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Cibeles dressed up for the holidays, photographed on a December evening in 2024 Getting to Know the Plaza de Cibeles I still remember the exact moment. It was the fall of 1986, I’d only been in Madrid for a short time and was about to start my year abroad. I was probably still a little jet lagged and getting accustomed to life in a Spanish household. My roommate and I had decided to go acquaint ourselves with the city a little more, and our host mother Adela made some suggestions on where to go and what to do. My roommate had read about el Paseo de la Castellana and wanted to check it out. So, Adela told us to get the Microbus 150 right across the street from our house, which had several stops along the Castellana. I don’t remember exactly where we got off the bus, but I think it may have been at the Plaza de Colón, which is where La Castellana becomes Paseo de Recoletos. It’s the same boulevard, but the name changes. We walked along Recoletos, passing El Espejo Café, and approached Cibeles, a massive roundabout at the intersection of Calle de Alcalá. The first thing I noticed as we were approaching was the Palacio de Comunicaciones (its original name), one of the most stunning buildings I’ve ever laid eyes on. Then as we neared the plaza, the beautiful fountain depicting the goddess Cibeles gradually came into focus. The fountain is a massive sculpture of the goddess riding her chariot pulled by two lions, water spraying around her, with this enormous white palace rising behind her like something out of a dream. I hadn’t even bothered to learn much about Madrid before I arrived. Suffice it to say that I was totally unprepared for the awe I experienced in those moments. Almost forty years later, that plaza still gives me goosebumps every time I come back to Madrid. If you ask me, Plaza de Cibeles is the single best introduction to this city. It’s history, art, architecture, sports, religion, and civic pride all crammed into one roundabout. Here’s why. Ready to explore the rest of Madrid like this? Click on the image and check out my Madrid 5-Day Itinerary and Guide. The Fountain: A Goddess With a Long Memory The fountain itself goes back to the 1770s, part of a broader beautification project that King Carlos III commissioned for the Paseo del Prado. He wanted Madrid to look like the modern, enlightened capital he imagined it could be, and Cibeles was meant to be a centerpiece of that vision. The architect Ventura Rodríguez designed the overall fountain, sculptor Francisco Gutiérrez Arribas carved the figure of the goddess herself, and Roberto Michel sculpted the two lions, Hipómenes and Atalanta, who pull her chariot (just now learned their names while writing this). The whole thing was finished around 1782, and it’s been repositioned slightly over the years to accommodate the growing plaza and traffic patterns around it, including a notable adjustment in the 1890s. Cibeles, in Roman mythology, was the mother goddess, protector of nature and fertility. It’s a fitting figure for a fountain that’s become the emotional heart of the city, even if most people walking past today have no idea who she actually is. Since 2021, the fountain and the plaza around it have been part of the Paisaje de la Luz, the Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro UNESCO World Heritage designation, putting Cibeles in the same protected category as the Prado Museum and Retiro Park. That’s a serious pedigree for a traffic circle. Why Everyone Celebrates Here If you’ve ever followed Spanish football on television, you’ve probably seen victory celebrations with thousands of people crammed around this fountain waving flags. That tradition has a specific history, and it’s more complicated than most people realize. For decades, both Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid fans celebrated their championships at Cibeles. That changed in 1991, when Atlético won the Copa del Rey and their fans, tired of what felt like a merengue-dominated fountain, decided to march half a kilometer further down the Paseo del Prado to the Fuente de Neptuno instead. As the story goes, Atlético supporters joked that Cibeles’ waters were too “infected” after five straight years of Real Madrid fans bathing in them. From that point on, the split stuck. Real Madrid has Cibeles, Atlético has Neptuno, and neither side crosses over. It’s not just club football either. The Spanish national team has celebrated European Championship titles and the 2026 World Cup title at Cibeles as well, since it’s become the default gathering point for the country’s biggest sporting moments, not just Madrid’s own. And in June of 2026, the plaza hosted something on an entirely different scale. Pope Leo XIV celebrated a Corpus Christi Mass right there in Plaza de Cibeles, drawing well over a million people between the plaza, the Paseo de Recoletos, and the Paseo de la Castellana. It didn’t quite break the attendance records set by Pope John Paul II’s 1982 visit to Madrid or Pope Benedict XVI’s 2011 World Youth Day gathering, but it was still an enormous moment for a plaza that’s seen just about everything a city can throw at it, championship trophies, presidential motorcades, and