REDISCOVERING THE MAGIC OF MADRID
A stroll in Spanish capital reveals heavenly history and contemporary joys
Madrid. Oh, heavenly Madrid.
You’re an art lover’s dream, a history buff ’s open-air classroom, a food lover’s fantasy; and for this modern-day flaneur, you’re also an urban oasis that ignites all the senses.
More than three decades after a first, and too-short, visit to this magical Spanish city — so often overshadowed by the more popular Barcelona on its Mediterranean coast — I recently found myself once again on the Paseo del Prado.
The grand boulevard takes pedestrians down tree-lined paths, past ancient buildings where gargoyles glare down on all below and bubbling fountains where children frolic and old men read books on park benches. As the labyrinthine streets and avenues span out, the eye-popping architecture covers centuries of design and culture: everything from Gothic (Palacio de Cibeles) and Baroque (Royal Palace) to Beaux-Arts (Metropolis building).
A flaneur, as understood by the French, is one who strolls, idles or walks their way through the urban landscape. The practice is associated with the wealthy urbanite Parisian of a century past, a man who dressed as a dandy as he sauntered the streets with a blasé attitude. Modern-day flaneurs don’t have to be wealthy or blasé, and, in this writer’s case, can even practise the art dressed in a T-shirt, cargo pants and a pair of well-worn sneakers. Seeing Madrid in this style was a cinch thanks to its compact core of an otherwise massive metropolis of more than three million souls.
I arrived at summer’s end, three days ahead of a tour hosted by the Osborne Group, a Spanish company that produces, among other things, world-class sherry and Rioja wine. My fellow invited guests wouldn’t be joining me for three days. So, my feet planted firmly on terra firma and with the added goal of spending as few euros as possible, I set out to explore Madrid in my trusty Converse sneakers.
The first full day’s flaneuring began with an early morning carb hit at La Mallorquina. The 124-year-old bakery on Madrid’s famed Puerta del Sol is famed for its Napolitana con chocolate, a croissant-like pastry oozing with soft, dark chocolate.
Heading west of the semi-square considered by Madrilenos to be the very centre of Spain, I wandered its labyrinth cobblestone streets for hours, delightfully surprised at nearly every turn — from literally stumbling onto the 17th century Plaza Mayor to small shops dedicated to all things Flamenco or Pinocchio, the beloved wooden boy.
A stop at Cerveceria Plaza Mayor for lunch introduced me to the joy of the bocadillo de calamares, the city’s most beloved sandwich. It’s basically two pieces of crunchy bread, filled with flour-coated, deep-fried rings of squid. Yum.
Fun fact: Spain has the most bars and taverns per capita in the European Union and in Madrid, they range from old-style bodegas to chic and modern cocktail bars.
A proper first-day re-introduction to Madrid would not be complete without a visit to the Museo del Prado, one of the world’s great museums. Along with the Spanish masters like Velazquez, El Greco and Goya, it also boasts Italian and Flemish painters such as Raphael, Titian and Rubens.
Like so many of the city’s other great museums, the Prado offers free admission at certain times (museodelprado.es).
By the second day, I had learned how to navigate the city’s core at the tail end of a summer heat wave, thanks to the tall buildings providing always one shady street side. At Retiro Park, I lazed away an hour under a shady tree, dining on a bocadillo de jamon — nothing like your ordinary ham sandwich back home — while watching braver souls navigate the park’s large lake in a rowboat.
Still, there is no rest for the curious on a deadline and the hip Chueca sounded like a welcome respite from the more touristy Puerto del Sol.
The epicentre of Madrid Pride, this LGBTQ -friendly ’hood boasts groovy boutiques, restaurants and clubs, with a much more indie vibe than the frenetic Gran Via shopping mecca just a stone’s throw away. Along with some cheap and tasty tacos from Restaurante Tepic (Madrilenos are in the midst of a love affair with Mexican cuisine), I had fun popping into the shops offering everything from locally made jewelry to leather goods.
On the third day, I made a beeline for the historic El Rastro neighbourhood to take in its famed Sunday market, where locals haggle with merchants over everything from gently worn second-hand dresses to antiques of all kinds.
The San Miguel Market, one of the city’s oldest covered markets and dedicated to all things culinary, provided sustenance in the form of yet another bocadillo de jamon (my Madrid addiction).
The day’s art stop came courtesy of the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (museoreinasofia.es), home of Picasso’s Guernica, the famed Spanish artist’s 1937 masterpiece of resistance and outcry over the German bombings of the province of Vizcaya during the Spanish Civil War.
Admission is free — once again, at designated times.
There’s an old Spanish proverb that says all roads lead to Sol, so, at day’s end, I returned to the delightfully chaotic Puerto del Sol, where people of all ages shake off their siesta slumber and welcome all to join in on their nightly, openair fiestas.
Dipping my churro into a cup of hot, thick chocolate — another Madrid staple — I could only wish I could take some of their “amor de la vida” in my luggage home.
At the end of a euphoric 72 hours, I realized there was still so much of Madrid yet to discover — the interior of the Royal Palace and the Thyssen-Bornemisza, to name just two. I’d seen and experienced enough, though, to know that I’d one day return.
A favourite Madrileno saying, “from Madrid to Heaven,” describes both the city and its bright mountain skies. For this happy wanderer, it’s a heavenly place indeed.