The neighbourhood at a glance
The Madrid de los Austrias is not an administrative district: the name covers the historic core between the Puerta del Sol to the east, the Royal Palace to the west, Calle Mayor to the north and La Latina to the south. The Bourbons, who succeeded the Habsburgs in 1700, added the Royal Palace and several baroque and neoclassical churches, so the route mixes both periods.
The loop starts and ends at Sol. It takes a full day if you go inside the paid sights, or three hours if you stick to the outsides. The ground slopes down to the south and west: the streets around Cava Baja and the Segovia Viaduct are hilly but easy. If you only have one day for the whole city, our itinerary what to do in Madrid in one day includes a short version of this walk.
Stop 1: Puerta del Sol
The starting point is the Puerta del Sol, served by Sol metro station (lines 1, 2 and 3) and Sol Cercanías station. In front of the Real Casa de Correos, seat of the Community of Madrid's regional government, a plaque in the pavement marks Kilometre Zero of Spain's radial roads. The clock on the façade strikes the twelve chimes of 31 December, which Madrileños accompany with twelve grapes. The statue of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree, the city's symbol, stands at the corner of Calle del Carmen.
The square is very busy and pickpockets are active here: our guide to scams to avoid in Madrid explains the most common tricks.
Stop 2: Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales
A 5-minute walk to the north-west, the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales hides one of Madrid's richest collections behind a brick and granite façade. Juana de Austria, daughter of Emperor Charles V, turned the palace where she was born into a convent of Poor Clares, who arrived in 1559; the community still lives there.
It can only be visited on a guided tour, Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 14:00 and 16:00 to 18:30, and Sunday from 10:00 to 15:00; closed on Mondays. Tickets cost €9, tour included, and can be booked on the Patrimonio Nacional ticket website. Allow an hour for the painted staircase, the cloister and the tapestries woven from designs by Rubens.
Stop 3: Plaza Mayor and the Arco de Cuchilleros
Walk to the Plaza Mayor in 8 minutes, heading back down towards Calle Mayor. The square took its regular shape from 1617, under Philip III, to plans by Juan Gómez de Mora; after the fire of 1790, Juan de Villanueva rebuilt it, lowering the façades and closing the corners. In the centre, the equestrian statue of Philip III was installed in 1848. On the north side, the Casa de la Panadería, with its painted façades, houses the tourist information centre, open daily from 10:00 to 20:00.
At the south-west corner, the Arco de Cuchilleros leads down a large staircase to Calle de Cuchilleros, the old street of the knife makers. Save it for the end of the walk: that is where Botín is. The square is open at all hours; the terraces under the arcades are much more expensive than the bars in the surrounding streets.
Stop 4: Mercado de San Miguel
The Mercado de San Miguel is 2 minutes from the west exit of the square. This iron and glass market hall, opened in 1916, became a gourmet market in 2009 where you taste bites one by one at the counters. It opens daily at 10:00 and closes at midnight from Sunday to Thursday, and at 01:00 on Friday, Saturday and the eve of public holidays. Entry is free. Come in late morning: at lunchtime and in the evening, the crowds are thick.
Stop 5: Calle Mayor and Plaza de la Villa
Go back up to Calle Mayor, the city's old main street, which links Sol with the Royal Palace. A 3-minute walk west, the Plaza de la Villa brings together three periods around the statue of Admiral Álvaro de Bazán, unveiled in 1891.
- The Casa de la Villa, on the west side, was commissioned under Philip IV: work began in 1644 under Juan Gómez de Mora and was completed in 1696 under Teodoro Ardemans. It housed Madrid City Hall until 2007, when the mayor's office moved to the Cibeles Palace.
- The Torre and Casa de los Lujanes, on the east side, date from the 15th century and are among the oldest civil buildings in the city, in Gothic-Mudéjar style. According to tradition, King Francis I of France was held here after his capture at Pavia in 1525.
- The Casa de Cisneros, on the south side, is a 16th-century Plateresque mansion, linked to the Casa de la Villa by a footbridge built in 1915.
The interiors are not open for free access: in some seasons the city council includes them in its free Pasea Madrid guided tours, by reservation.
Stop 6: Almudena Cathedral and the Royal Palace
Follow Calle Mayor to its end: after 7 minutes you reach Almudena Cathedral (Calle de Bailén 10). Begun in 1883 and consecrated in 1993, it is open daily from 10:00 to 20:30, with a suggested donation of €1. The museum and the climb to the dome, sold together for €8, are open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 14:30. Below the cathedral, on the Cuesta de la Vega, remains of the 9th-century Muslim wall, where the city began, can still be seen.
Opposite, across the Plaza de la Armería, the Royal Palace of Madrid stands on the site of the Habsburg Alcázar, destroyed by fire on Christmas Eve 1734. From October to March it opens Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 18:00 and Sunday from 10:00 to 16:00, with last entry one hour before closing. Tickets cost €18 (€9 reduced); book a time slot online and allow at least an hour and a half.
Stop 7: Plaza de Oriente
Walk along the east façade of the palace on Calle de Bailén: in 3 minutes, the Plaza de Oriente opens up between the palace and the Teatro Real, Madrid's opera house. In the centre, the equestrian statue of Philip IV was cast in Florence by Pietro Tacca between 1634 and 1640, from a model by Velázquez. Galileo is said to have advised making the rear of the statue in solid bronze and the front hollow, so that the horse could rear up on its hind legs alone. It has stood in its current spot since 1843. The gardens and their benches offer a shady break before heading south.
