Chamberí secrets: the ghost metro station closed in 1966, Sorolla’s house and garden, a mine under Madrid and the Teleférico. With easy Spanish.

Retiro secrets: the Fallen Angel at 666 metres, the two-faced Puerta de Alcalá and the gold under Cibeles. With rooftops and easy Spanish.

Chueca secrets: Saint Valentine’s bones at San Antón and the ghost of the Casa de las Siete Chimeneas. Plus El Tigre’s free tapas and easy Spanish.

Gran Vía secrets: the bronze man carrying a house, the rhinoceros of Calle de la Abada and the veiled lady of Desengaño. With easy Spanish.

Malasaña legends: the fish on Calle del Pez, Manuela Malasaña’s scissors and the missing Fuencarral 109. Plus tortilla, bars and easy Spanish.

Lavapiés legends: corralas with one toilet per floor, the street of the severed head and Cine Ideal. Where to eat and easy Spanish.

La Latina secrets: Plaza de la Paja, a hidden rose garden and an 11th-century wall in a patio. Plus Cava Baja tapas and Spanish to order.

Madrid de los Austrias secrets: the 9th-century wall, the door that made a king bow and the tooth mouse’s house. With churros, croquetas and easy Spanish.

30 secret places in Madrid, barrio by barrio: a Moorish wall, a rhino on a street tile, a ghost metro station and the devil in the Retiro. Free PDF guide.

“Toma tomate, tómalo” is the chant of a classic Spanish hand-slapping game. What it means word by word, how to play it, and the useful Spanish inside it: tómate vs tomate, ¡toma ya! and more.