Landmarks
Madrid Landmarks
From the Royal Palace at sunrise to the dome of the Almudena Cathedral — the monuments that define Madrid.
Iconic Sites
8 landmarks
Palacio Real de Madrid
Europe's largest royal palace by floor area — 3,418 rooms, though only around 50 are open to the public, dripping with frescoes, Stradivarius violins, and a Throne Room that still hosts state ceremonies. The Spanish royal family no longer lives here, which is exactly why you can walk through it.
Plaza Mayor
A vast 17th-century arcaded square that has hosted royal coronations, bullfights, and the occasional Inquisition trial — now filled with café terraces, street portraitists, and the equestrian statue of Felipe III at its centre. Everyone passes through eventually; that's the point.
Puerta del Sol
Kilometre Zero — the exact point from which every road distance in Spain is measured, marked by a small plaque in the pavement. Home to the bear-and-strawberry-tree statue, the Tío Pepe sign, and the clock whose twelve chimes on New Year's Eve set the whole country's midnight.
Puerta de Alcalá
A neoclassical granite gate commissioned by Carlos III in 1778 — one of Europe's first purpose-built triumphal arches predating Paris's own by decades. It once marked the eastern edge of the city; now it stands mid-roundabout at the entrance to Retiro Park.
Templo de Debod
A genuine 2nd-century BC Egyptian temple, dismantled stone by stone and gifted to Spain by Egypt in 1968 for help saving Nubian monuments from the Aswan Dam floodwaters. It now sits on a hilltop above Parque del Oeste with one of the city's best sunset views over the Sierra de Guadarrama.
Estación de Atocha
Madrid's grandest railway station — a 19th-century wrought-iron train shed whose old departure hall was converted in 1992 into a tropical garden of more than 7,000 plants and a resident population of turtles in a central pond. Still a fully working station, and free to wander through.
Plaza de Cibeles
Madrid's most photographed fountain — the goddess Cybele riding a lion-drawn chariot, ringed by four of the city's grandest buildings including the wedding-cake Palacio de Cibeles. The traditional spot where Real Madrid fans celebrate every trophy, whether the mayor's office likes it or not.
Gran Vía
Madrid's Broadway — a mile and a half of Beaux-Arts and Art Deco towers built between 1910 and 1929, now lined with theatres, flagship stores, and the neon of the Schweppes and Metrópolis buildings. Cut through in a straight line specifically to modernise a city of medieval alleys.
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