9 Local Spots in Madrid Tourists Don't Know About
9 landmarks with verified facts and stories
Barrio de las Letras
Calle de las Huertas, Centro, Madrid, 28012, Spain
During the Spanish Golden Age, this small neighborhood contained the greatest concentration of literary genius in the history of the Spanish language — and most of them hated each other.
Calle Mayor
Calle Mayor, Centro, Madrid, 28005, Spain
This 600-meter street is the oldest spine of Madrid, tracing a medieval ridge between the Arenal and Segovia valleys that once served as the main road connecting the Moorish alcazar to the east.
Chueca
Plaza de Chueca, Centro, Madrid, 28004, Spain
In the 1970s and 80s, Chueca was a neighborhood nobody wanted to live in.
El Rastro
Calle de la Ribera de Curtidores, Centro, Madrid, 28005, Spain
The name literally means "the trail" — and it refers to the bloody trail of animal carcasses that were dragged downhill from the old slaughterhouse in Plaza de Cascorro to the tanneries along the Ribera de Curtidores.
La Latina
Plaza Paja, Centro, Madrid, 28005, Spain
This is where Madrid began.
Malasaña & Plaza del Dos de Mayo
Centro, Madrid, Spain
The neighborhood is named after a fifteen-year-old seamstress who was killed by French soldiers.
Matadero Madrid
8 Plaza de Legazpi, Arganzuela, Madrid, 28045, Spain
Madrid's most exciting contemporary art center is a converted slaughterhouse, and the irony is entirely intentional.
Mercado de San Miguel
Plaza de San Miguel, Centro, Madrid, 28005, Spain
Before this iron-and-glass jewel box existed, there was a 13th-century church here — the Iglesia de San Miguel de los Octoes.
Puerta del Sol
Plaza de la Puerta del Sol, 28013 Madrid
Stand on the small bronze plaque in the pavement here and you're standing at the exact center of Spain.
Explore local life in Madrid
GPS-guided narration at every landmark. Tap a spot on the map, hear the story. Every fact verified.