now a Papal Mass. The Palacio de Cibeles: From Post Office to City Hall The building behind the fountain deserves just as much attention as the fountain itself, and honestly, I think it’s one of the most beautiful early 20th century buildings anywhere in the world, inside and out. Architects Antonio Palacios and Joaquín Otamendi designed it, and construction ran from 1907 to 1919, when it opened as the Palacio de Comunicaciones, Madrid’s central post office and telegraph headquarters. Madrileños nicknamed it the “Cathedral of Communications” for its scale and its cathedral-like towers. When I was living in Madrid during my student years in the late 1980s and early 1990s, this building was still doing exactly that job. I mailed letters home from that post office and went there to retrieve care packages from home, never once imagining that decades later I’d be writing about it as Madrid’s city hall. The building’s transformation happened gradually. It was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural, a nationally protected historic monument, in 1993. In 2007, the Ayuntamiento de Madrid moved its main offices there from the old city hall in Plaza de la Villa, and the building formally became known as the Palacio de Cibeles rather than the Palacio de Comunicaciones. A few years later, in 2011, the cultural center CentroCentro opened inside, hosting rotating art and photography exhibitions along with a permanent exhibit on the building’s own century-plus of history. Along the way, the building has witnessed real history too, including the proclamation of Spain’s Second Republic in 1931, and it emerged from the Spanish Civil War largely unscathed, save for a few bullet scars still visible on the facade if you know where to look. The Mirador: Spectacular View in Madrid The view from the Mirador, June 2019, looking west along Calle de Alcalá toward the Metropolis building and the start of Gran Vía. One of my favorite things I’ve done in this building is ride the elevator up to the Mirador, the viewing platform in the central tower, about 70 meters above the plaza. It’s a 360 degree view that takes in the fountain directly below, Calle de Alcalá stretching toward Puerta del Sol, the start of Gran Vía, and on a clear day you can pick out landmarks as far as Plaza de Colón and the southern edges of the city. I went up in June of 2019 and got some great photos and video from up there, and I still think it’s one of the most underrated views in Madrid, especially compared to the crowds you’ll find at other lookout points around the city. This photo looks west toward the Calle de Alcalá. If you look closely you can pick out the iconic Metropolis building near the beginning of the Gran Vía. Tickets run just a few euros, and it’s well worth the short wait for the elevator. While you're waiting, you can wander around the main section of the interior and admire the architecture including some beautiful stained glass ceilings. The Rooftop: Drinks With a View A few floors below the Mirador, the building’s terrace has become one of Madrid’s premier rooftop destinations. As of 2023 and 2024, the space is run by Azotea Grupo, the same company behind the rooftop terrace at Círculo de Bellas Artes and Picalagartos Sky Bar over at the NH Collection on Gran Vía. They operate it as two connected spaces, Azotea Cibeles for drinks and casual bites with a spectacular view toward the fountain and up Calle de Alcalá, and Cornamusa Cibeles, a more formal rooftop restaurant one level up. Either way, it’s a beautiful spot for a sunset drink, and the view of the fountain and the Gran Vía skyline from up there is hard to beat. Cibeles de Cine: Summer Movies With a Twist Come summer, the building takes on yet another life. Since around 2015, CentroCentro has run Cibeles de Cine inside the building’s Glass Gallery, an indoor, climate controlled cinema that shows more than 70 films each season, everything from recent hits to restored classics celebrating anniversary re-releases. The 2026 edition runs from late June through early September, and unlike most of Madrid’s outdoor summer cinemas, you’re watching from inside an air conditioned architectural landmark rather than sweating it out in a plaza. It’s a clever, distinctly Madrid way to beat the August heat while still getting that summer cinema feeling. A Major Bus Hub Too For as beautiful as it is, Plaza de Cibeles also does some serious workhorse duty for the city. It’s one of the busiest bus hubs in Madrid, with a couple dozen daytime EMT lines converging on the plaza and its surrounding stops. But the detail I love most is the búho system, Madrid’s night bus network. Every one of the city’s night lines, N1 through N27 plus a couple of newer circular routes, departs from Plaza de Cibeles between midnight and 6 in the morning. The service dates back to October 1, 1974, when the city launched what it originally called the “Circuito Nocturno” to get bakers, nurses, waiters, and late night revelers home safely. Madrileños quickly nicknamed the buses búhos, owls, for the way their headlights looked in the dark, and the name stuck for over fifty years now. If you’re out late in Madrid and need to get back to your hotel or apartment after the metro