If you are visiting Madrid or if you are in the capital, we invite you to visit the Barrio de las Letras, place where some of the most important writers of that time, such as Larra, Bécquer, Lope de Vega, Pérez Galdós, Miguel de Cervantes, Calderón de la Barca, Góngora, Espronceda, Tirso de Molina or Quevedo, lived during the XVI and XVII centuries (the golden age of the Spanish Letters or “Siglo de Oro“).
As a tribute to the great writers and to the city of Madrid, which once lived one of the most important moments in literature and history, several of its streets are named after them.
We enter the picturesque Barrio de Las Letras or Las Musas, reading poems or famous phrases of the most outstanding writers who wrote in their own handwriting.
Although today we see the neighborhood with numerous buildings, in the past they were the orchards of the Prado, fields where the humblest people lived and the peasants who harvested fruits and vegetables to feed the people of Madrid, hence it was previously called the Barrio de Huertas.
Where is located the Barrio de las Letras of Madrid?
We find in the historic center of the city the well-known “Barrio de las Letras”, framed between Sol, Calle de Atocha and Calle del Prado.
Itinerary of the guided tour of “El Barrio de las Letras”.Itinerario de la visita Guiada por “El Barrio de las Letras”
- Puerta del Sol
- Calle de Álvarez Gato
- Plaza de Santa Ana
- Plaza del Ángel
- Calle de las Huertas
- Calle de Cervantes
- Calle de Quevedo
- Convento de las Trinitarias
- Plaza de las Cortes
Details of this Tour
Our recommendation to start visiting the Barrio de las Letras is from the Calle de Álvarez Gato, but by all is known as Callejón del Gato.
In this small passage decorated the facade of a business 2 mirrors, one concave and one convex, from which Valle-Inclán (Spanish playwright and novelist of the generation of 98) was inspired to write his play “Luces de Bohemia” and create the literary genre of the “esperpento“.
If you walk around here, you can recreate one of the moments of the artist and the esperpento, and if you take a picture in front of one of the concave or convex mirrors you will leave a different memory in your photo album, and if you get hungry, you can taste one of the best patatas bravas in Madrid.
On the corner in front we can see a plaque with a yellow diamond on the wall indicating where the “corral de comedias de la Cruz” was located, it was a theater of baroque essence where musketeers, comedians and authors elaborated scenes with all kinds of entanglements.
The most prominent authors who represented their works were; Lope de Vega or Tirso de Molina, King Philip IV was one of the regular spectators, hence the mural painting of Philip IV.
The next point to visit is the Plaza de Santa Ana, today is a bustling place where many people meet to have a snack, lunch or dinner in different restaurants or taverns but, formerly, in this place was located the Convent of Santa Ana.
In the 19th century, Pepe Botella (or “Pepe Plazuelas”) tore it down to make a large space, as we can see today.
The Teatro Español stands out, whose building was built in 1802 by Juan de Villanueva, but it has had to be remodeled several times due to several fires.
Previously, on this site was located the corral de comedias del Príncipe, where plays by Lope de Vega, Calderón de la Barca or Tirso de Molina were staged, since, within the courtyards, several tiers were arranged to accommodate the public, all made of wood.
At both ends of the Pza de Santa Ana are two sculptures, that of Calderón de la Barca and the sculpture of Federico García Lorca that are great references of Spanish literature.
Entering to Cervantes Street we can visit the Lope de Vega House Museum and take a guided tour of its interior, orchard and outbuildings and, curiously, in this same street resided in the last years of his life Miguel de Cervantes.
Come and discover an era of cloak and dagger, its literature and the curiosities of the Golden Age of Spanish literature.
Price of the Hapsburg Madrid Tour
- General: 25€.
Cancellation Policy of the Hapsburgs Route
- Up to 24 hours before the start of the activity, the total amount will be refunded.
- If you cancel with less time or do not show up, no refund will be offered.
Schedule
- Tuesday and Thursday 12h
Map and meeting point with our guide
- Puerta del Sol next to the “Oso y el madroño” sculpture.