Stop 8: Basílica de San Francisco el Grande
Walk south down Calle de Bailén, crossing the Segovia Viaduct: allow 15 minutes to the Basílica de San Francisco el Grande. Completed between 1776 and 1784 under Francesco Sabatini, it is crowned by a dome 33 m in diameter, the largest in Spain. Its museum holds paintings by Goya and Zurbarán. Admission costs €6 (€3.50 reduced) and is free on Thursdays; visits take place Tuesday to Saturday, at times that vary with the liturgical calendar.
Stop 9: Plaza de la Paja
A 7-minute walk east, along Carrera de San Francisco and Costanilla de San Andrés, brings you to the Plaza de la Paja, the main square of medieval Madrid before the Plaza Mayor was built. It is lined by the Palacio de Vargas and the Capilla del Obispo, a 16th-century Gothic chapel attached to the church of San Andrés. At number 6, a small door leads into the Jardín del Príncipe de Anglona, an 18th-century noble garden of 678 m², free, open from 10:00 to 18:30 in winter and from 10:00 to 22:00 in summer.
Stop 10: Cava Baja
3 minutes to the north-east, Calle de la Cava Baja follows the line of the ditch that ran along the medieval wall; it was once a street of inns for travellers arriving in Madrid. Today it is La Latina's tavern street, lined with bars along its whole length, as is neighbouring Calle de la Cava Alta. The area is covered in detail in our La Latina guide.
Stop 11: Basílica de San Miguel and the Carboneras convent
Walking up Cava Baja and then Calle del Nuncio, the Pontifical Basilica of San Miguel (Calle de San Justo 4) is 5 minutes away. Built between 1739 and 1746 to plans attributed to Santiago Bonavía, this baroque church with a curved façade is the church of the Apostolic Nunciature, the Holy See's representation in Spain.
2 minutes away, on the small Plaza del Conde de Miranda (number 3), the Monasterio del Corpus Christi, founded in 1607 and nicknamed Las Carboneras, houses a community of cloistered Hieronymite nuns. The nickname is said to come from an image of the Virgin found in a coal yard. The sisters sell the cookies and pastries they make through a torno, a small revolving hatch that lets you pay and be served without seeing them: go in through the right-hand door at the start of Calle del Codo. The torno is open from 9:30 to 13:00 and 16:30 to 18:15; make sure you arrive before it closes in the afternoon.
Stop 12: Calle de Cuchilleros and Botín
Finish on Calle de Cuchilleros, 3 minutes away: at number 17, Sobrino de Botín, opened in 1725, is listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest restaurant in the world still in operation. Its wood-fired oven turns out Castilian-style roast suckling pig and lamb. The staircase of the Arco de Cuchilleros then climbs back up to the Plaza Mayor, from where Sol is 5 minutes away.
Route summary
| Stop | Place | Price | To the next stop |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Puerta del Sol | Free | 5 min |
| 2 | Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales | €9, guided tour | 8 min |
| 3 | Plaza Mayor and Arco de Cuchilleros | Free | 2 min |
| 4 | Mercado de San Miguel | Free entry | 3 min |
| 5 | Calle Mayor and Plaza de la Villa | Free (outside) | 7 min |
| 6 | Almudena Cathedral and Royal Palace | €1 donation; museum and dome €8; palace €18 | 3 min |
| 7 | Plaza de Oriente | Free | 15 min |
| 8 | Basílica de San Francisco el Grande | €6, free on Thursdays | 7 min |
| 9 | Plaza de la Paja and Jardín del Príncipe de Anglona | Free | 3 min |
| 10 | Cava Baja | Depends on the tavern | 5 min |
| 11 | Basílica de San Miguel and Carboneras convent | Free (cookies paid) | 3 min |
| 12 | Calle de Cuchilleros and Botín | Depends on the restaurant | 5 min to Sol |
Prices checked in October 2026. About 5 km and 1 hour 15 minutes of walking in total; with the indoor visits, the loop takes a full day. Admission budget per adult: €41 for the Descalzas Reales, the Royal Palace, the Almudena museum and dome, and San Francisco el Grande on a day other than Thursday.
Where to eat in the Madrid de los Austrias
Quick bites
The Mercado de San Miguel lets you try ham, cheese, olives or seafood by the piece, standing at high tables. Prices are posted at each counter and are higher than in a neighbourhood bar: walk round before ordering.
The taverns of Cava Baja
For a meal of tapas or raciones, Cava Baja and Cava Alta are the easiest option in the area. At lunchtime, many taverns offer a menú del día, a set-price meal with starter, main course, dessert and a drink. Madrileños have lunch between 14:00 and 15:30 and rarely have dinner before 21:00; on Sunday lunchtime, after the nearby Rastro market, the street is packed.
A meal at Botín
For suckling pig roasted in the 1725 oven, book ahead: the dining rooms are in demand all year round, especially in the evening and at weekends.
Practical tips
When to do the walk
The Descalzas Reales is closed on Mondays: choose a day from Tuesday to Saturday to do the full loop. On Sundays, the Royal Palace closes at 16:00 and the Almudena museum is closed; on the other hand, it is the day of the Rastro, the flea market held south of La Latina. On Thursdays, admission to San Francisco el Grande is free.
Safety and traps
Pickpockets target the Puerta del Sol, the Plaza Mayor and the Mercado de San Miguel. Also watch out for terrace touts and fake petitions in the most touristy squares. Details are in our guide to scams to avoid in Madrid.
Further reading
To combine this area with the Gran Vía and the Temple of Debod, follow our itinerary what to do in Madrid in one day. On the other side of Sol, the Barrio de las Letras extends the walk towards the Prado, and our guide to getting around Madrid explains tickets and travel cards for reaching the area.
