Quick answer: the Madrid de los Austrias is the old town between Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor and the Royal Palace. Its best secrets are free: the 9th-century wall that gave birth to Madrid, a medieval square where a French king had to lower his head, the house of the Spanish tooth mouse on Calle Arenal, and a convent where royal women locked themselves in with Rubens. Start with chocolate con churros at San Ginés.
Hola, I’m Monica, a madrileña and a Spanish teacher. Most visitors walk from Sol to Plaza Mayor looking at their phone. Five minutes away there are stories that madrileños tell after dos vinos. Here they are, with the Spanish you need on the way.
The secrets of the Madrid de los Austrias
The emir’s wall: where Madrid was born
In the 9th century, the emir Mohamed I of Córdoba built a fortress where the Royal Palace is today. The town around it was called Mayrit. That’s Madrid’s first name.
More than 120 metres of that wall are still standing on the Cuesta de la Vega, in front of the Almudena crypt. For years it was hidden inside other buildings. When they knocked them down, there it was. Like an ex you thought was gone.
—Like an ex you thought was gone —says la Vikinga.
—Esto es patrimonio, no tu vida sentimental —dice Puri. (This is heritage, not your love life.)
- Where: Cuesta de la Vega
- Metro: Ópera (L2, L5)
- Your Spanish: ser más viejo que Matusalén = to be super old
Plaza de la Villa: the door that made a king bow
Just 300 metres from Sol there’s a medieval square where you can’t hear the traffic. The oldest building, the Torre de los Lujanes, is from the 15th century.
Legend says King Francis I of France was kept prisoner here after losing the battle of Pavia, and they made him enter through a very low side door, so he had to bow his head to Spain. Petty? Very Spanish.
- Where: Plaza de la Villa, off Calle Mayor
- Metro: Sol
- Tip: come in through Calle del Codo, the narrowest street
- Your Spanish: bajar la cabeza = to accept you lost
The Ratoncito Pérez house on Calle Arenal (the Spanish tooth mouse)
In Spain the tooth fairy is a mouse: el Ratoncito Pérez. His story was born in the Royal Palace, when little King Alfonso XIII lost his first tooth and the writer Luis Coloma invented a story for him.
In the story, Ratón Pérez lived in a biscuit box in a sweet shop at Calle del Arenal, 8. The shop is gone, but there’s a plaque, a tiny statue and a small museum with a letterbox for letters and teeth.
- Where: Calle del Arenal, 8
- Metro: Sol
- Tip: leave a letter in the letterbox. Nobody will judge you
Descalzas Reales: the convent where royal women kept their treasures
Two steps from the shops of Calle Preciados there’s a convent where cloistered nuns still live. Juana de Austria, a very young royal widow, founded it in 1559 in the palace where she was born.
Royal and noble women entered and brought their treasures: frescoes, chapels and tapestries by Rubens. Visits are guided only, in small groups, so book ahead.
- Where: Plaza de las Descalzas, 3
- Metro: Sol, Callao or Ópera
- Your Spanish: a buen recaudo = safely kept
Free PDF · No-Guiris Madrid · download it now
Want all 30 secrets, with la Vikinga and Puri, where to eat in every barrio and the Spanish you need at each stop?
Where to eat near Sol (like a local)
Chocolatería San Ginés (Pasadizo de San Ginés, 5): chocolate con churros, the official Madrid breakfast. Ask for porras if you want the thicker ones.
Casa Labra (Calle de Tetuán, 12): an old taberna famous for bacalao (salt cod). Order a croqueta de bacalao or a tajada.
Mercado de San Miguel (next to Plaza Mayor): beautiful and busy. For something more local, try the Mercado de Antón Martín. In any queue, ask ¿Quién es el último? (Who’s last?).
Spanish you’ll need: ordering churros at San Ginés
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Hola, ¿se pide aquí? | Hello, do I order here? |
| Sí. ¿Qué quieres? | Yes. What would you like? |
| Un chocolate con churros, por favor. | A hot chocolate with churros, please. |
| ¿Para tomar aquí o para llevar? | To have here or to take away? |
| Para tomar aquí. ¿Cuánto es? | To have here. How much is it? |
Where do these stories come from?
I’m writing a novel about a copywriter who walks around Madrid when she can’t sleep, when a man leaves her, or when a deadline is eating her alive. Two voices walk with her: la Vikinga, who speaks English and has no filter, and Puri, who speaks Spanish and is shocked by everything. Every secret on this page is one of her walks.
The novel is Una felación al día (yes, that’s the title, and yes, it’s a novel, not self-help): a copywriter in Madrid, love, desire, friends and a mystery, all in Spanglish. When it goes on sale, this Madrid guide will come with it as an extra. For now, it’s free: download it directly from this page.
📖 Read the first chapter of Una felación al día for free. And if you’re learning Spanish, my book How to Speak Spanish with a Narco, a Philosopher and a Real Human is the next step after the guide.
More secret Madrid, barrio by barrio
- Secret Madrid: 30 Hidden Places and the Legends Behind Them
- La Latina, Madrid: Hidden Walls, Secret Gardens and the Best Tapas Street
- Lavapiés and Tirso de Molina: Corralas, a Severed Head and a 1916 Cinema
- Malasaña Legends: the Fish on Calle del Pez, Manuela’s Scissors and the Missing Number 109
- Gran Vía Secrets: a Rhino, a Naked Man on the Roof and the Street of Disappointment
- Chueca Secrets: Saint Valentine’s Bones and the House of the Seven Chimneys
- Retiro and Calle de Alcalá Secrets: the Fallen Angel, the Two-Faced Gate and Tonnes of Gold
- Chamberí and Beyond: the Ghost Metro Station, Sorolla’s House and a Mine Under Madrid
FAQ
What is the Madrid de los Austrias?
It’s the oldest part of central Madrid, between Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor and the Royal Palace, named after the Habsburg kings (los Austrias) who made Madrid the capital.
Where can I see Madrid’s Muslim wall?
On the Cuesta de la Vega, in front of the Almudena crypt, near Ópera metro. You can see it from the street for free.
Where is the Ratoncito Pérez museum?
At Calle del Arenal, 8, a few minutes from Puerta del Sol, on the first floor of the building where the story places his home.
Can you visit the Descalzas Reales?
Yes, but only with a guided visit in small groups. Check the official Patrimonio Nacional website and book ahead.
— Monica Bernabe Perez