Madrid may well have its iconic Kilometre 0 in the Puerta del Sol, but it also has another point of departure not all that far away, on the Cuesta de Moyano. The thirty or so bluish-grey stalls have been, and still are, witness to myriad students, writers, academics, children, politicians, thinkers and artists, all in search of a good book to read. And, above all, to millions of anonymous visitors who, after wandering through this beautiful literary space for the first time, have fallen in love with its irresistible charm and have already added it to their personal map of Madrid.

The “Fair from which books have flown to the furthest corners of the world” and which “everyone has visited”, in the words of one of its last great booksellers, the much-loved Pepe Berchi, is the largest stable congregation of open-air bookshops in Europe. The original idea of Moyano as the Kilometre Zero of books is attributed to another of its illustrious admirers and an Honorary Member of the 'Soy de la Cuesta' citizens' association, writer and journalist Antonio Lucas.

This enthusiasm for storytelling is the guiding force behind this Illustrated Cultural Map, which is filled with adventures, poems, and stories hidden between Madrid's acacias and the tiles that adorn the roofs of the old town.

As the perfect hosts that they are, Andrés Trapiello and Fernando Vicente lead us by the hand. So, put on a pair of comfortable shoes and step out onto the streets of Madrid: we'll stroll through them as if they were the crooked lines of a book that tells the literary history of Madrid.

- Download the illustrated cultural map (1 MB) (Spanish/English)