closes, chances are you’ll end up standing in Plaza de Cibeles at some point waiting for your line, goddess and lions watching over you the whole time. It’s a small thing, but I’ve always liked that this plaza isn’t just a monument you look at from a distance. It’s genuinely part of the daily rhythm of the city, day and night. Now, About Those Scaffolding Tours All of which brings me to the reason I started thinking about this article in the first place. This summer, the fountain itself is undergoing a five month restoration, and for the first time ever, the Ayuntamiento is inviting the public to climb up into the scaffolding and see the goddess and her lions from just a few feet away. The program is called Abierto por Restauración, and reservations for the free guided visits opened on July 23, 2026 through the city’s official platform, abiertoporestauracion.reservaspatrimonio.es. Demand was intense from the start, with reports of over 16,000 people in the online queue within hours for roughly 2,640 available spots at Cibeles. Visits run about 50 minutes, in groups of up to 15 adults, with a specialist guide walking you through the conservation work and the fountain’s history from an angle nobody outside the restoration crew has ever gotten to see. Hard hats are required and provided, and you’ll need your ID and closed toe shoes to get in. The visits run through September 27, 2026, though the restoration itself is expected to continue for the full five months, so don’t be surprised if the fountain is still wrapped in scaffolding into the fall even after the tour program wraps up. If you can snag a ticket, I’d take it in a heartbeat. There’s something remarkable about seeing a monument you’ve loved for decades from an angle nobody else gets. But if the tickets are gone by the time you’re planning your trip, don’t let it stop you from visiting the plaza anyway. Come at night, when the building glows and the fountain, scaffolding or not, still anchors one of the most beautiful corners of this city. Widen your camera frame to take in the plaza as a whole, walk up to the Puerta de Alcalá a few minutes away, and remember that restorations like this happen maybe once every few decades. The fountain was last restored in 1980 and again in 2016. Catching her mid-transformation, then coming back years later to see her fully restored, is its own kind of Madrid tradition. Ready to explore the rest of Madrid like this? Click on the image and check out my Madrid 5-Day Itinerary and Guide. Cibeles has meant something to me since the week I arrived in this city as a wide eyed nineteen-year-old. Scaffolding, championship trophies, papal masses, or summer movie nights, she’s still standing at the center of it all, and she always will be. What about you? Did Cibeles catch you off guard the first time you saw her, or did some other Madrid plaza get you first? Drop a comment and let me know.

View of Plaza Mayor from our room at the Pestana Plaza Mayor My First Visit to the Plaza Mayor of Madrid It was the end of summer in 1986 when I first walked through one of the archways into the Plaza Mayor of Madrid. I was instantly in awe of this place. It has a stunning appearance of archways and balconied walls leading up to beautiful towers in a very Spanish style. The red color of the walls is very warm, making this massive square feel very inviting. It's not surprising that it's one of the centers of activity in the city and has been for centuries. In its early days it was a place where you might see bullfights, or even public executions. Now it is home to restaurants with outdoor terrace seating and typical gift shops. Dining or enjoying a beverage at these terraces is time well spent, in my opinion. Bar Postas, Calle de Postas, Madrid I remember going there for the first time. We walked west on Calle Mayor, the road that forms the south side of la Puerta del Sol and heads toward the Royal Palace. We took the first left onto Calle de Esparteros and then immediately right onto the pedestrian Calle de Postas, and continued into the northeast archway of the plaza via Calle de la Sal. I have followed this path countless times over the years. Every time I walk through that archway it almost takes my breath away. Along this path are restaurants, souvenir shops and the like. I am pretty sure I got my first bocadillo de calamares (calamari sandwich) at Bar Postas found on the south side of the road by the same name. You can go there today and the sandwich is the same as it was four decades ago. Click on this image to get our Madrid itinerary and travel guide, and start planning your visit to Plaza Mayor and beyond. Very Brief History of the Plaza Mayor Casa de la Panadería, Plaza Mayor de Madrid First opened in 1620, the stunning Plaza Mayor of Madrid is in the Herrerian style of architecture, which is characterized by strict geometry with square shapes and lack of adornment. This was apparently the official architecture of the Hapsburg monarchy under Felipe II. Other examples of this architecture are the Alcázar of Toledo and the El Escorial monastery; both of which are easy day trips from Madrid. The original construction was completed during the reign of Felipe III whose statue is in the center of the