Paris1972-Versailles2003

This is Madrid !! It had many changes over the years, and one that I came to know early for not only the post office function but also to make long distance phone calls while in my Madrid of the early 70’s to the USA! The Palacio de Comunicaciones or central post office or the  Palacio de Cibeles or CentroCentro ;well you will get the idea. I found older new pictures to my blog and they should be in ; therefore, here is me again on the Palacio de Cibeles of Madrid, part I  !!! Hope you enjoy it as I,

This was not far from my apartment and always brings beautiful nostalgic memories when I write about it, and always a must visit for me in Madrid , The memories of my younger days, the Madrid of bringing my girlfriend, and later wife, the Madrid of bringing my kids growing older with time. Madrid is and will be a hole on the sky to look down on the city every day! On sunny days, cold days, rainy days, snow days , Madrid is awesome ,full of memories and great times. My boys and my dear late wife Martine came to love it too. Cibeles and Madrid, you get the idea, thanks

,The Plaza de Cibeles is located at the union of the districts of Centro, Retiro, and Salamanca and the intersection of the Paseo de Recoletos and Paseo del Prado . The Square is cross by the Calle de Alcalà (mine),   In the Plaza de Cibeles you have the famous fountain of Cibeles or Fuente de Cibeles; representing the Greek goddess of Cybil a work of architect Ventura Rodriguez and sculptors Francisco Gutierrez Arribas for the Cibeles figure, and Roberto Michel for the lions, Miguel Jimenez for the decoration elements of the chariot. The fountain was built between 1777 and 1782 in front of the palace of Buenavista, and move here in 1895 showing the Greek goddess Cibeles of fertility ,holding a scepter and a key while being pulled by two lions on a chariot.  The pull of the wild lions symbolize the power of nature or of the goddess; the figures took about 10K kg of stones !

The CentroCentro (see post) now offers the possibility of accessing the central tower of 70 meters or about 231 feet on floor no 8  that is opened to the public , and use it as a mirador or lookout of the city for a small fee.In the courtyard, at both ends, two social areas have been created, dedicated to citizen information and a reading room. There is now an exhibition space called   CentroCentro,   this space is incorporated with a couple of exhibition halls and an auditorium with capacity for a little more than three hundred people. In the central tower there is a huge electric clock face of about three meters in diameter that lights up at night ,and officially replacing the Puerta del Sol clock.

The Cibeles fountain is the meeting place for all victories of my famous Real Madrid  CF football/Soccer team every time any championship is won, which has been often. FIFA club of the 20C and still battling for the 21st, as well as  IFFHS  European club of the 20C.

Some of the prominent monuments and buildings to see around the Plaza de Cibeles are :

The Palacio de Comunicaciones is a majestic building , and very emblematic of historic Madrid. Inaugurated in 1919, the building served as the central headquarters of the Post Office (Correos) until it was recently reformed to accommodate the City/Town Hall. From its belvedere and the terrace of its restaurant, you get a magnificent panoramic view of the center. The Palacio de Buenavista was built in 1777 as the residence of the Dukes of Alba, the palace is today the seat of the Army Headquarters and is surrounded by a wooded area. The Banco de España which opened in 1891, the central headquarters of the Bank of Spain features an imposing facade with little decoration and a magnificent interior with an excellent collection of paintings that includes works by Goya, Mengs, Maella and Vicente Lopez., And the Palacio de Linares was built in 1900 under the orders of the Marquis of Linares, years later it became the Casa de América, an institution that aims to foster cultural relations between Spain and Latin American countries.

The official CentroCentro cultural center : https://www.centrocentro.org/en/centrocentro

The Madrid tourist office on CentroCentro : https://www.esmadrid.com/en/tourist-information/centrocentro

The Madrid tourist office on the Fuente de Cibeles: https://www.esmadrid.com/en/tourist-information/fuente-de-la-cibeles

The Madrid tourist office on the Palacio de Cibeles:  https://www.esmadrid.com/en/tourist-information/cibeles-palace

There you go folks, another dandy and by now very much visited by all , Cibeles all of it is Madrid !! A nice alternative at least once to see the city from above, and wonderful history and architecture all in one place, Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Palacio de Cibeles of Madrid , part I as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!