It Was Madrid All Along

If at all possible, we want to arrive by rail. I went from London to Paris just to tee up the train ride: all day, with one change in Barcelona. Beautiful views, lots of time snaking along the Mediterranean coast, not having to take your pants off at the airport...this is good for you. On a train, just practicing not being in a hurry, vacation starts before you arrive.

- BY DAVID NETTO PHOTOGRAPHS BY EMILIO PARRA DOIZTUA

Now be prepared to see and sense something different. Our eyes are used to the more familiar architecture of European capitals like Paris and London, whose monuments and imagery occupy such a dominant place in our imagination. There’s something more exotic going on in Madrid. We have the grand, wide boulevards reminiscent of Haussmann, lined with orderly 19th-century apartment blocks—but these buildings might be Gothic or Moorish in style, with mini-winter gardens hanging off the balconies, or an explosion of Art Nouveau around the entrance. Madrid, like Copenhagen, Vienna, or St. Petersburg, has an in-between architectural vocabulary, a style all its own. This city doesn’t look like any other place.

MONDAY NIGHT

Arrive at Atocha Station, a modern masterpiece by the man who amounts to the national architect of Spain, Rafael Moneo (the cultural prominence and esteem bestowed in the USA on, say, LeBron James here goes to an architect). And then it’s on to our hotel. We have many good options, but I’m going to save you some time. My advice is to stay at the Hotel Santo Mauro. The charms of the Santo Mauro, an opulent but intimate former hotel particulier with a courtyard and garden, will fill you with a feeling of safety and privilege, and also a certain insecurity: The doorman, with his side-knotted brown shahtoosh, is better dressed than you are. Get used to this feeling in Madrid.

We can eat dinner in the bar if we're tired (there’s a great cheeseburger), but if not let’s go to La Bien Aparecida for the best Russian salad (this is a thing in Madrid) in town.

TUESDAY