Barrio de Salamanca
Discover the luxury stores on the Golden Mile, Michelin-starred restaurants and the most stylish nightlife of Madrid
Barrio de Salamanca is quite peculiar, both for its layout and for the neighbours whose homes used to sit in this most desirable area of Madrid.
The neighbourhood was developed in the second half of the nineteenth century as an expansion planned under Queen Isabella II’s rule. The designer was Málaga-born José de Salamanca y Mayol, Marquis of Salamanca. He wanted to have an area for the exclusive residence of Madrid’s aristocracy and bourgeoisie. Barrio de Salamanca follows a regular grid pattern with parallel and perpendicular crossing streets. The carefully designed buildings here feature beautiful frontages that’ll catch your eye.
Historically, Salamanca has been a residential area inhabited mainly by Spain’s financial and political elite. In the past fifty years, it has attracted diplomats, businesspersons and, together with them, sophisticated fashion stores.
National Archaeological Museum
This is the cultural gem of the Salamanca neighbourhood. Its halls display pieces from Ancient Egypt, Greek ceramics or Roman sculptures along with a rich collection of Iberian sculptural art, including the main feature of the museum: the Lady of Elche. It is 100% accessible and also has a spacious terrace that is open during the summer.
Lázaro Galdiano Foundation Museum
It keeps the collection that art critic José Lázaro Galdiano donated to the State. Among its treasures are Hieronymus Bosch’s St. Jerome, Goya’s Aquelarre (Witches’ Sabbath), and a jar from the ancient city of Tartessos.
The Foundation runs temporary exhibitions, mostly of contemporary art, and puts on chamber music concerts as well.
Established in 1594 as a home for pilgrims hailing all the way from the Netherlands, the historical building is today the home of a foundation that aims at bringing the culture from this country in Northwest Europe closer to Madrid. A true gem is kept inside: The Martyrdom of St. Andrew, by Rubens.
This multi-purpose pavilion not only hosts the Real Madrid and Students ACB League and Euroleague basketball matches, but also becomes the venue for concerts by leading international artists.
Plaza de Felipe II
This square is in the heart of the Salamanca neighbourhood, also known as Plaza de Dalí, which is a spacious area devoted to culture and art, where you can find the sculptural work that the painter, Salvador Dalí gave to the city: El Dolmen.
Since it was opened in 1991, the gallery has held dozens of exhibitions devoted to modern and contemporary art, highlighting European and Latin American historic avant-garde.
Founded in 1965, it has worked with leading Spanish and foreign visual artists, all of whom are represented in the different national museums and enjoy international prestige. Throughout the year, it offers a monthly programme of individual exhibitions and catalogues are published for each one.
A simple and cosy theatre hall with capacity for 143 spectators, located in the vicinity of the Las Ventas Bullring, whose programme combines dramatic texts with some of the most innovative and contemporary works.
Located in a building of great architectural value, some of the most important musicals on the Spanish billboard are performed in this theatre. It has two halls, a main hall with capacity for 1,240 people and a smaller hall with capacity for 250 people.
This high-end shopping district showcases the best of Madrid - elegance and style. Renowned designers and national and international brands have their boutiques in Salamanca. Haute couture, shoes with a name and surname, accessories, jewellery and watches will captivate your attention from the glitzy shop windows.
Calle Ortega y Gasset is the main shopping attraction in Salamanca, so much so that it’s known as Madrid’s Golden Mile of fashion. The world’s best-known couturiers offer their latest creations here. Calle Serrano, packed with men’s top clothing brand boutiques, Calle Claudio Coello and Callejón de Jorge Juan is the venue for popular events, such as the Flower Market. In this area, there is also the ABC Serrano shopping centre, one of the shopping reference points that joins Calle Serrano and Calle Ortega y Gasset and which now houses The Robot Museum, the Sweet Space Museum with interactive tasting experiences, and the ABC Arcade for all your recreation and leisure needs.
The art galleries and auction houses are another of the great commercial features in the neighbourhood and, particularly, the area around Calle Villanueva where many of the collectors with the longest and most successful careers in Spain are located, such as Fernández Braso or the David Bardía art gallery.
The Salamanca neighbourhood boasts four restaurants which are key features of the area thanks to their prestigious Michelin stars. La Tasquería restaurant, run by Javi Estévez was awarded a Michelin star in 2019. The A'Barra restaurant, which was awarded its Michelin star in 2017, proposes technical cuisine and has Jorge Dávila as Head Waiter and Juan Antonio Medina (Zalacaín) as its chef. Ramón Freixa Madrid is located in the Hotel Único. This temple of avant-garde cuisine was awarded its first Michelin star in 2009 and the second in 2010. Finally, Ricardo Sanz Wellington, run by the sushi-man Ricardo Sanz, combines traditional Japanese recipes with local products in original dishes, such as ox sashimi.
Less starry but equally stunning and innovative are other restaurants, whose chefs prepare Peruvian or Asian dishes, and specialties from every Spanish region. Nômadâ Madrid stands out as a restaurant where you can savour Arabian fusion cuisine, as well as El Arrogante restaurant.
Alongside these restaurants, we can find the food markets of La Paz and Platea, the Gourmet Experience at the Corte Inglés, offering proposals by David Muñoz (StreetXO), Roberto Ruiz (Salón Cascabel) and Jordi Roca (Rocambolesc). Furthermore, there are many shops specialised in delicatessen products, among which signature cake shops, exclusive bakeries and domination of origin products, such as wine or cold meats, stand out.
Nightlife in Salamanca spreads style, elegance and glamour. The area becomes active early in the afternoon.
This is an area in which numerous headquarters and offices of important companies are located, so there are plenty of establishments to have a drink after work. Beers, wine and something to eat are the ideal ingredients to unwind from the stress of the week.
As the afternoon goes by and the sun starts to set, beers and glasses of wine give way to more elaborate drinks. It may be the drink that is all the rage, gin & tonic, which you can find in specialised establishments with premium gins, tonics, spices and preparation. However, you can also savour the creations of some of the city’s most reputed cocktail shakers whose bars are in this area, such as Dry Martini by Javier de Las Muelas.
At night, the Salamanca neighbourhood remains active, as some of the most exclusive discos in the capital can be found here. Fortuny (The Club) or Graf are just some of the places where you can dance the night away. Another good option is to go to the El Cielo de Alcalá terrace, located on the 8th floor of the H10 Puerta de Alcalá hotel, which has a bar service, plunge pool and sun lounger area.