Barrio de las Letras

Madrid


The area that unfurls down the hill east of Plaza de Santa Ana is referred to as the Barrio de las Letras because of the writers who lived here during Spain's golden age of the 16th and 17th centuries. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547–1616), the author of Don Quijote, spent much of his adult life in Madrid and lived and died at Calle de Cervantes 2; a plaque (dating from 1834) sits above the door.

Sadly, the original building was torn down in the early 19th century. When Cervantes died his body was interred around the corner at the Convento de las Trinitarias, which is marked by another plaque. Still home to cloistered nuns, the convent is closed to the public; forensic archaeologists finally found Cervantes' remains in 2015. A commemorative Mass is held for him here every year on the anniversary of his death, 23 April. Another literary landmark is the Casa de Lope de Vega, the former home of Lope de Vega (1562–1635), Spain's premier playwright. It's now a museum containing memorabilia from Lope de Vega's life and work.

Transportation

  • metro: Antón Martín

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Madrid attractions

1. Casa de Lope de Vega

0.05 MILES

Lope de Vega may be little known outside the Spanish-speaking world, but he was one of the greatest playwrights ever to write in Spanish, not to mention…

2. Iglesia de Jesús de Medinaceli

0.06 MILES

Up to 100,000 people crowd Iglesia de Jesús de Medinaceli on the first Friday of Lent to kiss the right foot of a wooden sculpture of Christ (besapié;…

3. Convento de las Trinitarias

0.09 MILES

When Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra died in 1616, his body was interred at the Convento de las Trinitarias, which is marked by a plaque. For centuries, no…

5. Calle de Cervantes 2

0.12 MILES

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547–1616), the author of Don Quijote, spent much of his adult life in Madrid and lived and died at Calle de Cervantes 2; a…

6. Plaza de Neptuno

0.12 MILES

Officially known as Plaza de Cánovas del Castillo, the next roundabout south of Cibeles is something of a crossroads of Spanish nobility. The Ritz and the…

7. Congreso de los Diputados

0.12 MILES

Spain’s lower house of parliament was originally a Renaissance building, but it was completely revamped in 1850 and given a facade with a neoclassical…

8. Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza

0.14 MILES

The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum is one of the three points composing Madrid’s Golden Triangle of Art along the Paseo del Prado (Art Walk), together with the…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "spain/madrid/sol-santa-ana-huertas/attractions/barrio-de-las-letras/a/poi-sig/1211160/1324670",
      "destination": "Madrid",
      "continent": "Europe",
      "country": "Spain",
      "city": "Madrid",
      "position": "superzone"
    }