{"id":2490,"date":"2014-11-07T20:32:58","date_gmt":"2014-11-07T20:32:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.spainexchange.com\/?p=2490"},"modified":"2026-10-09T13:51:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T13:51:18","slug":"plaza-de-espana-y-monumento-cervantes-madrid-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spainexchange.com\/articles\/plaza-de-espana-y-monumento-cervantes-madrid-spain\/","title":{"rendered":"Plaza de Espa\u00f1a y Monumento a Cervantes, Madrid, Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Plaza de Espa\u00f1a is a large square at the western end of the Gran V\u00eda in central Madrid. It holds the Monument to Cervantes, with the bronze figures of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, and is flanked by two mid-century skyscrapers. This post describes the square as it is after its renovation, the monument, the buildings around it and how to get there.<\/p>\n

The square today<\/h2>\n

The square was rebuilt in works that lasted two and a half years. According to the Madrid tourist board<\/a>, it has been pedestrianised and now covers 70,000 m\u00b2. Through traffic runs underground, in a tunnel that links Calle Bail\u00e9n and Calle Ferraz. More than 1,100 new trees were planted, and the square has over three kilometres of cycle lanes and large children’s play areas.<\/p>\n

The main effect for visitors is that the square now connects on foot with the public spaces around it: the Plaza de Oriente, the Sabatini Gardens, the Campo del Moro and Madrid R\u00edo. The Royal Palace<\/a> is a short walk away through the Sabatini Gardens.<\/p>\n

The works uncovered archaeological remains, which have been integrated into the square. They include two floors of the Godoy Palace, part of the former Royal Stables and traces of the former San Gil Barracks, which once stood on the site.<\/p>\n

Besides the fountain of the Cervantes monument, the square has a new fountain, the Fuente del Cielo. In winter it is used for seasonal events. In the 2025-26 season an ice rink and a Christmas market ran from 25 November to 11 January.<\/p>\n

The Monument to Cervantes<\/h2>\n

The Monument to Cervantes<\/a> was commissioned by King Alfonso XIII in 1915, on the 300th anniversary of the publication of the second part of Don Quixote. It is the work of the architect Rafael Mart\u00ednez Zapatero and the sculptor Lorenzo Coullaut Valera. The main body was erected in the 1920s. The full monument was not completed until the 1960s, when the sculptures of Aldonza and Dulcinea were added at the sides.<\/p>\n

What to look for:<\/p>\n