Tour Madrid: Royals, Plazas & Secrets 3H

The Plaza de Santa Ana is an open space in the Cortes neighborhood, in the Centro district of Madrid. It dates from 1810 and throughout its history it has undergone numerous urbanization processes that have modified its appearance with diverse fortunes.

Today the palace is used exclusively for receptions, ceremonies and official events since the kings of Spain reside in the Palacio de la Zarzuela. The Royal Palace is also called the Palacio de Oriente. The construction of the Royal Palace began in 1738 and the works lasted for seventeen years. Shortly after its completion, in 1764, Carlos III established his habitual residence there. The location of the palace was the same one that occupied the Palace of the Austrias, destroyed by a fire during Christmas Eve of 1734.

The Almudena Cathedral is the most important religious building in Madrid. On June 15, 1993, it was consecrated by Pope John Paul II, becoming the first consecrated cathedral outside Rome. The Almudena Cathedral Museum gathers dozens of objects that tell the story of the diocese of Madrid. In the twelve rooms that the museum has you will see from mosaics to episcopal shields and ornament.

The Sabatini gardens are located in front of the north facade of the Royal Palace of Madrid, between Bailén street and the San Vicente slope. They occupy an area of 2.66 hectares.

The Debod Temple is a building from ancient Egypt currently located in the Spanish city of Madrid. It is located west of the Plaza de España, next to the Paseo del Pintor Rosales, on a hill where the Mountain Barracks was located.

This porticoed square is the heart of Madrid de los Austrias, the old town and the ideal starting point for a visit to one of the most charming neighborhoods. Before Madrid was a capital of large avenues and boulevards, its map was made up of small streets and passages, which today take us to times of swordsmen and rogues. The Plaza Mayor began to be founded on the site of the old Plaza del Arrabal, where the town's most popular market was located at the end of the 15th century, when the court of Philip II was moved to Madrid. In 1617 the architect Juan Gómez de Mora was commissioned to establish uniformity to the buildings of this place, which for centuries has hosted popular celebrations, bullfights, beatifications, coronations and also some faith car.

Covered market from around 1916 with local food, delicatessen and events in an elegant atmosphere.

The Royal Basilica of San Francisco el Grande, officially Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels, is a Catholic church in Madrid, in the Palacio neighborhood, within the historic center of the capital of Spain

Former residence of the famous writer Miguel de Cervantes, author of "Don Quijote", with guided tours.

The House of Lope de Vega, located on Cervantes Street, was built in the 16th century. Whoever was one of the great writers of the Spanish Golden Age acquired the property in 1610 and lived there until his death in 1635.

The Palace of the Spanish Courts, was built on the site of the former convent of the Holy Spirit that was used as the seat of Congress between 1834 and 1841. On the main facade, a staircase ascends to the neoclassical portico, with six imposing striated columns, of a Corinthian order, on which the triangular pediment decorated with reliefs of Ponciano Ponzano rises. The emblematic lions that flank the entrance are the work of the same sculptor and were cast with the iron of the cannons captured during the war in Africa. Under the pediment, the chiseled bronze door opens only on very marked occasions. Among the rooms of the building, symmetrical, stands out the well-known Session room, but also the library or the Conference room, better known as the "lost steps" room.

The fountain of Neptune is a neoclassical fountain that occupies the center of the roundabout to which it popularly gives its name, within the Plaza de Cánovas del Castillo, in the Spanish city of Madrid. This monumental fountain was proposed in 1777 and its construction, begun in 1782, was completed in 1786.

Singularly rich in paintings by European masters from the 16th to the 19th centuries, according to art historian and hispanist Jonathan Brown "few would dare to doubt that it is the most important museum in the world in European painting." Its main attraction lies in the wide presence of Velázquez, El Greco, Goya (the most widely represented artist in the museum), Tiziano, Rubens and El Bosco, of which he has the best and most extensive collections that exist worldwide, a what should be added outstanding sets of authors as important as Murillo, Ribera, Zurbarán, Fra Angelico, Rafael, Veronese, Tintoretto, Patinir, Antonio Moro, Van Dyck or Poussin, to name just a few of the most relevant.

