PASEO DEL PRADO & LAS CORTES ZONES
Covering the area from Plaza de la Cibeles
and Atocha westwards, ending just in front
of
Parque del Retiro,
this area is very well known for the splendid
houses it has. The area contains the
Prado
Museum, the
Thyssen
Bornemisza, and the
Jardín
Botánico, to name just a few. A
very exclusive area to live in.
Although Las Cortes only covers a small area
there are a number of important sites located
here, including the Spanish parliament buildings
(old and new are shown in the photo), the Thyssen-Bornemisza
museum, the Banco de España, the Café
del Círculo de Bellas Artes, the Zarzuela
theater and some of our favorite tapas bars. It's also an exceptionally quiet area
given its central location.
The area covered by this zone can seen on
the center
overview map, or on the detailed map I9L12 of the city center.
Cybeles fountain: Symbol of the City
Google map location
Also known as the Great Mother or Mother of the Gods, Cybeles is more than a fountain for the citizens of Madrid. A symbol of the city throughout the world, no visitor can leave the capital without having included the beautiful goddess in the list of sights to see. When Real Madrid football team wins the Spanish league, this is their celebratory spot. Keep up Alcalá and you arrive at Puerta de Alcalá and the Retiro Park in the Salamanca area.
This fountain was designed in 1777 by Ventura Rodríguez. Although it was first placed at the gate surrounding the Buenavista palace, after undergoing some restoration in the 19th century, it was taken to the centre of the plaza de Madrid, as the current location was once known. There, it has been joined by the Palacio de Correos y Comunicaciones, the Banco de España building, the Palacio de Linares, since 1992 the place of the America's house , and it still accompanies the Palacio de Buenavista albeit from another vantage point. Today it is worth to visit the Palacio de Linares, but we recommend to book in advance.
Neptune fountain: God of the Sea
Google map location
As with the Cibeles, Neptune is one of the most majestic and beautiful fountains in Madrid. Both gods have occupied their prominent posts in the hierarchy of Greek mythology and also compete during football tournaments, since the fans of the Athletic (Atlético) of Madrid celebrate their joys in the plaza where the sea god abides.
As part of the original project by Ventura Rodríguez, both fountains were made to face each other across the paseo del Prado. Neptune, just like his rival, also went through renovations at the end of the 19th century, and was moved to the place it finally occupies in the plaza Canovas del Castillo.
The authorship of the sculpture is not really clear. While it was a commission for Juan Pascual de Mena, who died before being able to finish his work, there are documents that credit his disciple, Jose Arias, with continuing it.
As for the monumental base of the sculpture, it rests on a rocky base from which the carriage, shaped like a shell, emerges, pulled by two horses or hippocampuses which symbolizing storms and a raging sea.
In this square are located the emblematic hotels Palace and Ritz, and also the Prado Museum.
The well-known Paseo del Arte is made up of three remarkable museums, situated very close to one another: the Prado Museum, the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum, and the Reina Sofía National Art Centre Museum.
The importance of these three great galleries has unfairly eclipsed the richness and variety of the other museums of Madrid. If the traveller has the time, he or she can choose from dozens of options. Some of these include art galleries, such as the Royal Academy of San Fernando; municipal museums; and specialised museums such as the Romantic Museum, the Railway Museum, the Navy Museum, the Army Museum, the Museum of America, the National Archaeological Museum, the National Museum of Natural Sciences, etc.
The Paseo del Prado holds Madrid's principal cultural attraction: the spectacular Prado Museum and oppisite the incredible private art collection of the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum.
The Prado National Museum
Paseo del Prado
Google map location
Metro: Banco de España (L2)
www: Prado Museum Madrid
This Museum is considered by many experts to be the best art gallery of the world, as it has the most complete and impressive collection of sixteenth, seventeenth, and twentieth century art, with the best works from the Italian, Flemish and Spanish schools. It is in the Prado Museum where artists of the stature of Goya, Velázquez, Bosch, Rubens, Murillo, Fra Angélico, Botticelli, Titian, Rafael, Watteau, Tintorretto, El Greco, Ribera, Zurbarán, and very many others, can be admired, along with a magnificent collection of classical sculptures.
Annex to the Prado National Museum is located The Casón del Buen Retiro a 17th-century building today home to collections of 19th and 20th-century paintings.
More information in our page in culture section.
Thyssen-Bornemisza collection
Paseo del Prado 8
Metro: Banco de España (L2), Antón Martín (L1)
Google map location
www: Thyssen Bornemisza Museum Madrid
The Thyssen Bornemisza Museum stands right on Plaza de Neptuno, occupies the old Palacio de Villahermosa at the corner of San Jerónimo and Paseo del Prado. Turn south towards Atocha to find the Prado Museum and neighboring Botanical Gardens, also on the Paseo del Prado.
This museum keeps maybe the world's greatest private art collection, finally donated to the Spain goverment in 1993, that has been classified as the most important for having the widest variety of periods and styles, from primitive 13th century paintings to the avant-garde movements of the 20th century- - from Duccio and Holbein, through El Greco and Caravaggio, to Schiele and Rothko.
Dürer, Tintoretto, Degas, Kandinsky, Goya, Cezanne, Matisse, Dalí, Miró, Picasso, and Renoir, are just a few of the artists whose work forms part of this collection. There's a bar and café in the basement and re-entry is allowed, so long as you get your hand stamped at the exit desk. During the summer the "Paradís Restaurant" is open in the attic, with a gastronomy characterised for being informal combined with more elaborate dishes loaded with imagination. Prices range from 13 euros for the cheapest dish to 30 euros for the most expensive (lobster).
More information in our page in culture section.
In the area you can visit also the Palacio de la Bolsa (Madrid Stock Exchange) which every working day morning opens its doors to all visitors for a guided-tour within the XIXth century Palacio de la Bolsa. The tour, approximately, 60 minutes long, includes a visit to the exhibition "BME". All visitors are encouraged to ask as doubts arise, assuming a dynamic and active role.
The Paseo del Arte ends at the Reina Sofía National Art Centre Museum, very famous for having Picasso's Guernika in its collection, and for its collection of contemporary paintings, mainly Spanish ones. We had included this museum in the area of Atocha.
