Controversial, I know, but Madrid is my favourite European capital. Probably my favourite city, full stop. It took a while to get there, but that first visit 25 years ago left an indelible mark. Here is a city full of history and culture, the food is excellent, streets buzz with life, tradition and progress are everywhere, and it feels like a people-sized city. Big enough to be cosmopolitan, small enough to explore on foot. It was love at first caña.
There have been multiple visits over the years, but it came as a surprise to realise that our last trip was more than seven years ago. What awaited over a recent long weekend was a city that has most definitely changed (there were never this many tourists in the past), but those same things that won us over on that first visit remained. Plus, this time, Spanish colleagues had recommended a few of their favourite places.
It’s a great disappointment of life that I’ve never been able to relocate to Madrid. Given how much fun you can have, it’s perhaps wise that I’m limited to ‘small doses’. It’s a city that rewards slow exploration. There are many grand sights, beautiful parks, and world class museums. Just as special is walking narrow streets into small squares, discovering local tapas places, and picking up the neighbourhood vibe.
On our final night, we stopped in Plaza Paja and joined a happy crowd at outdoor tables as the sun set. The views towards the cathedral were wonderful, but it was the relaxed and peaceful atmosphere that struck a chord. As we sat and watched the world go by, Madrileños were out en masse for their evening paseo. In that moment, Madrid revealed itself for what it is, a human city. It helps that big chunks of it are pedestrianised.
We stayed in Lavapiés, unwittingly contributing to the gentrification being forced on this multicultural, working class district. We stayed here the last time we came to Madrid and it felt a little rough around the edges. That meant more affordable property prices and an influx of development. It’s now promoted as Madrid’s ‘coolest neighbourhood’ and, if graffiti is to be believed, there’s a growing backlash against tourists.
Spain’s finest museums – the Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza and Reina Sofía – are nearby, but we decided to forgo these and their accompanying crowds. Instead, we sought out alternative attractions. The Museo de America should be one of the greatest museums in Europe, it has centuries worth of colonial plunder to tell the story of the Americas and Spain’s history there. But, no.
We visited 20 years ago before living in Latin America. Even after a major refurbishment it seems they still don’t know how to tell one of the most dramatic and important stories in human history. The collection though, is worth a visit. Luckily, an icon of Spanish cinema is nearby. The 1972 short film, La Cabina, is one of the scariest films ever made (you’ve been warned).
The telephone box in question stands largely ignored in a neighbourhood to the north of the centre. Just the sight of it was enough to send a shiver down my spine. Fortunately, the door was firmly shut. Still on cinema, we visited Sala Equis to watch Fritz Lang’s 1924 masterpiece, Die Nibelungen Siegfried, accompanied by beer and hotdogs. Part cinema, part bar, it’s a great venue right in the centre of Madrid.
As we walked back from Sala Equis we heard music from nearby Bar Calvario. We investigated and spent the next couple of hours listening to female artists at a fundraiser for Cuba. Near where we were staying is the Matadero Madrid, a cultural centre in the city’s old slaughterhouse. It’s a great venue with different exhibitions. We saw a collage exhibition by Spanish author Carmen Martín Gaite.
There is an artistic and cultural life to Madrid that feels ingrained into the fabric of the city and people’s lives. It is in the everyday that the city really impresses. Although if our visit to the Goya exhibition at the Real Academia Bellas Artes San Fernando is a guide, the big cultural institutions are top notch as well. Art, high and low, is worth engaging with, as the toilet bowl in one bar proved conclusively.
