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Madrid Districts
The center of the Spanish capital is a huddle of medieval alleyways and squares whose most elegant reminder of old Habsburg Madrid is the zone between the Royal Palace and Plaza Mayor. Dissecting it is the Manhattan-style Gran Vía, while across the wide modern Castellana avenue leading north to the Plaza Castilla, the spacious charms of the Retiro Park spread out, surrounding 19th-century residential areas. Fanning out around Madrid, expanding new suburbs and fashionable American-style satellite towns are gradually absorbing much of the capital's booming five-million-plus population.
Every new arrival must find the Gran Vía, which cuts a bow-shaped east-west swath across the city between the neoclassical Metrópolis building near the Banco de España and the Plaza de España, where you'll find one of Europe's tallest skyscrapers, the Edificio España. As you walk along it noting the changing styles of buildings on either side, you're actually time-traveling through the four decades it took to construct the avenue between the early and mid-1900s. Home to the largest concentration of department stores, hotels, restaurants, and movie houses in the city, it's superseded only by Calle Serrano for chic quality shopping.
South of the Gran Vía lies the Puerta del Sol, the starting point for all road distances within Spain. Dominated by the 18th-century Casa de Correos (seat of the regional government), whose New Year clock chimes are traditionally witnessed by exhilarated crowds, all eating their 12 grapes in time with the chimes, the crescent-shaped square is perennially lively and its symbolic statue of the Bear and the Madroño Tree is a favorite rendezvous spot. It's also a prime hunting ground for pickpockets and purse snatchers so take care. Calle de Alcalá begins here at Sol and runs for 4km (2 1/2 miles)
The Plaza Mayor lies at the heart of Old Madrid and is an attraction in itself with its mix of Habsburg, French, and Georgian architecture. Pedestrians pass under the arches of the huge square onto the narrow streets of the old town, where you can find some of the capital's most intriguing restaurants and tascas, serving tasty tapas and drinks. The colonnaded ground level of the plaza is filled with shops, many selling souvenir hats of turn-of-the-20th-century Spanish sailors or army officers. On the weekend, stamps and rare coins are sold at stalls. Concerts, shows, and exhibitions are often held here, and at Navidad it's a child's delight with a proliferation of Christmas trees and stalls selling gifts. The lavish Reyes (or Three Kings) processions start from here on January 6 amid much excitement.
The area south of the Plaza Mayor -- known as barrios bajos and including the zones of Lavapiés and Embajadores -- is made up of narrow cobblestone streets lined with 16th- and 17th-century architecture. To the west is the elegant historic barrio of the Austrias, most of whose buildings sprang up during the Habsburg rule. From the northwest corner of Plaza, follow the Arco de Cuchilleros, a street packed with markets, restaurants, flamenco clubs, and taverns, to explore this zone. In narrow atmospheric street called the Cava Baja, just before you reach the Plaza de la Cebada, you'll find the largest concentration of trendy wine bars, homely tabernas, and posada (inn) style restaurants in all Madrid. The nearby Plaza de la Paja, close to the city's two oldest churches, was actually the heart of the city and its main marketplace during the medieval period.
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