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Confusion: Barrios, Areas, Streets and Metros |
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Several names of barrios in Madrid are also names of streets and Metros which are nowhere near the barrio. This can be a cause of confusion and misunderstandings. To give you a few examples:
Metro La Latina vs. Barrio Latina
La Latina is a Metro station in the very centre of Madrid near the theatres and Rastro. It is a vibrant, artistic, chic, costly area much sought after by many people who want to live in the heart of the city. People here mainly look to rent rooms in shared flat, studios or small apartments. It is difficult to rent larger three or four bed apartments in this area. The Latina barrio, however, is in the far South of the City, below Arganzuela and on the other side of the river. It is a working class part of the city, very cheap (compared to the rest of Madrid), quite removed from the City centre and not an area where we have very much demand at all.
Calle Fuencarral vs. Barrio Fuencarral vs. Fuencarral Village
Calle Fuencarral is a fairly long street that goes up to number 152. This street is very well known for it’s vanguardistic fashion clothes stores, mainly at the beginning of the street near the Gran Vía. From beginning to end the street is full of many and varied shops. This street goes through the very popular areas of Tribunal and Bilbao ending up in Chamberi at the Plaza de Quevedo. The end of the road is renowned for a large variety of cinemas which can be found there, its close proximity to the wonderful Plaza Olavide, and the fact that this part of the road is closed on Sunday mornings so that it is a purely pedestrian area. As a result of all of these things the Calle Fuencarral is one of the roads we have most demand to rent apartments for in Madrid.
Fuencarral barrio, however, is an extremely modern area in the far North of the City above Tetuán starting in Plaza Castilla and carrying on upwards. It is well known, apart from other things, for the four new sky scrapers that are being built there on the land that used to be Real Madrid’s training ground.
The village of Fuencarral is even further North on the other side of the M30 ring road within the Northern extreme of the Fuencarral barrio. There is virtually no demand whatsoever for housing in Fuencarral village. The demand to rent apartments and rooms in shared flats on the Southern extreme of the Fuencarral barrio is increasing substantially, however. Although people find the area above Plaza Castilla quite far from the city centre, there are flats and apartments here that are virtually brand new and relatively cheap to rent for short or long terms. They also find that communication links from Plaza Castilla to the surrounding areas of Madrid by bus and to the centre by Metro are excellent and all of this helps to drive demand forward here.
Calle Hortaleza vs. Barrio Hortaleza
Calle Hortaleza is virtually parralel to the Calle Fuencarral. More renowned for the many shoe shops around it than fashion clothes shops, this road goes through the extremely chic area of Chueca and there is an enormous demand here to rent rooms in shared flats, studios and apartments. There are multiple shops here to cater to all needs.
The Barrio Hortaleza is to the East of Chamartin on the other side of the M30 ring road. Far away from the city centre this is a fairly cheap area to rent flats and apartments, the residents here mainly being blue collar workers. We have very little demand for this area.
Gran Vía vs. Gran Vía De Hortaleza
The Gran Vía in Spanish is equivalent to the “High Street” in the UK and, I would assume, “Main Street” in the US. This means that virtually every city, town and village has one! With reference to Madrid, the Gran Vía virtually always refers to the main street in the centre of the city that goes from the Calle Alcala through to Plaza España. It can also refer to the Metro station on this street, which goes by the same name. It is one of the most well known streets in the city centre and has an enormous history, the official registered office of the worldwide conglomerate Telefonica, a huge variety of clothes shops and the traditional place for all Spanish film premiers in any of the many cinemas along this street, most world famous internationally renowned film stars have been on this street at some point in their career. We rent a lot of rooms in shared flats and whole apartments in, and around, this area. The Gran Vía de Hortaleza, however, is a small main road in the centre of the barrio of Hortaleza described above. An area to the East of the city, quite far from the city centre, relatively cheap, essentially for the working class community with little demand from our clients.
Retiro Park vs. Barrio Retiro vs. Metro Retiro
The Retiro park is an enormous park in the very centre of the city with a multitude of lakes, fountains, sculptures, buskers and much, much more. It's a major tourist attraction and something you should really not miss during your time in Madrid. Many people who have experienced the park and fallen in love with its attributes then start looking for accommodation close by. They wrongly think that, therefore, where they want to live is in the barrio Retiro. The Retiro park is actually bordered by four distinct barrios. The cheapest of these is Arganzuela to the South of the park, right next to the Atocha train station. This is an inexpensive area with a high concentration of immigrants from Africa and South America, among other countries. The most luxurious, and expensive, of the areas that border the Retiro Park is the Centro just to the West of the Park with the incredible Prado Museum, Ritz Hotel and Palacio de Communicaciones as well as many, many more important and historic landmarks. There are few opportunities to let flats and apartments here but a lot of demand, this means that rental prices here are well above Madrid averages. Above the park we have the barrio of Salamanca and the Metro Retiro, which is a lovely area of the city with an abundance of luxurious 19th century buildings and various possibilities to rent rooms in shared flats and whole apartments. Finally, to the West of the park we have the barrio Retiro. The Northern part of this area from Calle (and Metro) Sainz de Barranda upwards is an area we would recommend with an abundance of terrace bars in summer and a great atmosphere. There is normally a good selection of rooms in shared flats and apartments to rent here at reasonable prices. The advantage of this area is its proximity to the park, the disadvantage is the fact that it is fairly removed from the centre. The area below Sainz de Barranda is cheaper but not as safe and, therefore, not an area of Madrid for which we have much demand for property rentals.
Tags: Barrios, Areas, Latina, Retiro, Hortaleza, Fuencarral, Gran Via |
| 18/05/2008 | 8294 page views |
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[TRANSLATION: ELIANA CALDERON]
COMMENT
I was in Latina last Sunday. I can see why nobody wants to live there!
Posted by: Charlie on 17/06/2008 at 11:6
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