Madrid Landmarks

Few makeover projects have been handled with such a degree of architectural audacity as the recent transformation of a disused electric station in Madrid’s Las Huertas district into a cultural center La Caixa Forum - Madrid.

Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron not only gutted the building, removing most of its interiors and changing its shape and size by conspicuously adding a layer of several floors, they also literally lifted it from its foundation, giving the whole structure a tense “suspended” look.

The resulting space now houses a cultural center with its own exhibition space, a large auditorium, a bookstore and a top-floor café...

Read the rest of: "Caixa Forum - Madrid"»

One of the most frequently photographed sights in Madrid that's nevertheless completely ignored in the city guidebooks is the Tío Pepe sign in Puerta del Sol. Given the number of tourists taking pictures in front of the sign (with many opting for a silly trick where they pretend to be "holding" the giant bottle behind them... very creative, guys, but it's been done before) and consequently, given the sign's status as the city's de facto second emblem (at least in tourists' minds... the first still being the bear, of course), it seems almost unbelievable that no guidebook provides at least a cursory look at the sign's story. Allow me to take the onerous task upon myself..

Read the rest of: "Glowing Above the Sun: The Tío Pepe Sign"»

This is a wonderful sunset view of Los Austrias - my favorite neighborhood in Madrid. Of course, my camera gets weird in such light, but you get the point. It is beautiful.

If you look closer, youll notice a plexiglass wall separating the sidewalk from the banisters. It is there for a good reason. Many people, perhaps thoroughly impressed by such views, have chosen to plunge to their deaths from this very point of the bridge - and by the way, there's a street below (Calle Segovia). Imagine how annoying it used to be for the drivers when some suicidal freak would just make a mess right in front of their car.