{"id":4484,"date":"2016-03-16T12:50:43","date_gmt":"2016-03-16T11:50:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/?p=4484"},"modified":"2019-11-27T11:17:39","modified_gmt":"2019-11-27T10:17:39","slug":"madrid-church-crawl-for-architecture-lovers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/madrid-church-crawl-for-architecture-lovers\/","title":{"rendered":"Madrid Church Crawl for Architecture Lovers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The architecture of Madrid reflects a broad range of styles and eras, and there\u2019s no better evidence of this than <strong>Madrid\u2019s<\/strong> <strong>churches<\/strong>, which encompass medieval and renaissance, through to art deco and modernist periods. The abundance of beautiful churches in Madrid means that this &#8220;church crawl&#8221; will centre around a relatively small area, surrounding the royal palace.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/yearly-rental\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Staying in Madrid<\/strong><\/a>, many of us have probably already taken part in a \u201cpub crawl\u201d, or at least, we get the gist. Architecture junkies have plenty to feast their eyes upon in the fair capital of Madrid, and a visit to Madrid\u2019s churches can be a fine way to spend a weekend afternoon.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On this suggested church crawl, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\"><strong>ShMadrid<\/strong><\/a> combines stops at Madrid\u2019s most interesting, important and impressive churches, centred around the royal palace and <strong>La Latina district<\/strong>, interspaced with refreshments en route.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Related articles:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/discover-post-1940s-madrid\/\">Discover Post 1940s Madrid<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_17 counter-hierarchy\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Index<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class=\"ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1\"><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/madrid-church-crawl-for-architecture-lovers\/#visit-madrids-beautiful-churches\" title=\"Visit Madrid&#8217;s beautiful churches\">Visit Madrid&#8217;s beautiful churches<\/a><ul class=\"ez-toc-list-level-3\"><li class=\"ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/madrid-church-crawl-for-architecture-lovers\/#almudena-cathedral\" title=\"Almudena Cathedral\">Almudena Cathedral<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/madrid-church-crawl-for-architecture-lovers\/#saint-nicolas\" title=\"Saint Nicolas\">Saint Nicolas<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/madrid-church-crawl-for-architecture-lovers\/#san-miguel-basilica\" title=\"San Miguel Basilica\">San Miguel Basilica<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/madrid-church-crawl-for-architecture-lovers\/#el-b-us\" title=\"El b_us\">El b_us<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/madrid-church-crawl-for-architecture-lovers\/#san-pedro-el-royal\" title=\"San Pedro el Royal\">San Pedro el Royal<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/madrid-church-crawl-for-architecture-lovers\/#san-francisco-el-grande\" title=\"San Francisco el Grande\">San Francisco el Grande<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/madrid-church-crawl-for-architecture-lovers\/#la-latina\" title=\"La Latina\">La Latina<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"visit-madrids-beautiful-churches\"><\/span>Visit Madrid&#8217;s beautiful churches<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"almudena-cathedral\"><\/span>Almudena Cathedral<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_4489\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Madrid_cathedral_tour.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-4489\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4489\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-4489 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Madrid_cathedral_tour-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Almudena church madrid\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Madrid_cathedral_tour-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Madrid_cathedral_tour-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Madrid_cathedral_tour-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Madrid_cathedral_tour-810x608.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Madrid_cathedral_tour-1140x855.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Madrid_cathedral_tour.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-4489\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Photo via Pixabay<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Our tour begins at Madrid\u2019s cathedral, Almudena, located next to the royal palace in the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/long-term-rental\">neighbourhood of Palacio<\/a><\/strong>. With a neo-gothic interior and neo-baroque exterior, this impressive building was begun in the early 19th century, and due to a cease in works during the civil war, it was only completed in 1993!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Spain had spent so much of its wealth-building impressive cathedrals in its colonies, that it had neglected to build a cathedral in the Spanish Capital.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It was well worth the wait because Madrid now has a cathedral to be proud of, where one can marvel at the impressive and quirky mix of architecture and modern art within the interior.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Enjoy the breathtaking ceiling and modern sculptures by various Spanish <a href=\"http:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/the-best-spanish-folkloric-artists\/\"><strong>artists<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"saint-nicolas\"><\/span>Saint Nicolas<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_4490\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Madrid_cathedral_church.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-4490\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4490\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-4490 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Madrid_cathedral_church-300x226.jpg\" alt=\"inside saint nicholas church\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Madrid_cathedral_church-300x226.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Madrid_cathedral_church-768x579.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Madrid_cathedral_church-1024x772.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Madrid_cathedral_church-810x610.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Madrid_cathedral_church-1140x859.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Madrid_cathedral_church.jpg 1218w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-4490\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Photo by Don Jos\u00e9 Prieto via Visualhunt<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Located just a few minutes walk from the cathedral and in the same neighbourhood, is the Church of Saint Nicolas. Saint Nicolas is noteworthy as it\u2019s one of the few surviving examples of medieval architecture in the whole of Madrid, and is Madrid\u2019s oldest church.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Many additions and renovations through the years have seen a mixture of styles, but the most impressive feature is undoubtedly the bell tower. The tower, which was declared a national treasure as early as 1931, is completely original and dates to the 12 century.