Centro (Madrid)

The Plaza Mayor (English: Town square) is a major public space in the heart of Madrid, the capital of Spain. It was once the centre of Old Madrid. It was first built (1580–1619) during the reign of Philip III. Only a few blocks away is another famous plaza, the Puerta del Sol.

El Madrid de los Austrias (English: The Madrid of the Austrians or the Habsburgs) is a name used for the old centre of Madrid, built during the reign of the Habsburg Dynasty (1516–1700), known in Spain as Casa de Austria. The area is located south of the Calle Mayor, in between the Metro stations Sol and Ópera.

The Casa de la Panadería is a municipal and cultural building on the north side of the Plaza Mayor in Madrid. It is four stories high, the ground floor comprising porticos and the top floor in the form of an attic, with its sides crowned by angular towers.

Sobrino de Botín is a Spanish restaurant in Madrid, founded in 1725, that is the oldest restaurant in the world in continuous operation. The artist Francisco de Goya worked in Cafe Botín as a waiter while waiting to get accepted into the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. The restaurant is mentioned in an Ernest Hemingway novel and the book Fortunata y Jacinta by Benito Pérez Galdós (published 1886–1887).

The Chocolatería San Ginés is a café at Pasadizo de San Ginés, 5, in central Madrid, in a passageway close to San Ginés church, west of the Puerta del Sol. It has served principally chocolate con churros (hot chocolate and churros) since 1894. Coffee and cakes are also available. The interior is decorated with mirrors and green wood panels, with green velvet seats and marble tables. The hot chocolate is served in Spanish style - thick, dark and strong - and the churros - deep fried batter, similar to a light, crispy, linear doughnut, cut to length by the staff - are served hot and freshly cooked, ready for dunking. In 2010, a San Ginés's branch was opened in Shibuya, Tokyo (Japan). It closed one year later, in 2011.

The Market of San Miguel (Spanish: Mercado de San Miguel) is a covered market located in Madrid, Spain. Originally built in 1916, it was purchased by private investors in 2003 who renovated the iron structure and reopened it in 2009.

The Palacio de Santa Cruz or Palace of the Holy Cross is a baroque building in central Madrid, Spain. It now houses the Spanish Foreign Ministry. It was used as a jail until the reign of Philip IV of Spain, when it was converted into a palace. Construction was commissioned in 1629 by Philip IV to house both courts and jail facilities. The architect Juan Gómez de Mora worked on it from 1629 to 1636, and later other architects like José de Villareal, Bartolomé Hurtado García, and José del Olmo added elements. In 1767 it changed from jail to the Palacio de Santa Cruz, due to its proximity to the church of Santa Cruz. A fire destroyed all but the facade in 1791.

The church of San Ginés (Spanish: iglesia de San Ginés de Arlés) in Madrid, is one of the oldest churches in that city. It is situated on the Calle Arenal. References to it appear in documents dating from the ninth century. Originally built in Mudéjar style (of the structure only the campanile survives), it was rebuilt in 1645.

Colegio Imperial de Madrid (also known as the Colegio Imperial de la Compañía de Jesús or El Colegio de San Pedro y San Pablo de la Compañía de Jesús en la Corte) nowadays Instituto San Isidro, was the name of a Jesuit educational institution in Madrid (Spain).Founded at the end of the 16th century, it received the title of Imperial College due to the patronage of Empress Maria, daughter of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and the wife of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor. Philip IV of Spain is considered the founder of the Reales Estudios in 1625. Subjects included theology, philosophy, geography, and the sciences.

The Pontifical Basilica of St. Michael (Spanish: Basílica Pontificia de San Miguel) is a baroque Roman Catholic church and minor basilica in central Madrid, Spain. It is located in San Justo Street, adjacent to the Archbishop's Palace. It is the church of the Apostolic Nunciature to the Kingdom of Spain of the Holy See and is now administrated by the priests of Opus Dei.

The Monastery of Corpus Christi las Carboneras (Spanish: Monasterio del Corpus Christi las Carboneras) is a monastery of a female community of the Order of Saint Jerome located in Madrid, Spain at the Plaza del Conde de Miranda. It was founded in 1607 by the widowed countess of Castellar and Hieronymite nun Beatriz Ramírez de Mendoza (1556-1626). It is named after a painting of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception that was found in a coalyard (Spanish: carbonería). The complex was built by the master builder Miguel de Soria, a pupil of Juan Gómez de Mora, in the first quarter of the 17th century. It was declared Bien de Interés Cultural in 1981. The monastery is vending sweet pastries (Spanish: dulces).The church is an example of the early Baroque in Madrid It has a single nave consisting of three bays with niches covered by a barrel vault with lunettes. Its choir is elevated.

The now defunct Convento de San Felipe el Real (English: Convent of Saint Philip the Royal) (briefly called as San Felipe el Real) was a former Madrilenian convent of Calced Augustinian monks, located at the beginning of Calle Mayor in Madrid, next to the Puerta del Sol. Built between 16th and 17th centuries, was rise on a large pedestal (with protected perimeter of railings), was part of it a famous talking shop of the city (the Steps of San Felipe). One of its famous guests was Friar Luis de León. It was opposite the Palacio de Oñate.