Plaza de Oriente
Elegant square with views of the royal palace
With its glass-balconied houses and elegant fin de siècle café the is reminiscent of a Parisian square and is one of the most pleasant places in the city to while away some time.
To the rear is the city opera house while opposite is the Royal Palace, while the gardens are lined with statues of Spanish monarchs which were originally designed to adorn the palace façade.
Galileo is said to have been involved in the design of the equestrian bronze of Felipe IV which features the Spanish monarch on the back of a rearing horse.
In the dark days of the Franco regime, the dictator used to address crowds from the balcony of the palace and there are still a few neo-fascists who congregate here on the anniversary of his death, November 21.