Plaza de Cibeles, Madrid

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Our Metro stop for our trips to the Prado Museum brought us out to the streets near the Plaza de Cibeles, a large roundabout in the middle of Madrid surrounded by tall buildings and having an interesting fountain in the center.

The building that initially attracted my attention was the tall ornate white building known locally as the “wedding cake.” This is the new city hall, main post office, and Palace of Communications; I originally thought it was a theatre of some kind. It was built in the early 1900s and is quite beautiful in both day and night.

The fountain in the center of the intersection represents Cybele, the Greco-Roman goddess of nature, sitting in her chariot which is being pulled by two lions. Designed by José Hermosilla and Ventura Rodriguez in the late 1700s, this large fountain is the focal point of the plaza.
Note: Visitors should not attempt to cross the road to get a closer look at the fountain since it is a very busy road and there are no places for visitors to stand once by the fountain.

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This fantastic square is one if the most popular places of Madrid. There are some beautiful buildings together with one of the icons of the City, Fuente de La Cibeles, in the middle of the square.

Supporters of Real Madrid come here to celebrate the titles.

- Main pic: Palacio de Comunicaciones (Post Office), and it houses the City Hall since October-November 2.007.
- Second pic: Banco de España (Bank of Spain), the Central Bank in other countries.
- Third pic: Fuente de La Cibeles (Cibeles Fountain).
- Fourth pic: The same at night.
- Fifth pic: Palacio de Comunicaciones (or Correos, now the City Hall) and Fuente de La Cibeles (Cibeles Fountain) at night.

The square is, let's say, a crossroad because many important streets cross here:
- Calle de Alcalá: To the west, it goes to Puerta del Sol; to the east, new parts of Madrid.
- Paseo de Recoletos: It goes, to the north, to Plaza de Colón and Paseo de la Castellana.
- Paseo del Prado: To the south, Museo del Prado and two more important Museums.

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At the center of the Plaza de Cibeles is the Fuente de la Cibeles named after the roman goddess of nature, Cibele. She is depicted riding a chariot pulled by two lions, with the Palacio de Communicaciones as it's backdrop.

This is one of the most beautiful Plaza despite all the car traffic in it. The Post Office is the most beautiful building in this plaza. In the centre of the plaza, theres a statue of the goddess, La Cibeles.

Another work of art commissioned by King Carlos III. This time his architects chose to create an image in white stone of the goddess Cibeles driving a carriage drawn by lions. It's surrounded by some of the city's most important historic buildings and it has become a favourite symbolic landmark for madrilenos. The fans of Real Madrid football club gather here to celebrate their team's victories.

The Plaza Cibeles, one of the icons of Madrid. Its become the emblem of 'Real Madrid' football club. Apparently after a match when Madrid have been lucky enough to win, this is where the fans come to celebrate.

In Madrid there is a lot of fountains all over the city. This is one of them. Since Madrid lies in the middle of the country far away from the sea, I think people in Madrid really appreciate the fountains.

Plaza de la CibelesThe most unavoidable building on the Plaza is the cathedral-like Palacio de Comunicaciones,sarcastically nicknamed Nusestra Senora de las Comuniciones(our lady of Communictions)Inaugurated in 1919, the building is a post office which is remarkable inside;its high ceilings and overhead walkways give it an air of a prison,but it is worth a visit.