Plaza de Oriente, Madrid

The Royal Theatre hosts Madrid's opera house and counterbalances the monumental façade of the Royal Palace on the opposite side of Orient Square. It was built in the 19th century under the sponsoring of Queen Elizabeth II, following plans of Antonio López Aguado and Custodio Moreno, who designed an elegant and austere building inspired by the great Italian theatres like La Scala or San Carlo. In the interior of the hexagon-shaped building the impressive Royal loggia, designed to cater for the needs of the monarchs, is worth of admiration. The Theatre was inaugurated in 1850 with the occasion of the queen's birthday. The chosen opera for that event was La Favorita by Donizetti.

The Royal Theatre has had a tormented history since its very opening. Due to mismanagement, it was a complete economic fiasco. Damaged by fires and general decay, it had to be closed in the early 20th century. It was restored decades later but, due to the lack of funds, only as a concert hall. From that time it hosted such prosaic events as the only Eurovision Song Contest ever held in Spain, in 1969.

Only in the 1990's a new restoration project allowed for the transformation of the theatre into a proper Opera house. This last remodelling project was particularly controversial: it took many more years than it was expected; and resignations, accidents and scandals were common during that time, feeding the legend of a supposedly haunted theatre full of phantoms of the opera. Fortunately, since the reopening, Madrid has rediscovered its place in the world map of the queen of performing arts.

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This big square dates back to 1.844 and became just pedestrian in the last years of the 20th century.

The square offers:
- The statue of King Felipe IV (in the middle), built in the 17th century by Pietro Tacca.
- Beautiful gardens surrounded by statues of former Kings of Spain.
- Palacio Real (Royal Palace).
- Catedral de la Almudena (Almudena Cathedral).
- Teatro Real (Royal Theatre or Opera House).
- Real Mnasterio de la Encarnación (Encarnación Monastery).

These places have their own tip.

PS: Oriente means orient (east), but the square is on the west of Madrid, funny, isn't it?

This is the perfect location for some summertime shade, and awesome impressive monumental ponds and such; right near a palace that puts buckingham Palace to shame. Located exactly next to the royal palace, go here and steal a bench to take it all in and take a deep breathe.

This is the perfect location for some summertime shade, and awesome impressive monumental ponds and such; right near a palace that puts buckingham Palace to shame. Located exactly next to the royal palace, go here and steal a bench to take it all in and take a deep breathe.

Right in front of the Royal Palace you will find the Plaza de Oriente, a magnificent square that keeps in harmony with the "royal feel". Classical lines, open garden, statues and so on. Also in this square you will be able to find the Royal Theater. This theater is, although not particularly appealing architecture-wise, one of the most important theaters in Spain. There you will be able to watch different Operas and concerts, and althought I still haven't gone to any yet (that's still a must-do on my list!!), I'm sure that quality will always be present!

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Madrid is a "green" city with a lot of parks and gardens to contrast their jungle of concrete and cement. Plaza de Oriente is a small but beautiful green oasis in front of (or behind?) the Royal Palace and close to the Almúdena Cathedral. It was built to put some distance between the royal family and any possible street disturbances. Nowadays it's one place to take a break from walking while enjoying the scenery of 2 beautiful buildings, or perhaps to have a picnic. One of the most picturesque people I saw there was a woman with one of these old cameras. We wanted to ask how much it would cost to have our picture taken but she was packing to go home.

Beware of some women offering foot massages and other street sellers.

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Plaza de Oriente is a square that's located between the Royal Palace and the Teatro Real. It was built in the 19th century. Inside the square you will find a lot of statues of Spain's monarchs. These statues were intended for the roof of the Royal Palace, but it when they were finished, they turned out to be too heavy for the roof.

This is a very beautiful square between the royal palace and the royal theater. It contains statues of all the Spanish monarchs (Asturias, Castilla, Leon and Aragon), so you can brush up on your history :D

The opera building actually was plagued with problems after being built in XIX century, and has reopened only recently.

The statue to Felipe IV was designed in part by Galileo.

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The Plaza sits on the east side of the Royal Palace and it derives its name from this orientation. The Plaza was completed during the rein of Isabel II but started by Joseph Bonaparte who ruled Spain from 1808 to 1814AD.

In the18th century, prior to the establishment of the Plaza, a group of actors established a theater in this area. In decay by 1818, the theater was demolished and work was started on a Royal Theatre to replace it. The period between 1818 to 1849 was a turbulent time for Spain. Construction of the Royal Theater was delayed until Isabel II stepped in to order its completion, which finally occurred in 1850.

Around the garden of the plaza are statutes of Spain's monarchs. These statutes were intended to adorn the roof top of the Royal Palace but once they were completed, it was discovered they were way to heavy for the building.

There are regularly scheduled free music concerts at the Plaza de Oriente. One evening I stopped by and enjoyed a live Mozart Quartet. It was raining and they postponed the start for about an hour, most people waiting under umbrellas. When it cleared up, the musicians rushed out, the techies set up the stage. They just were finishing when the rain came up and the violinist had to hold down the music with the end of his violin.