Madrid - walking tour

The Hostel provides a free walking tour, so decided to tag along instead of the usual free "New Europe" tour. Bit of a mistake - the guide didn't seem to know too much about most places we visited, but it gave me a nice intro to the city.

#1 typical old-style Madrid buildings
#2 Plaza Mayor, a huge square with 237 apartment balconies and many shops/restaurants around the edge (and also the awesome bubble-blowing guy mentioned by Tim/Kristina when they visited :D). It was only 11am but this pic kinda gives an idea of how hot it was.
#3 Almudena cathedral, rotated to most attractive angle! Constructed over a century, different sides are in different architectural styles. This is gothic style and the other side is a much more subdued baroque style (because it's facing the royal palace and had to match, or at least not outdo!)
#4 the royal palace, or Palacio Real, with its ludicrous 3,418 rooms. The royals don't actually live here anyway
#5 "Gate of the Sun", or Puerta del Sol, is the center of Spain's radial road network, and mostly just a big touristy square. Not really as nice as plaza mayor.
#6 a cute statue of a bear eating from a "madrone" red berry tree, the heraldic symbol of MadridЧитать далее