In my chats with friends and forums Ihave encounter many times folks who ask for safe areas or heard of a hotel but dont know the area, well I am no security expert and common sense always prevails,never a problem in my house. This entry would like to tell you a bit about the districts or neighborhoods of Madrid, Spain.
My beloved Madrid has 21 districts with names such as Arganzuela, Barajas, Carabanchel, Centro, Chamartín, Chamberí, Ciudad Lineal, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Hortaleza, Latina, Moncloa-Aravaca, Moratalaz, Puente de Vallecas, Retiro, Barrio de Salamanca, San Blas, Tetuán, Usera, Vicálvaro, Villa de Vallecas, and Villaverde.
The visitor should have heard of Barajas as thats where the airport is located. Then the popular ones are Centro, Chamartin, Chamberi, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Hortaleza, Latina, Moncloa-Aravaca,Retiro, and Salamanca. My old district was/is Ciudad Lineal but no tourist there just working class Spaniards and plenty of local flavors in bars, restos. I will mention them all with highlighted the upper real estate value neighborhoods.
Some recaps for Arganzuela starts by the Puerta de Toledo and in it you find the Vicente Calderon stadium for the football/soccer club Atletico de Madrid. Several suddivisions or barrios here are Acacias,Chopera, Imperial,Delicias, Legazpi, Moguer, and Atocha (the train station is here).
In Barajas, as mentioned you find the international airport for Madrid, you have here the Ermita de la Virgen de la Sociedad a church, and its suddivided into barrios or neighborhoods as Casco Viejo Barajas, Alameda de Osuna, Timon and Corralejos. The other that attaches to it is Valdebebas where the Real Madrid FC has a training center and farm team site of Real Madrid-Castilla.
Carabanchel, it was once famous for a prison in the Franco dictatorship,now gone. Here you have the church Ermita del Santo, San Isidro Labrador, the patron Saint of Madrid. The neighborhoods are Vista Alegre, Vista Bonita, Abrantes, Opañel, San Isidro, Comillas. In Vista Alegre was the old arena for the Real Madrid basketball team,7 times European Champion.
Centro, this is where most visitor come as most attractions are in it or around it. Puerta del Sol,Gran Via are all here, the IN place for the movida as well as Joy Eslava discotheque, Royal Palace, etc all guide books talks about it. The neighborhoods are Palacio,Embajadores,Corte,Justicia, Universidad,and Sol.
Chamartin, this is the other train station of Madrid; as well as the greatest Santiago Bernabeu Stadium home of Real Madrid FC, FIFA club of the 20C,and IFHHS European club of the 20C, 9 times European champions, simply the best! You have plenty to shop and be merry here, a place that needs further research by visitors. Its like home to me ::) . the neighborhoods are El Viso,Prosperidad,and Ciudad Jardin, Hispanoamerica, Castilla ,and Nueva España.
Chamberi, a small neighborhood, and popular with students residencies, has neighborhoods such as Gaztampide, Arapiles, Trafalgar, Almagro,Rios Rosas,and Vallehermoso.
Ciudad Lineal, well this is my district where I lived for four years in the 70′s and come back to it like a pilgrimage every year. This was carved out in 1892, and the most prominent feature is the church Nuestra Señora de la Concepción
( Our Lady of the conception). Neighborhood here are Ventas (the bullfight arena is here), Pueblo Nuevo, and my old nostalgic place Quintana right on Alcala Street; another barrio that most associates with the district is that of Arturo Soria, very nice.
Fuencarral-El Pardo; biggest district in part for the Monte del Pardo and Salto de Viñuelas forest parks. This is where the king has his residency. the nice neighborhoods are Barrio del Pilar, El Pardo, Valverde, Peñagrande, la Paz, and Mirasierra amongst others; all very nice neighborhoods.
Hortaleza, with a nice mirador de sanchinaro or lookout tower just outside the M30 ring road. neighborhoods here are , Canillas,and Palomas amongst others.
Latina, this is a very popular district with lots of night action and tapas. From the river Manzaneras all the way to the town of Alcorcon, this is a nice chuck of district. You see the very nice Puente de Segovia or bridge of Segovia over the Manzanares river. Neighborhoods are Aluche (where have some good old friends), Cuatro Vientos, los Carmenes,and Campamento amongst others.
Moncloa-Aravaca, this is the University area, plenty of bars,restos and the Puerta de Hierro ,Casa de Campo and its attraction parks ,Palacio de la Moncloa, neighborhoods are Casa de Campo, Argûelles, Ciudad Universitaria, Valdemartin, El Plantio and Aravaca.
Moratalaz, outskirts of the beltways road M30 and M40, out away from attractions. neighborhoods are Marroquina, Pavones, Vinoteros amongst others.
Puente de Vallecas, popular local district home of Rayo Vallecano, 2 division and sometimes 1 div football/soccer club. I used to come a lot by here in my youth. The end of year San Silvestre marathon race is run thru here! Neighborhoods are Numancia, Portavoz, and San Diego amongst others.
Retiro, this is another highly visited district around the Parque del Buen Retiro and the magnificent museums such as Prado! , and the botanical gardens. Neighborhood are Pacifico, Estrella,Jeronimo, ibiza,and Niño Jesus.
Barrio de Salamanca, the chic and trendy in Madrid along the Castellana and Serrano streets. The place to be and be known in town. Neighborhoods are Recoletos, Goya,Fuente del Berro, Castellana, and Lista amongst others.
San Blas, residential more and more from an industrial past, coming of a la mode. Neighborhoods are Simancas, Canillejas, Salvador amongst others. In Canillejas you can get the bus to airport 101/200 and other nearby cities like Torrejon de Ardoz and Alcala de Henares all linked with line 5 of metro my old line lol!
Tetuan, the Cuatro Caminos round point and the ave Asturias are very lively here, a must to find in Madrid. See older homes of Madrid by Bravo Murillo street. Neighborhoods are Bellas Vistas, Cuatro Caminos, Castillejos, etc.
Usera, very residential and industrial north of Manzanares river, some neighborhoods are San Fermin, Almendrales, and Moscardo.
Vicalvaro, this is an university district and has the fabolous Faunia park of nature, good for the kids. Neighborhoods are casco historico (old center) and Ambroz .
Villa de Vallecas, very laidback parroquial and country area in southern part of Madrid, nice to see the real city away from tourists. Neighborhoods are Casco Historico(old center) and Santa Eugenia.
Villaverde, in the south of city was industrial now becoming more residential, some neighborhoods here are Ciudad de los Angeles, San Cristobal,and San Andres. The newer autoroute A42 now passes nearby.
Hope it helps orient yourself next time looking for a rental or visiting the City of Madrid, and remember, “From Madrid to Heaven, and a hole in the sky to look down on it every day” Cheers
