José López Sallaberry, who built it. The entrance is magnificent, including the royal lounge and main staircase with its paintings of Romero de Torres, Anselmo Miguel Nieto there Manuel Benedito. Today, it is a private cultural center. To visit the interior, you must be a member or go to his prestigious restaurant. The experts say that it is best capital.

The "House of the Seven Fireplaces" is one of the only 16th century Renaissance-style buildings in the capital that has remained intact to this day. Although it has been redesigned several times, this magnificent building was built between 1574 and 1577 by the architect Antonio Sillero.Since 1980, this building (which really has seven chimneys and was declared a Historic and Artistic Monument in 1948) has become the headquarters of the Ministry of Culture.

A Catalan architect designed this modernist palace at the beginning of this century. The façade is decorated with floral and vegetal motifs and is one of the few examples of this architectural trend that can be photographed in Madrid. From the entrance, you can see the transparent dome and the majestic staircase railing. Originally, it was both a residence and a bank. Today, it is the headquarters of the Société générale des auteurs (SGAE).