Many visitors think that the city of Madrid doesn’t exist beyond the center district, but nothing further from reality. It is the 4th largest city in Western Europe, and besides the charming old town that occupies the center of the city, there are 20 other districts with different charms and personalities that are worth visiting for reasons as diverse as shopping, know the daily life of the locals, go partying, or just strolling. In the following list, you will find some of them and their main characteristics.

Habsbourg Quarter

The authentic heart of the old city and the place where it all began. Starting from a small Arab fortress surrounded by some houses, the population slowly begun to grow forming the first neighborhoods. In the sixteenth century, with the transfer of the capital from Toledo to Madrid, the city will begin its real expansion. Today this is the area where all the vestiges of this remote past can be seen, one of the most beautiful neighborhoods of Madrid and for sure, the most visited one. 

Literary Quarter

This area without an administrative entity, located between the limits of the Habsburg Quarter and the beginning of the Bourbon Quarter, owes its name to the intense literary activity developed throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in it. In this area they took up residence some of the most important writers of the Spanish Golden Age such as Miguel de Cervantes, Quevedo, Gongora and Lope de Vega (some of whose residences can still be visited today). It was also the area for “corralas”, previous to current theater comedies. Besides all this, the Literary Quarter is one of the best and oldest areas for tapas in town.

Malasaña

The trendy area of the city, a kind of London Camden Town in a madrilian way (it has also been compared with the East Village of New York or the Barrio Alto in Lisbon). Malasaña is today, besides one of the most historical neighborhoods of the city, the it zone. Its museums, churches and traditional businesses, coexist with the most innovative restaurants and the most original shops, transforming its streets in a beautiful mosaic of people of all age and style. At sunset, despite protests from neighbors, Malasaña remains the protagonist of Madrid nights.

Chueca

One of the most popular gay neighborhoods in Europe. This central area went from being a marginal Madrid neighborhood punished by drugs and crime in the 70s, to acquire the status that it has today, a very commercial environment in an open and respectful atmosphere, representative of modern society’s diversity, without losing its traditional air due to its architecture. In addition to traditional stores, we can find others like modern restaurants, sex shops, saunas, cafes, bars, night pubs and a myriad of services more or less aimed at a gay audience as clothing stores, travel agencies, consultancies, clinics, etc. His famous Gay Pride festivities in July, have become one of the most important annual events in the city with millions of visitors.

Lavapiés

In the Madrid tradition the word “Maja” (for women) or “Majo” (for men), used to describe a traditional figure that in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, use to live in certain neighborhoods. With a brash and arrogant behavior, they would wear colorful clothing, being something like a trendy "urban tribe" of the city at that time. Lavapies is known as the cradle of Majos and Majas people, although since the last decade of the twentieth century, the neighborhood has become the host of the city’s immigration. Today, we can find on its streets all kinds of shops (restaurants, supermarkets and even hairdressers) from almost anywhere in the world. Maybe that's why when somebody in Madrid says that they would like to visit other countries, there will allways be somebody that will tell them: "If you really want to see the world, go to Lavapiés!"

Financial District

Madrid isn’t a city of skyscrapers, in fact, there are few buildings that can be considered as such. However, in the north of the city, there is a neighborhood where a lot of high office buildings are concentrated. The Four Towers Business Area is a business park next to Paseo de la Castellana, with the tallest buildings in Madrid and Spain (the highest of the 4 is more than 800ft). Further south, in the area called Nuevos Ministerios, other offices swirl, making up Madrid's Financial District.

Salamanca

The Salamanca district is probably the most important commercial area of the city and one of the most exclusive and expensive areas to live, not just in Spain but also in Europe. Walking along Serrano street, its main avenue, you’ll be able to perform some serious luxury shopping. Its back streets, are full of trendy Spanish designers workshops, contemporary artists studios and fancy restaurants.

Chamberí

If you want to live Madrid like a true madrilian, and not meet a single tourist, we recommend a good walk around this neighbourooh. With a population of 150,000, Chamberí is a favorite for locals not only to live, but also to spend their free time, away from the crowded city centre. Cinemas, concert halls, theaters and some of the best restaurants in town, make up its varied range of leisure and cultural offer.