Sol and Centro
Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol and Gran Vía
Sol and Centro is the middle of old Madrid, from Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor out to Gran Vía. It has the densest run of old shops, chocolate houses and taverns on the map.
Puerta del Sol is a semicircular square, pedestrian since August 2020, where Calle Mayor, Calle del Arenal, Calle de Alcalá and Calle de Preciados meet. Plaza Mayor got its uniform design in 1617, ordered from Juan Gómez de Mora. Gran Vía was built between 1910 and 1931, and the Telefónica building opened on it in 1930.
The shops here are old trades. Casa Mira has sold turrón since 1842 and Casa de Diego, on Puerta del Sol, makes fans and umbrellas. Casa Yustas and La Favorita both sell hats on Plaza Mayor, and Sombrerería Medrano on Calle Imperial opens Monday to Friday 10:00 to 14:30 and 16:30 to 20:00.
Chocolatería San Ginés has served chocolate with churros since 1894 and stays open 24 hours from Thursday to Sunday. Los Artesanos 1902 opens at 07:00 every day. For a sit-down meal, Botín on Calle de Cuchilleros dates from 1725, Casa Labra from 1860 and Lhardy from 1839.
Getting there
Sol (L1, L2, L3) is the Metro stop for Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor, and Ópera (L2, L5, R) and Callao (L3, L5) are close by.
41 places
What to see
Walk from Puerta del Sol to Plaza Mayor, then up Gran Vía past the Metrópolis and Telefónica buildings. The Descalzas Reales monastery is visited by guided tour only, Tuesday to Saturday, and costs 9 euros.
Where to eat and drink
La Casa del Abuelo near Puerta del Sol has served since 1906 and is open every day 12:00 to 23:00. Museo Chicote on Gran Vía opened in 1931.
Nearby neighbourhoods
The best of Sol and Centro
Things to do in Sol and Centro
Museum · € Ratón Pérez House Museum A small museum on the first floor of Calle del Arenal 8 about Ratón Pérez, the tooth mouse created by the Jesuit Luis Coloma in the 19th century for the young Alfonso XIII.
Museum · €€ San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando on Calle de Alcalá, opened in 1752 under Ferdinand VI. Its museum holds the permanent collection and a Goya gallery.
Landmark · Free Gran Vía A main avenue built between 1910 and 1931 to relieve the old centre. It brought the city's first skyscrapers and was built in three sections, starting from Calle de Alcalá.
Landmark · Free Metrópolis Building A landmark building at the corner of Calle de Alcalá and Gran Vía, designed in 1905 by the French architects Jules and Raymond Février for the insurance company La Unión y el Fénix.
Landmark · Free Palacio de Santa Cruz A rectangular 17th-century palace on Plaza de la Provincia, home of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1938 and a listed cultural asset since 1996.
Landmark · Free Plaza Mayor An arcaded square at the heart of the Madrid of the Habsburgs. Its uniform design was ordered from the architect Juan Gómez de Mora in 1617.
Landmark · Free Puerta del Sol A semicircular square, pedestrian since August 2020, where Calle Mayor, Calle del Arenal, Calle de Alcalá and Calle de Preciados meet. The clock on the Casa de Correos marks the New Year chimes on 31 December.
Landmark · Free Real Casa de Correos A Baroque building in Puerta del Sol put up between 1760 and 1768 by the French architect Jacques Marquet as the headquarters of the postal service. It houses the Comunidad de Madrid.
Landmark · Free Telefónica Building A building on Gran Vía opened in 1930, which the tourism board calls the first skyscraper in Europe, at nearly 90 metres. Its design drew on American skyscrapers.
Church · Free Calatravas Church The church of the former Royal Monastery of the Concepción, known as the Comendadoras de Calatrava, on Calle de Alcalá. The order's nuns moved to Madrid in 1623.
Church · € Descalzas Reales Monastery A monastery for Poor Clare nuns built between 1559 and 1564 in the former palace where Charles I and Isabella of Portugal lived. Joanna of Austria was born there in 1535.
Church · Free Oratorio del Caballero de Gracia A church that looks small from outside because its door sits in a corner of Gran Vía, but opens up inside. The tourism board lists it among the hidden architectural treasures of the centre.
Church · Free San Ginés Church One of the oldest churches in Madrid, on Calle del Arenal. It was built in 1645 over what is thought to be a Mozarabic chapel and is dedicated to Saint Genesius of Arles.
Viewpoint · € Círculo de Bellas Artes Rooftop A private cultural centre founded in 1880 on Calle de Alcalá. Its rooftop terrace is open to visitors and the building, with its cafe La Pecera, can be entered free.
Market · €€ Mercado de San Miguel An iron-and-glass market opened in May 1916 as a food market. It became the first gastronomic market in Madrid in May 2009.
Shopping · €€ Casa de Diego A shop in Puerta del Sol that began in 1823 as a workshop on Calle del Carmen and moved to number 12 in 1858. It makes, sells and repairs umbrellas, fans and walking sticks, and sells Manila shawls, mantillas and castanets.
