Historic Madrid: a journey back in time through the city

Historic Madrid can be read in its streets like a book: the remains of the Muslim wall of Mayrit next to Almudena Cathedral, the Mudéjar towers of the medieval town, the Plaza Mayor and the convents of Habsburg Madrid, the Royal Palace and the Paseo del Prado of the Bourbons, the 19th-century Ensanche (city extension) neighbourhoods and the 20th-century Gran Vía. Almost all of it is concentrated in the centre and can be explored on foot in a day.

Madrid was born in the 9th century as a Muslim fortress, Mayrit, built above the Manzanares ravine to guard the road to Toledo. From that period, the remains of the Arab wall survive on the Cuesta de la Vega, at the foot of Almudena Cathedral, the place where it all began.

After it was conquered by the Christian kingdoms at the end of the 11th century, Madrid was a modest-sized Castilian town. From those centuries come the Mudéjar towers of the churches of San Nicolás and San Pedro el Viejo, among the oldest in the city, and the Torre de los Lujanes, on the plaza de la Villa, one of the few 15th-century civil buildings still standing.

Everything changed in 1561, when Philip II moved the royal court to Madrid. The town grew quickly and filled up with convents, palaces and noble houses. This is what is known as Habsburg Madrid (Madrid de los Austrias), the network of narrow streets between the Puerta del Sol and the Royal Palace.

• The Plaza Mayor, completed in the early 17th century under Philip III, whose equestrian statue presides over the centre. It was the setting for markets, festivities, bullfights and autos-da-fé.
• The plaza de la Villa, with the Casa de la Villa, the former seat of the City Council, and the Casa de Cisneros.
• The Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales, founded by Joanna of Austria, Philip II's sister, with a remarkable art collection.
• The Puente de Segovia, from the time of Philip II, the oldest monumental bridge over the Manzanares.
• The Barrio de las Letras, where Cervantes, Lope de Vega and Quevedo lived during the Golden Age.

To stay right in Habsburg Madrid, the taxi in La Latina page explains how to get to or from the airport.

On Christmas Eve 1734, a fire destroyed the old Alcázar. Philip V ordered the present-day Royal Palace to be built in its place, and Charles III was the first king to live in it. We tell you its history and how to visit it in the Royal Palace, a must-see in Madrid.

Charles III, remembered as “the best mayor of Madrid”, transformed the city: he had the Puerta de Alcalá built, laid out the Paseo del Prado with the Cibeles, Neptune and Apollo fountains, created the Royal Botanical Garden and commissioned the building that now houses the Prado Museum, originally intended as a natural history cabinet. The Real Casa de Correos on the Puerta del Sol, home to the famous clock, also dates from this period. Today that boulevard is part of the Landscape of Light, a World Heritage Site; we explore it in a visit to the Paseo del Arte.

On 2 May 1808, the people of Madrid rose up against Napoleon's troops, an episode that Goya immortalised in two paintings that hang in the Prado and that is commemorated in the plaza del Dos de Mayo, in Malasaña. A few years later, in 1819, the Prado opened its doors as a museum.

In the second half of the 19th century, the city tore down its boundary wall and grew with the Ensanche: the neighbourhoods of Salamanca, Chamberí and Argüelles were born, with their grid layout. The Banco de España and the Crystal Palace in the Retiro date from this period.

The 20th century brought the Gran Vía, carved out from 1910 onwards to connect the north and west of the city, with its American-inspired buildings; the first metro line, opened in 1919; the Palacio de Comunicaciones on Cibeles, now the City Council's headquarters, and, in the second half of the century, the Temple of Debod, a gift from Egypt to Spain. In the 1980s, the Movida made Malasaña the cultural epicentre of the country.

If you would rather plan your visit by area than by era, see our guide to what to see in Madrid. And if you like historical curiosities, you can also read how the history of the taxi in Madrid began.

This whole route is inside the M-30. From any Barajas terminal, a taxi to your hotel in the centre costs €33 with the Inside M-30 fixed fare, luggage included and regardless of traffic or the time of day. Bear in mind that many streets in Habsburg Madrid are pedestrianised or have restricted access: the taxi will drop you at the point closest to your accommodation. To get around the area during your stay, the taxi in central Madrid page explains how to order one.