I think Madrid is my favorite city in Europe.
It certainly is a popular tourist destination, but at the same time it is it’s own place and not owned or taken over by tourism.
Not as visited as many places in Europe but with everything one needs in a big city. No ancient ruins like Rome but it has a wonderful stock of classic architecture of the past three hundred years.
The Grand Viais where much of that architecture is to be found. The street, sometimes referred to as the “Spanish Broadway”, is one of the city’s most important shopping areas, with a large number of hotels and large movie theatres. However, since the late 2000s, many of these theatres have been replaced by shopping centres.
The Gran Vía serves as a showcase of early 20th-century revival architecture, with architectural styles ranging from Vienna Secession style, Plateresque, Neo-Mudéjar, Art Deco, among others.
The Metropolis Building or Edificio Metrópolis is an office building at the corner of the Calle de Alcalá and Gran Vía.
Inaugurated in 1911, it was designed by Jules and Raymond Février for the insurance company La Unión y el Fénix. It is currently owned by Metrópolis Seguros.
Very high end shops are to be found such as Hermes, Dior etc in beautiful buildings such as this one.
Detail of the building above.
Window displays at the Vuitton shop.
Above and below City Hall
Palacio de Cibeles: The former Communication Palace has been the seat of the Madrid City Council since 2007.
On June 18, 1917, the Odeon Theatre was inaugurated, now known as Calderon. It is surely one of the most beautiful buildings in the center of Madrid, both for its exterior architecture and for the interior decoration. It was designed by the architect Eduardo Sánchez Eznarriaga.
APARTMENTS
I kept looking up thinking I wonder what it’s like up there.
Note the rooftop garden of this penthouse apartment.
PLAZA MAYOR
Above and below Plaza Major. It was once the centre of Old Madrid. It was first built (1580–1619) during the reign of Philip III.
Above-Casa de la Villa was the town hall of the city of Madrid from 1693 until 2007.
Above and below- painting on sides of buildings.
MAY DAY IN MADRID
Phone courtesy Wikipedia
Above-The Royal Palace and the Cathedral
The Day of the Autonomous Community of Madrid (Fiesta de la Comunidad de Madrid, Dos de Mayo) is a public holiday on May 2. It marks the anniversary of the uprising against French troops on May 2, 1808. The Peninsula War.
The Almudena Cathedral.
The building is dedicated to the Virgin of the Almudena, the patron saint of Madrid. And it was consecrated by Pope John Paul II on 15 June 1993.
Below-I did not take note of the name of this church but it was unique in having sculptures of the poor heathens having Christianity brought to them.