plaza. Casa de la Panadería The northern façade is the fresco-painted Casa de la Panadería (pictured above). Originally serving as the main bakery of the city, it dates to 1590 and the façade has always had frescos. The current frescos are from 1992 when they were restored. They are the works of Carlos Franco and depict the zodiac and mythological figures. Today it houses the Madrid Tourist Board and the Madrid Tourism Center. Casa de la Carnicería Casa de la Carnicería, Plaza Mayor of Madrid Opposite the Casa de la Panadería on the south side of the plaza is the Casa de la Carnicería (pictured here). It was about 1631 when the current structure was rebuilt to match the style of the Casa de la Panadería after the original structure had burned in a fire. This building was originally part of the meat distribution system of Madrid. It now houses the Pestana Plaza Mayor, a 90-room boutique hotel. The hotel has restaurants, and meeting spaces. Its guest rooms are of modern design and some rooms look into the plaza. As of this writing, the Michelin guest score is 18.4 on a scale of 20. King Felipe III on Horseback The statue of Felipe III, Plaza Mayor de Madrid Look closely at the bronze figure in the center of the plaza and you'll find more going on than a simple royal likeness. Felipe III sits in half armor with a wide ruff collar at his neck, the Order of the Golden Fleece hanging at his chest, a baton of command in one hand and the horse's reins in the other. The horse itself is caught mid-stride, one front leg raised, and if you look at the girth strap you'll find the signature of Pietro Tacca, who completed the work after the original sculptor, Giambologna, died before finishing it. The granite base beneath the statue is worth a look too. It's decorated with vegetal moldings, triglyphs, and laurel leaves, and on either side you'll find two allegorical plaques depicting war trophies in relief. On the front is a heraldic carving showing the combined coats of arms of the Royal House and the City of Madrid, set on a carved leather cartouche and topped with the royal crown. On the back, a plaque in bronze lettering commemorates the statue's placement here. The statue itself started out somewhere else entirely, in the gardens of the Casa de Campo, where it stood for over two hundred years before Queen Isabel II had it moved here in 1848, the same move commemorated on that rear plaque. Location of the Plaza Mayor Noting Nearby Dining Establishments of Note La Plaza Mayor de Madrid, 1857 There are nine archways leading into the plaza and outside of them lie streets full of bars and restaurants. Three of them head north back onto the Calle Mayor. If you head through the northwest archway you will find the magnificent Mercado de San Miguel. It was originally a traditional market but now is more of a food hall, with tapas bars and other dining and drinking establishments. Like the Atocha train station, this is one of Madrid's few modernist iron structures. From there, heading south along Cava de San Miguel you will find the Mesones, traditional bars, each with their own specialty, among them are Meson del Champiñon (mushroom), Meson de la Tortilla (a wonderful Spanish potato and egg omelette), and Meson de la Guitarra, to name a few. From there you can take a sharp left and go up the steps and through the archway back into the Plaza Mayor or continue south. If you choose the former, you will pass Las Cuevas de Luís Candelas, one of Madrid's most traditional restaurants, dating back to the early 1800s (4-star rating on Trip Advisor). If you decide to continue down Cava de San Miguel you will soon arrive at Restaurante Botín, another traditional restaurant (4.3-star rating in Trip Advisor). Opening in 1725, and according to the Guinness Book of World Records is the oldest restaurant in the world! Another of the southern archways goes down Calle de Toledo. Along the way you will find souvenir shops, ice cream and even a Five Guys if you are in the mood for an American hamburger and fries. You can continue south on Calle de Toledo to the La Latina neighborhood full of traditional bars and restaurants and home of the giant flea market "El Rastro" held each Sunday from 9AM to 3PM. Exiting the southeast corner you emerge onto Calle Botoneras with a few bars and on to Calle Imperial where you will find the entrance to the hotel Pestana Plaza Mayor mentioned earlier. And the three archways on the east all take you to more bars and restaurants. They are Calle de Gerona, Calle de Zaragoza, and Calle de la Sal where we entered the plaza. Honestly, no matter the seemingly millions of times I've crossed this plaza, when I'm trying to return to a certain place I get a little confused but I usually pick the right exit on the first try. If not, I'm sure to find more fabulous sites and sounds and can easily reroute having taken a new path. In short, no visit to Madrid would be complete without a visit to this beautiful plaza. The photos don't do it justice. And with all there is to see and do and taste in and around this magical place, you will visit more than once. What did you learn while reading this article that most captured your attention? Have you been to Madrid? If so, what is your favorite memory?

