Madrid
On December 4, 2019 we arrived in Madrid for the first stop on our trip to Spain and Morocco. We only spent a couple of days in Madrid so our exploration of the city was limited. We did take a self guided walking tour and attended the Centro Cultural Flamenco de Madrid.
While in Madrid, we stayed at the hotel pictured to the right (Catalonia Gran Via).
Walking Tour
Here are some of the sights we saw during our walking tour:
Cibeles Palace
This building was opened in 1909. Was originally designed to be the headquarters of the Spanish Post Office. Since 2007 it has been the seat of the Madrid City Council.
It is built of iron, stone and glass.
The multipurpose facility is used for concerts, presentation and conferences. It also houses a cafeteria and the Cibeles restaurant.
Puerto del Sol
This square in the center of the city is a junction of some of its busiest streets.
Oso y Madrono seen in the upper left photo is a bear nuzzling a strawberry tree. It is the official symbol of Madrid and a popular meeting spot for its citizens.
At left is the Casa de Correos building. For over a century the people of Spain usher in each new year by eating 12 lucky grapes to the 12 chimes struck by the clock atop this building.
The statue in the above photo is King Charles III of Spain. During his reign he completely remade the city. They consider him Madrid's best mayor.
Oso y Madrono seen in the upper left photo is a bear nuzzling a strawberry tree. It is the official symbol of Madrid and a popular meeting spot for its citizens.
At left is the Casa de Correos building. For over a century the people of Spain usher in each new year by eating 12 lucky grapes to the 12 chimes struck by the clock atop this building.
The statue in the above photo is King Charles III of Spain. During his reign he completely remade the city. They consider him Madrid's best mayor.
Plaza Mayor
As we visited in December, many of the squares in the city were decorated for Christmas. In this plaza, they had a Christmas market set up in the square.