The Paseo de la Castellana is one of the most important streets of Madrid. Major events are celebrated on this route from car shows, cycling competitions, to marathons to military parades and horse races. Everything that happens on this street starts at the Plaza de Colón and finishes in the outskirts of northern Madrid.
Colón
Colón is the most patriotic site you’ll find in Madrid with the largest Spanish flag flying over Spain. It is 294 square meters wide weighing 35 pounds and is located in the Gardens of Descubrimiento, dedicated to the great deeds of Christopher Columbus. The plaza has several interesting things to see from the Cultural Center of Fernando Fernán Gómez hiding below the water fountains in the heart of the plaza to the old theater that has been converted into a large gastronomic lounge.
Public Art Museum
North of the Castellana you’ll find various restaurants and pubs not necessarily suited for all pockets. If you’re for looking for something to do for free, check out the Madrid Museum of Air. Located under a bridge (Paseo de la Castellana, 40), the museum is made up of 17 famous abstract artists from Spain. The museum has an interesting visitor right next to the building, the ABC Serrano the old office for ABC News, the oldest news journal published in Madrid. It is also appropriate for hefty spenders.
Nuevos Ministerios
This is not the most beautiful section of the Castellana, but it is the most peculiar. For shopoholics, take note to pass through Azca and Calle Orense. The name of this area comes from the complex of administrative buildings that you can find here. Since its construction during the Franco Dictatorship to the present, it has been home to various different government administrations. The structure of this architectural complex was designed during the Second Republic and was built during Franco´s fascist dictatorship with the paradox that the floor of the building has the design of a hammer and sickle, the communist symbols…
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
This place does not require an explanation because you are not human if you don’t know who is Real Madrid! The museum and the stadium are the most popular tourist attractions.
The four towers
Madrid’s profile has changed in the last years with the construction of these skyscrapers that conclude the Castellana in the north and are known by Madrileños as the 4 Towers. They are the most futuristic face of Madrid, eve Robocok used their images to travel in time in the movie poster. But few visitors to Madrid know that before the construction of the towers, was the Sports City of Real Madrid. It was a sports arena where the Real Madrid team trained with an Olympic sized pool always crowded in the summertime and an ice skating rink and basketball court where the Real Madrid team played. Everything is now just a memory of when the Madrid soccer team was just a things for Madrileños not for the global fan base that it has grown to include today.