#alcobendas

SOUTH:

The south has two big parts, what it’s called “the Big 5″ and Aranjuez and its surroundings. The Big 5 (I’ve also heard them referred as “the Brown Belt” but I find that denomination quite disrespectful) consists of 5 big cities, that were used as working class neighborhoods for the workers at the factories (although they are older than the industrial revolution). That’s why they are mainly more humble than other parts of Madrid, but for me they are kinda what Madrid is about. The citizens of these cities are really proud and “chulos” (”preppy”), they love where they are from, and have really close tights with all of their neighbours, they are kinda like a big family. They are also cities with not much safety, especially at night with violence and stuff, but they are getting better. Also, here you can found the campuses of the Rey Juan Carlos University and Carlos III University, two of the main universities of Madrid. The cities themselves are called Móstoles, Getafe, Fuenlabrada, Leganés and Alcorcón:

Móstoles is the biggest one, in fact, it’s the second biggest city in Madrid, after Madrid itself. It is known for a band called “las Supremas de Móstoles” (the supremes of Móstoles).

Getafe is mostly known for it’s football / soccer team, Getafe C.F. , currently playing in the top division, La Liga.

Fuenlabrada or “Fuenla”, as it is commonly named, became really known in all of Spain for a Pepsi commercial that starred the footballer Fernando Torres, who was born here, where all the joke of it was that he said “Pesi” instead of Pepsi because he’s from “Fuenla”. Here it is (with English subs!!!), it became really popular here.

Leganés, for me the prettiest of all the 5 cities.

Alcorcón is probably the most well-off of the 5.

And then we have, in the far south, Aranjuez, and other cities like Parla, Pinto and Valdemoro. These are middle class cities, really nice. Also, there is a saying in Spanish that says “entre Pinto y Valdemoro” ( “between Pinto and Valdemoro”). People say that between those two cities there’s only the “y” because they are really close, basically.

About Aranjuez, it hosts the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, one of the royal palaces found in Madrid. This one was used as a Summer retreat palace, and I haven’t been here, but it looks really amazing.

EAST:

The main city east of Madrid City is Alcalá de Henares. It was the roman Complutum, and there are some ruins open to the public. During medieval times it was really important, hosting the second oldest university in all of Spain, the modern Alcalá de Henares University, previously named Complutense University; built in 1499:

And also it is known for being the birthplace of a certain Spanish writer you may have heard about, he wrote this little book about a crazy guy that thought he was a knight called Don Quijote / Quixote. Yup, I’m talking about Miguel de Cervantes. And you can visit his home!

It is a really pretty city as a whole, especially the old quartier is like going back to the Middle Ages, it’s amazing.

WEST:

The west is basically the wealthiest part of Madrid, it’s kinda the opposite to the south and the Big 5. Here people are depicted as “pijos”, basically snobs, up-tight, and really conservative. Here are three cities that constitute the wealthiest of not only of Madrid, but some of all of Spain: Boadilla del Monte, Majadahonda and Pozuelo de Alarcón.

Boadilla del Monte is the smallest and also the less wealthy, although that doesn’t mean it’s not full of pijos (we are going from less to most). It is known for its palace, the Infante Don Luis Palace, owned by a brother of Carlos III / Charles III:

Majadahonda is the middle ground. Bigger and wealthier than Boadilla, but not more than Pozuelo. It has a really busy city center, with its main street being called “Gran Vía” (”Broadway”).

Pozuelo de Alarcón is the wealthiest municipality in all of Spain, and its “pijoland”, istg.

Another important towns here would be Brunete, known for the Battle of Brunete during the Civil War, and Las Rozas, known for their massive outlet, Las Rozas Village.

NORTH:

The north its kinda like the lovechild of the South and the West, in some parts can be wealthy, in others is more humble and has all the ‘hood pride the South has. It has three main cities: Alcobendas, Tres Cantos, and San Sebastián de los Reyes. 

Alcobendas and San Sebastián are mashed up, that is, there is no visible limit between them, one ends when the other starts. Alcobendas most famous feature is a statue of a “menina” (the helper of the princess):

Tres Cantos is really green and with a lot of nature surrounding it.

San Sebastián de los Reyes, or “Sanse” as it’s locally referred to, has the famous “Jarama Circuit”, an F-1 circuit, one of the most known of Spain.

SIERRA:

This is a large part of the outskirts of Madrid, it consists of the towns located in the Guadarrama Mountains of the Central System. Its largest peak is Peñalara (2428 m), and has a really beautiful landscape, there’s even the National Park of the Guadarrama Mountains. Here is a shot at the landscape here:

About the towns, there are a lot of little rural towns with amazing food, and another bigger towns, normally wealthy, although not as much as the West. People here tend to be conservative and tend to fall into the category of “pijos”. There are a lot of places here, but probably the most important ones are Guadarrama, Navacerrada, Collado Villalba and San Lorenzo de El Escorial:

Guadarrama is probably the prime example of what a town of the Sierra looks like; rural, with stone buildings, and amazing food (I’m still dreaming about the “alubias” (beans stew) I ate there).

Navacerrada it’s basically known for being a ski resort, all madrileños come here once the snow settles in winter (or they go to Xanadú, whatever is closer).

Collado Villalba it’s the biggest city here, the main hub of the Sierra people, probably could be called “the capital of the Sierra”.

San Lorenzo de El Escorial is the best known place here, for two close monuments that have really historical importance in Spain. The first one is the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, a monastery that was once the Winter Palace of the monarchs of Spain, and that hosts the Royal Crypt where all kings and queens are buried. I’ve been there, and it’s a really interesting feeling knowing all those monarchs you’ve studied in History class are really there, buried.

The other monument is really really problematic, especially at the moment. Near the town there’s a place called “Valley of the Fallen”, and there stands a monument that hosts… Franco’s tomb. And it was built by the people Franco retained in concentration camps all over Spain. Yeah. Right now there’s a debate about if Franco’s corpse should get out of there or not (yes, there’s a fucking debate), and daily a lot of fascists show up there to honour his memory. It is really disgusting. I would love it to be a monument in remembrance of those who suffered the most during the Dictatorship, but you know, SpAiN iS dIfFeReNt and all that shit.