.This is the Madrid Barrio for people with money. It’s all designer shops, upmarket hotels and expensive restaurants including several Michelin ones. And frankly in that respect it could be in any capital city anywhere in the world. But it’s saving grace is its architecture and design. Large tree lined leafy boulevards containing several impressive mansions laid out in a grid formation, and is a very pleasant area to stroll around. It’s very clean and perfectly safe, but compared to other barrios of Madrid, it’s all a bit sterile and lacking in any real culture.
Yes there are plenty of street bars and cafes, but this is the area where the monied classes of Madrid go to be seen ( and unfortunately heard). So if you are one of these you will fit right in, if not you will probably have an annoying idiot on the table next to you.
It’s an interesting area of Madrid and easy to get to and from using the city’s excellent metro system and I am glad I visited it. But for interest and life give me Barrio de Las Lettras and Barrio La Latina any day of the week.