Madrid: Itineraries

Unless you want to head for the big art galleries first, the most fitting place to begin exploring the city is the Plaza de la Puerta del Sol, the official centre of Madrid. Walk up Calle de Preciados and take the second street on the left, which will bring you out onto Plaza de las Descalzas. Take a look at the baroque doorway in the Caja de Madrid building - it was built for King Felipe V in 1733 and faces the Convento de las Descalzas Reales. Moving south, you come to the Iglesia de San Ginés in Calle de los Bordadores, built on the site of one of Madrid's oldest places of Christian worship, dating back to at least the 14th century. Behind it is the wonderful Chocolatería de San Ginés, place of worship for lovers of churros con chocolate .

Continue down to and across Calle Mayor until you reach the grand Plaza Mayor.

After a coffee on the square, head back to Calle Mayor and walk west to the historic Plaza de la Villa, home of Madrid's 17th-century Ayuntamiento. On the same square stand the 16th-century Casa de Cisneros and the Gothic Casa de los Lujanes, one of the city's oldest surviving buildings.

Take the street down the left side of the Casa de Cisneros, cross Calle del Sacramento at the end, go down the stairs and follow the cobbled Calle del Cordón out onto the Calle de Segovia. Almost directly in front of you is the mudéjar tower of the 15th-century Iglesia de San Pedro El Viejo 10. Proceeding down Costanilla de San Pedro, you reach the Museo de San Isidro. Next door is the Iglesia de San Andrés, where the city's patron saint, San Isidro Labrador, was interred. From here you cross Plaza de la Puerta de Moros and head southwest to the Basílica de San Francisco el Grande, or you can walk east past the market along Plaza de la Cebada, which was once a popular spot for public executions to get into the Sunday flea market El Rastro.

From San Francisco el Grande, plunge into the small tangle of lanes that forms what was once the morería (Moorish quarter), and emerge back onto Calle de Bailén and the wonderful terrazas (outdoor cafés). Bar Ventorrillo, probably the best located terraza, is on the edge of the Jardines de las Vistillas. This is a wonderful spot to relax and drink in the views of the Sierra de Guadarrama.