Popularly known as "Los Jerónimos", its official name is that of Parish Church of San Jerónimo el Real. It is located next to the Prado Museum, at the back, and is late Gothic with Renaissance influences from the early 16th century. Although there is little left of the original building, it has been remodeled and restored many times over the centuries. His name refers to his special relationship with the kings of Spain, to begin with it was built by order of the Catholic Monarchs and throughout history it became the place of spiritual retreat of several monarchs. In addition, for centuries it has been the scene of royal investiture in the absence of a cathedral and the wedding of Alfonso XIII was also held here, for which the great stairway leading to its door was built in 1906.

This monumental door, built by mandate of Carlos III to replace a previous one dating from the 16th century, was inaugurated in 1778. Designed by Francesco Sabatini, it is a granite arc of triumph of neoclassical style, the first built in Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire, a precursor to others known as the Arc de Triomphe in Paris or the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Unlike the Puerta de Toledo or San Vicente, it has five openings instead of the usual three. The two facades of which it is composed show different decorations, making the inner face easier (initially the one facing the city, which includes the four virtues: Prudence, Justice, Temperance and Fortress) than the exterior, chaired by the royal shield and with greater decorative wealth, which was what those who entered Madrid saw. It receives its name for being located next to the road that led to Alcalá de Henares.

Las Ventas bullring in Madrid is the biggest bullfighting thing in Spain. With 23,798 spectators, it is the third largest bullring in the world, after those of Mexico and Valencia (Venezuela) .1 It is also the second largest in terms of the diameter of its ring 61.5 m— after that of Round 1

The tour includes a tour of the main streets of Barrio Salamanca: Velázquez, Ortega and Gasset and Serrano

It was inaugurated on December 14, 1947 and its capacity is currently 81,044 spectators.

The tour will go from the Salamanca District to the Santiago Bernabéu stadium along the Paseo de la Castellana.

The Christopher Columbus monument presides over the square from the center of the fountain around which the traffic revolves. This white marble sculpture, in neo-Gothic style, next to its imposing stone-carved pedestal, measures 17 meters and was built in 1885 by Jerónimo Suñol, on the occasion of the wedding celebration between Alfonso XII and María de las Mercedes de Orleans. The square also houses the Gardens of Discovery, a park opened in 1970, where you can admire various sculptures such as the monument dedicated to the discovery of America. In the basement is the Cultural Center of the Villa Fernán Gómez.

The National Library of Spain (BNE) is an autonomous body responsible for the deposit of the bibliographic and documentary heritage of Spain. Dedicated to collecting, cataloging and conserving bibliographic funds, it has custody of around thirty million publications produced in national territory since the beginning of the 18th century: books, magazines, maps, prints, drawings, scores and brochures.

Surrounded by the buildings of the Palacio de Buenavista (Army Headquarters), Palacio de Linares (Casa de América), Palacio de Comunicaciones (formerly the headquarters of the Post Office and currently the City Council of Madrid) and the Bank of Spain. The fountain represents the Roman goddess Cibeles, symbol of the land, agriculture and fertility, on a car pulled by two lions, the mythological characters Hipomenes and Atalanta. The goddess and the lions were carved in marble and the rest in stone. The sculpture of the goddess is the work of Francisco Gutiérrez. The two lions have been sculpted by the Frenchman Roberto Michel. The goddess is an icon for the fans of the Real Madrid football team, since the Madrid team titles are celebrated, as well as the successes of the Spanish soccer team.

All a decorative waste, awarded at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts of 1884. The building was built with the aim of providing the National Bank with a seat more in line with the importance of its functions, such as the single issuance of coins and bills for everything Spanish territory The interior of the building can only be visited by groups of educational centers and universities. Exceptionally, also by non-profit cultural and associative entities.

The Gran Vía is one of the main streets of the Spanish city of Madrid. It begins in the street of Alcalá and ends in the square of Spain. It is an important milestone in the city since its construction in the early twentieth century seen from the commercial, tourist and leisure point of view.

We drive all way Around and can stop for fotos at the Main Entrance.

Drive thrue all paseo del prado all the way down to Atocha train stacion.

Travelers will see 200 years old opera house