Our tour begins at the Teatro Real (17) built by Queen Isabel II and remodeled and inaugurated in 1997 as the opera house. Nearby is the Plaza de la Encarnación, which is linked to the Plaza de Oriente, where the 17th century Monasterio de la Encarnación (18) (Monastery of the Incarnation) is found.

The handsome old convent houses a collection of relics. You can visit the former enclosure which now houses a museum with interesting works of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Down the Calle de la Encarnación to the right of the church, we reach the Plaza de la Marina Española, where we find the Palacio del Senado (19) (Senate Palace), built at the end of the 16th century for a community of Agustinian friars and recently remodeled.

It is now the seat of the Spanish Senate. To the left and adjoining the Senate building is the Palacio del Marqués de Grimaldi (20), (Palace of the Marquis of Grimaldi), the work of Sabatini in 1776. On the Calle Torija, we find the Convento de las Reparadoras (21) (Convent of the Reparadoras), designed by Ventura Rodriguez in 1782 for the purpose of installing the Court of the Inquisition; the church dates from the 19th century.

From here we continue along the Calle Torrija until we reach the Plaza de Santo Domingo. Then take the Calle Veneras where the author Rubén Darío lived. Proceed on the Calle de Trujillos and turn left at the Travesía de Trujillos which runs into the Plaza de las Descalzas, where we find the 16th century Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales (22) (Monastery of the Royal Barefoot Franciscans).

It was the former home of the women of Royal Families who upon entering the nunnery brought with them valuable dowries in works of art, which have formed the collection that we can now admire. The Puerta del Sol (23) (Gateway to the Sun) was once a 15th century defensive bulwark, part of a wall which enclosed the town of Madrid limiting it from the populated outskirts. The former Casa de Correos (24) (Post Office) was built in 1768 under the direction of French architect Marquet.

It is crowned by a tower with a clock on its four sides; the most famous timepiece in Madrid. At the stroke of midnight on December 31st, madrileños (the inhabitants of Madrid) usher in the New Year to the chimes of its bell. On the ground in front of the building, there is a marker indicating Kilometer zero from which all the country’s road distances are measured, and all Spanish roads radiate from here as well as the numbers of the streets.

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