My Homemade Bocadillo de Calamares What is a Bocadillo? If you don't know what a bocadillo is in Spanish, it is a sandwich. They are usually on fresh rolls and can have various fillings such as serrano ham (get the ibérico de bellota, trust us), chorizo, lomo de cerdo (pork loin), morcilla (blood sausage), and the list goes on. One of our favorite places for a bocadillo in Madrid is El Brillante. It opened in 1961 and has been a favorite ever since. They have about 20 different bocadillos on their menu. Among them is their signature bocadillo de calamares (large fried rings of squid), called "El Brillante" on their menu. If you aren't great with the language you can just point to the photo near the ceiling and be sure to order it with a beer (una caña). They serve Mahou on tap, our favorite when in Madrid. Here's how to place this exact order at the bar: "ponme un bocadillo de calamares y una caña, por favor."I first walked into El Brillante back in 1986, and I've been going back every trip since. Depending on the time of day, you might find me there for a pincho de tortilla, a bocadillo de calamares, or just a café con leche with churros if it's too early in the day to think about squid. El Brillante is conveniently located directly across from the Atocha train station and an easy walk from the Prado and Reina Sofía museums (among others). And, if you are going clubbing, this might be a solid option for pregaming because they are open until 11:30PM or midnight depending on the day of the week and they are right around the corner from Kapital, one of the hottest night clubs in Madrid. Madrid Places Specializing in the Bocadillo de Calamares You may have read our blog post about the Plaza Mayor of Madrid (18 Feb 2024). In that post we mentioned Bar Postas on Calle de Postas. We neglected to mention Cevecería La Campana on Calle de Botoneras. I've been going to Bar Postas since that same first trip in 1986, and in all these years I've never ordered anything there except the calamares, usually on a bocadillo, sometimes a ración, always with a beer. As for La Campana, I've walked past it more times than I can count over the decades, close enough that I have a hard time believing I never went in. But honestly, I can't say for sure I ever ordered a sandwich there. That's Madrid for you, so many good options packed into a few blocks that some of them blur together over the years. Craving more Madrid favorites like these? Check out our 5-day Madrid itinerary guide, including day trips to Toledo and Segovia. In a Pinch You Can Make One at Home (Our Recipe) Yesterday we were compiling a long list of favorite restaurants of Madrid. While doing so, we got a craving for a bocadillo de calamares. We are not in Madrid right now. So, we had our local chef de cuisine (me) whip one up with ingredients we found locally (cover photo). It was not exactly the same. But very close. I think the real difference was the bread. The "barras de pan" (what we might call baguettes) in Madrid are awesome and the ones we get here are a little different. We think it's the tap water, a source of great pride among madrileños. Here is the easy recipe we followed to make one sandwich. Our Bocadillo de Calamares 4 to 5 ounces of large, squid rings* Generous pinch of kosher salt A few tablespoons of flour for dusting Olive oil for frying** Six to eight-inch piece of baguette or other crusty loaf Aioli or mayonnaise, or other sauce of choice (optional) If your squid rings are frozen, thaw them overnight in the fridge or follow the quick thaw instructions on the bag. Once thawed, rinse the squid rings and pat them dry between a few layers of paper towels. Heat the oil over high heat until a droplet of water pops on the surface. Meanwhile place the dried squid rings in a small bowl. Sprinkle with salt (a little more than you think) and toss to coat. Sprinkle with flour and toss to coat. shake off the excess flour and fry until they start to become golden, just a few minutes; reduce heat if necessary. Drain on paper towels. I wrapped my roll in foil and heated it for several minutes in a hot oven while I was preparing the squid. To assemble, slice the roll open length-wise but don't cut all the way through. Spread both sides of the roll with aioli or other sauce if using. Fill with the fried squid rings. Take a photo for your social media post, and devour your masterpiece. *To emulate the sandwich you will get in Madrid, they need to be 3/8" to 1/2"-thick rings of squid cut from large tubes. If you can't find them like that, you can use the smaller rings. They will just have a different consistency. **We used a small saucepan with about a quart of olive oil. We store it in a mason jar in the fridge between uses and use it several times so as not to be wasteful. We actually seem to get better results with oil that has been previously used once or twice. Nearly forty years after my first bocadillo de calamares in Madrid, it's still one of my favorite quick bites in the city. Whether you get one at El Brillante, take the sure bet at Bar Postas, gamble on La Campana like I apparently never quite managed to, or fry up your own version at home, it's worth going out of your way for. Grab a caña while you're at it. Have you had a bocadillo de calamares in Madrid? Or is there another Spanish sandwich you'd put up against it? Let us know in the comments.