Shopping · € Casa Mira A turrón and Christmas sweets shop on Carrera de San Jerónimo. Luis Mira, a confectioner from Jijona, started with a turrón stall in Plaza Mayor in 1842 and the family still runs the 1855 shop.
Shopping · €€ Casa Yustas A hat shop on Plaza Mayor founded in 1886 by Leopoldo Yustas Ayuso. It sells hats, caps and military goods and has had its own hat workshop since the 1920s.
Shopping · €€ Curtidos Villaverde A shop close to Plaza Mayor opened in 1887, born from a partnership between Cesáreo del Cerro and Fernando Villaverde, great-grandfather of the present manager.
Shopping · €€ El Corte Inglés Preciados-Callao The first site of the Spanish department store chain founded by Ramón Areces in 1940. The group now has four buildings between Callao and Puerta del Sol.
Shopping · €€€ Galería Canalejas A luxury shopping gallery in the former Palacio de la Equitativa between Calle de Alcalá and Calle de Sevilla, with fashion, accessories and perfume boutiques.
Shopping · €€€ Guitarras Ramírez A guitar maker founded in 1882 by the Madrid luthier José Ramírez de Galarreta y Planell, who began as an apprentice at twelve. Its shop is on Calle de la Paz.
Shopping · €€ La Favorita A hat shop beside the Casa de la Panadería on Plaza Mayor, founded by Teodoro Enguita in 1894. It sells hats, berets and caps.
Shopping · € La Violeta A sweet shop on Plaza de Canalejas opened in 1915 by Mariano Gil and Pilar Temiño. The family has sold its traditional violet sweets since then, behind a wooden shopfront.
Shopping · €€ Sombrerería Medrano A hat shop behind Plaza Mayor on Calle Imperial, in business without a break since 1832 and still run by the same family. It sells hats, caps, berets and regional models.
Food · €€€ Botín A restaurant on Calle de Cuchilleros founded in 1725 by Cándido Remis, nephew of the wife of the French cook Jean Botín. Guinness World Records recognises it as the oldest restaurant in the world.
Food · €€ Casa Labra A tavern founded in 1860 at Calle de Tetuán 12 near Puerta del Sol. It is known for tapas of cod, as fried slices and croquettes.
Food · €€€ La Barraca A restaurant on Calle de la Reina founded in 1935 by the Solís family, specialising in Valencian cooking and rice dishes including paella.
Food · €€ La Casa del Abuelo A tavern near Puerta del Sol founded in 1906 and still run by the founding family. It has been known since its start for its rosquillas and sandwiches.
Food · €€€ Las Cuevas de Luis Candelas A traditional restaurant beside Plaza Mayor on Calle de Cuchilleros, serving Castilian dishes, with roast suckling pig and roast lamb at the top of the menu.
Food · €€€ Lhardy A restaurant on Carrera de San Jerónimo opened in 1839 by Eugenio Huguemei, described by the tourism board as the first luxury restaurant in Madrid. A food shop runs alongside it.
Cafe · € Antigua Pastelería del Pozo A pastry shop on Calle del Pozo near Puerta del Sol that the tourism board calls the oldest in Spain. It was founded in 1830 and has been owned since 1900 by the family of Julián Leal Charle.
Cafe · € Chocolatería San Ginés A chocolate and churros place in the Pasadizo de San Ginés, serving since 1894. The tourism board considers it the best-known chocolatería in the city.
Cafe · € Chocolatería Tacita de Plata A chocolate and churros shop on Calle Mayor run by a family of churro makers with more than a century of selling churros at Madrid's street festivals.
Cafe · € Chocolatería Valor (Postigo de San Martín) A cafe and chocolate house near Plaza de Callao run by the Valor chocolate brand of Alicante. Chocolate with churros is its main product.
Cafe · € La Mallorquina A pastry shop opened on Puerta del Sol in 1894. Its name comes from its Mallorcan founders Coll, Ripoll and Balaguer, and its first products were ensaimadas and chocolate.
Cafe · € Los Artesanos 1902 A churro and chocolate shop on Calle de San Martín founded by Don Gabi, the fourth generation of a family of churro makers with over 100 years of history.
Nightlife · €€ Café Berlín A live-music club on Costanilla de los Ángeles in the former premises of the We Rock venue. It runs concerts and a late disco session.
Nightlife · €€ Museo Chicote A cocktail bar on Gran Vía founded in 1931, described by the tourism board as the first cocktail bar in Spain.
Nightlife · €€ Sala El Sol A music venue on Calle de los Jardines that opened in 1979 and lived through the Movida madrileña. Alaska y los Pegamoides, La Unión and Radio Futura have played there.
Nightlife · €€ Teatro Eslava A theatre on Calle del Arenal that opened in 1871 as the Salón Eslava and became the Joy Eslava nightclub in 1981. It now stages concerts and shows.
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