Roof of the Circle of Fine Arts
We are about to tour the center of Madrid in search of the best panoramic views with the aim of immortalizing its streets from above. Our route begins by going up to the fourth floor of ABC Serrano (Serrano, 61), the shopping center that occupied the old headquarters of the famous newspaper and its supplement Blanco y Negro.
There we will find now ABC Sky, terrace where you can have breakfast, lunch, eat or just have a drink. At the time of our visit they only serve the interior terrace, but they also allow us to look out the outdoor terrace of the Pedro Larumbe restaurant to enjoy the views it offers from both sides of the Paseo de la Castellana.
There we can get good snapshots of two emblematic properties: the La Unión y el Fénix Building (headquarters of the Mutua Madrileña) and the Pyramid Building.
We cross the Castellana towards the south until we join Recoletos and arrive at the Cibeles roundabout. We headed, of course, to the Mirador Madrid, the rooftop of the Palacio de Cibeles, current headquarters of the Madrid City Council.
It has just reopened to the public (it closed in the state of alarm), and to celebrate admission is free until further notice (normally it would cost 2 euros). To access we have to go up the elevator to floor 6E, and from there (after showing our entrance) go up two more floors, either in another elevator or along eighty-eight steps.
When we look out, they will have been worth it, and it is that we may be facing some of the best views of the city. As soon as we leave we will have the Cibeles roundabout under our feet with the center in front, the Telefónica Building and its clock tower and the España Building to the right and the Palace Hotel to the left.
Best of all, you can completely surround the roof, getting 360-degree views. In this way, on the other side we will see El Retiro Park and places as recognizable as Torrespain. To the north, countless buildings like the Torres de Colón or the skyscrapers of the Castellana.
back on solid ground We go up Calle de Alcalá to turn left onto Calle del Marqués de Casa Riera and discover one of the roof terraces that we just had in front of us: that of the Circle of Fine Arts.
The entrance costs 5 euros, and once upstairs it will open a 360-degree panorama located 56 meters above Calle Alcalá that allows to see from the Sierra de Guadarrama to the north to the Cerro de los Ángeles (Getafe) to the south.
The building is crowned by the Minerva sculpture, a bronze piece by Juan Luis Vassallo representing the Roman goddess of wisdom and art, the emblem of the Circle.
When leaving we turn right towards Gran Vía until we come to Montera street on our left. A few meters we will see on the right a Salvador Bachiller branch at number 37. Three floors full of suitcases, bags, accessories and various outlet items.
What many people ignore is that, after going through them and reaching the fourth, the Secret Garden awaits us. A garden terrace as intimate as it is pleasant that will allow us to take photos on both sides of Calle Montera if we look at its end. For its part, the restaurant offers meals, snacks, dinners and cocktails.
Nearby, in Plaza de Callao, El Corte Inglés houses the Gourmet Experience terrace on its ninth floor. An accumulation of gastronomic products and franchises that we can taste in the outdoor terrace with its enviable views of the center of Madrid.
Here we will get an unbeatable photograph of the Carrión Building at the foot of the Gran Vía, whose emblematic façade crowned by the Schweppes advertisement was immortalized in the famous scene of The Day of the Beast, the already classic film by Álex de la Iglesia.
Our walk continues at number 17 of Doctor Cortezo, the street that joins Plaza de Jacinto Benavente with Tirso de Molina. The normal thing will be to see the door of the portal open, if it is not enough to call the sixth floor of your intercom and go up in your elevator.
When we leave we will meet the Casa de Granada, the restaurant bar corresponding to the homonymous association that has been offering portions, salads, meat and fish to anyone who comes up for decades. Also some beers, some drinks or a simple coffee.
Everything can be tasted in its interior room, but of course the jewel in the crown is its exterior terrace, with the CNT headquarters in front and some priceless panoramic views of the rooftops of Lavapiés that extend to the Cerro de los Ángeles on the south and to the Campamento area on the east.
Questions and answers about its ins and outs
To finish our route we approach the Mountain of Principe Pío, which currently serves as a park in the vicinity of Plaza de España.
Next to the famous Temple of Debod, reconstructed piece by piece from Egypt to Madrid, a small viewpoint will give us a panoramic view of the monumental area of Madrid, where we can see the Royal Palace and the Almudena Cathedral, as well as the green area of the Casa de Campo.
It is precisely there where our adventure will end, taking a one-way ticket (4.5 euros, 6 euros return) at the Madrid cable car . Join the ride Painter Rosales with the Country House and its eighty cabins are for a maximum of six people.
With a maximum height of 40 meters, on its two-and-a-half kilometer route, it flies over the rose garden of the Parque del Oeste, the Príncipe Pío commuter train station, the hermitage of San Antonio de la Florida and the Manzanares River while an audio guide explains to us what we have under our feet.
Cable car crossing Casa de Campo