#1 - Madrid de los Austrias City Walk
Madrid, Community of Madrid, SpainLength: 1.4 mi • Est. 35 m
Stretching from the Cuesta de la Vega to the Plaza Mayor, this neighborhood offers visitors a vivid impression of what the capital was like during the Habsburg dynasty. It is an area full of charming little squares and traditional taverns that personify the quintessential flavor of the city. The district's street layout dates back to the city's medieval origins, when Emir Mohammed I ordered the construction of a citadel in 865 AD. C. in the town of Myrit, on the Manzanares river. Later, the municipality became a crossroads between the north and the south and an important enclave for the reconquest of Toledo by the Kingdom of Castile. Over time, the citadel was transformed into a fortress for the Christian kings. In 1561, Philip II finally became the first king to establish a court in Madrid. The Habsburg dynasty brought a whole new image to the city, with granite and brick buildings, slate-clad towers, and sumptuous religious buildings hidden behind the garden walls. Even today this corner of Madrid still retains the distinctive air of that period. It takes little imagination to imagine the swordsmen of the king's court or the poets of the Spanish Golden Age roaming its streets. It is possible to visit the Habsburg or Austria district of Madrid in a couple of hours, but it is worth visiting at a slower pace, contemplating its churches, convents and the Royal Palace.
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