Madrid Center Zones Descriptions

The best way to discover Madrid is to tackle it neighbourhood by neighbourhood, because each "barrio" boasts a different personality and history. Madrid has an old city center, with an ambling urban structure which is not particularly well defined. Streets don't run parallel and perpendicular, unless by chance, especially in the old city center. Because of this, it's not useful to explain locations in terms of blocks, a common practice in most modern city centers. Madrid city center can be broken up in many ways. The division we use here does not follow official partitions so much but areas popularly accepted, each with its own character. On the map below you can see the city center of Madrid, the metro stations there, and each neighbourhood in a different colour. From "wild" Malasaña to touristy Puerta del Sol, from the historic Plaza Mayor to the elegant Salamanca, Madrid holds something for all tastes and interest. In the following pages you have information on the location, tourist sights, cultural attractions and other curio of each one of the areas of Madrid, all done with an independent and casual point of view. On each page you also have maps available to complement this section of the Softguide, which you can view, download and/or print.

See our Madrid Center Map on Google Maps:
(Click on the color areas for further information)