Quick answer: the best secret places in Madrid are free and right in the centre: a 9th-century Moorish wall, a rhinoceros on a street tile, a stone fish on a façade, a ghost metro station closed in 1966, Saint Valentine’s bones in a Chueca church and a statue of Lucifer in the Retiro. Here are 30 of them, barrio by barrio, with the legend behind each one.
Hola, I’m Monica, your amiga from Madrid. I’m a bit rara (weird): I collect the stories madrileños tell after dos vinos. These 30 secrets come from the walks of the girl in my novel, who walks around Madrid when she can’t sleep, with two voices in her head: la Vikinga, who speaks English, and Puri, who speaks Spanish. Pick a barrio, put on good shoes and look up.
Free PDF · No-Guiris Madrid · download it now
Get all 30 secrets in one free PDF: maps, stories, where to eat and the Spanish you need at every stop.
Sol & Austrias: where Madrid was born
- The emir’s wall: a 9th-century wall that gave Madrid its first name, Mayrit.
- Plaza de la Villa: the low door that made a French king bow.
- The Ratoncito Pérez house at Calle Arenal, 8: home of the Spanish tooth mouse.
- Descalzas Reales: royal women, cloistered nuns and tapestries by Rubens.
→ Read the full stories of this barrio
La Latina: Sundays, walls and vermut
- Plaza de la Paja: 700 years as the place to be seen.
- Jardines de San Francisco: 4,000 square metres of secret roses.
- Cava Baja, 30: an 11th-century wall inside a patio. Ring the bell.
→ Read the full stories of this barrio
Lavapiés & Tirso: neighbours, heads and cinema
- The corralas: one toilet per floor and everybody hears everything.
- Calle de la Cabeza: the priest’s head under a cape.
- Cine Ideal: a cinema open since 1916, with a girl leaning on a projector.
→ Read the full stories of this barrio
Malasaña: fish, scissors and rebels
- Calle del Pez, 24: the stone fish for Blanca, who became a nun.
- Manuela Malasaña: the 17-year-old girl who gave the barrio its name.
- Calle del Espíritu Santo: lightning on a sunny day.
- Fuencarral 109: the 1888 crime and the number that disappeared.
→ Read the full stories of this barrio
Gran Vía & Triball: look up
- Edificio España: abandoned for years, now a rooftop with views.
- El Romano at Gran Vía, 60: a naked bronze man carrying a house.
- Calle de la Abada: a rhinoceros loose in 16th-century Madrid.
- Calle del Desengaño: the veiled lady with a mummified face.
- Calle de la Ballesta: crossbows, a wild boar and the poet Rosalía de Castro.
→ Read the full stories of this barrio
Chueca: love, saints and seven chimneys
- San Antón: the bones of Saint Valentine in a glass urn.
- Casa de las Siete Chimeneas: seven chimneys, seven sins and a ghost.
→ Read the full stories of this barrio
Alcalá, Prado & Retiro: gold, gods and the devil
- The BBVA chariots on Alcalá, 16: 25 tonnes of bronze ego.
- Círculo de Bellas Artes rooftop: Madrid in miniature, next to Minerva.
- Cibeles: the gold vault 35 metres under the ground.
- Puerta de Alcalá: the gate with two different faces.
- El Ángel Caído: the devil of the Retiro, at 666 metres.
→ Read the full stories of this barrio
Chamberí & escapes: when the centre is too much
- Casa Museo Sorolla: the painter’s house and Andalusian garden.
- Chamberí ghost station: a metro stop frozen in 1966.
- Escuela de Minas: a real mine, 25 metres under Chamberí.
- The Teleférico: ten minutes in the clouds that nobody takes.
→ Read the full stories of this barrio
Five Madrid words you’ll need on the way
Survival Spanish for secret Madrid
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Perdona, ¿dónde está…? | Excuse me, where is…? |
| ¿Qué me recomiendas? | What do you recommend? |
| ¿Me pones una caña? | Can I have a small beer? (how madrileños order) |
| Un poco más despacio, por favor. | A little more slowly, please. |
| La cuenta, por favor. | The bill, please. |
Madrid rule: if you’re not elbow to elbow at the barra, stepping on napkins… you’re not really tapear-ing.
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 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.
FAQ
What are the best hidden gems in Madrid?
Some favourites: the Chamberí ghost metro station, the Moorish wall on Cuesta de la Vega, the rose garden of San Francisco el Grande, the Fallen Angel statue in the Retiro and the street tiles of Calle de la Abada and Calle del Desengaño.
Are these secret places in Madrid free?
Most are free to see from the street. The Descalzas Reales, the Sorolla Museum, the Chamberí station museum and the Teleférico have tickets or limited opening times.
Which Madrid barrio has the most legends?
Malasaña and the Triball behind Gran Vía are full of them: the fish of Calle del Pez, Manuela Malasaña, the rhino of Calle de la Abada and the veiled lady of Desengaño.
Is there a free PDF guide to secret Madrid?
Yes. The No-Guiris Madrid guide by BlanBla is free: 30 secrets, 8 barrios, where to eat and the Spanish phrases you need at each stop.
— Monica Bernabe Perez