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"san-miguel-basilica\"><\/span>San Miguel Basilica<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A short wander along Calle del Sacramento takes us to the quaint and noble San Miguel Basilica. This is pure baroque territory, having been built in 1745, and retains its original interior features.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Administered by Opus Dei (yes, of The Da Vinci Code fame), be sure to check out the original, vivid frescoes by Spanish artist Bartolom\u00e9 Rusca.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"el-b-us\"><\/span>El b_us<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Okay, so we\u2019re three churches down. A good time for a coffee break, and we\u2019re in luck as <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/elbusgastrobar\/?utm_source=tripadvisor&amp;utm_medium=referral\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">El_bus<\/a><\/strong>, one of <strong>Madrid\u2019s<\/strong> best coffee bars, is about 5 minutes&#8217; walk further along Calle de Colegiata in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/long-term-rental\"><strong>neighbourhood of Embajadores<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Related articles:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/national-archaeological-museum\/\">National Archaeological Museum<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"san-pedro-el-royal\"><\/span>San Pedro el Royal<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_4491\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Church_Madrid.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-4491\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4491\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-4491 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Church_Madrid-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"san pedro el royal church in madrid\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Church_Madrid-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Church_Madrid-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Church_Madrid-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Church_Madrid-810x539.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Church_Madrid-1140x759.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-4491\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Photo via Pixabay<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Now that we\u2019re refreshed, it\u2019s time to take a stroll through the <strong>La Latina district<\/strong> to San Pedro el Royal. This curious church dates to medieval times\u00a0and still boasts some sections of medical architecture, interspersed with baroque and neoclassical additions and renovations.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Two features make this an outstanding building &#8211; the leaning bell tower dating back to the 14th century (Madrid\u2019s own leaning tower of Pisa), and also, the tombs of Spanish Kings Alfonso I and Ramiro II.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"san-francisco-el-grande\"><\/span>San Francisco el Grande<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Saving the best for last, we now head back in the direction of the royal palace to the Basilica of San Francisco el Grande. This is the big one: Madrid\u2019s largest church, it was built on the site of a 13th century chapel in the 1770s, in the neoclassic style. The impressive dome is 58 metres high, with interior paintings by Francisco Goya.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Included amongst other <strong>art<\/strong> treasures within, are paintings by Spanish baroque artist Francisco Zurbar\u00e1n. You\u2019ll be able to explore the tombs of Spain\u2019s most famous artists and politicians, but more impressive is the sheer scale and grandeur of the Basilica dome and nave. Guided tours are available.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"la-latina\"><\/span>La Latina<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">After all this architectural exploring, you must be in need of a cerveza and some tapas &#8211; luckily were now situated in the heart of the La Latina district with its trendy bars and restaurants. Check out Calle Cava Baja, buzzing with bars, including <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/leka-opera.negocio.site\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Leka Opera<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0or Taverna <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LamiakBar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Lamiak<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Is there another church in or near Madrid worth visiting?<\/strong><\/p>\n<div style=\"display: none;\"\n    class=\"kk-star-ratings kksr-valign-bottom kksr-align-center kksr-disabled\"\n    data-id=\"4484\"\n    data-slug=\"\">\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars\">\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars-inactive\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"1\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 20px; height: 20px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"2\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 20px; height: 20px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"3\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 20px; height: 20px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"4\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 20px; height: 20px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"5\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 20px; height: 20px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars-active\" style=\"width: 125px;\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 20px; height: 20px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 20px; height: 20px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 20px; height: 20px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 20px; height: 20px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 20px; height: 20px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n    <div class=\"kksr-legend\">\n            <strong class=\"kksr-score\">5<\/strong>\n        <span class=\"kksr-muted\">\/<\/span>\n        <strong>5<\/strong>\n        <span class=\"kksr-muted\">(<\/span>\n        <strong class=\"kksr-count\">1<\/strong>\n        <span class=\"kksr-muted\">\n            vote        <\/span>\n        <span class=\"kksr-muted\">)<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The architecture of Madrid reflects a broad range of styles and eras, and there\u2019s no better evidence of this than Madrid\u2019s churches, which encompass medieval and renaissance, through to art deco and modernist periods. The abundance of beautiful churches in Madrid means that this &#8220;church crawl&#8221; will centre around a relatively small area, surrounding the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":299,"featured_media":4488,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1567],"tags":[1006,1096,1095,1094],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4484"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/299"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4484"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10156,"href":"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4484\/revisions\/10156"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}