Bright top-floor apartment to renovate in Recoletos.

Recoletos is the prime area of the Salamanca District, the closest to El Retiro, and this property is just steps from Madrid’s largest and most emblematic park. The Salamanca District is one of Madrid’s most important areas, both for its distinctive layout and for the residents who have traditionally lived on its iconic streets. Its development dates from the second half of the 19th century and corresponds to the urban expansion carried out during the reign of Isabella II. The figure from whom it takes its name was José de Salamanca y Mayol, a native of Málaga and the Marquess of Salamanca, who envisioned a new location with carefully planned buildings to house Madrid’s aristocratic and bourgeois classes. In 19th-century style, it is characterized by its distinctive regular checkerboard layout with perpendicular streets. Its buildings are of particular interest thanks to their architectural quality and the beauty of their façades. Traditionally, Salamanca was a residential area, especially inhabited by the country’s political and economic elites. Over the last fifty years, this residential character has coexisted with other activities such as business, diplomacy, and especially retail, as it is one of the capital’s most important luxury fashion areas. The Buen Retiro Park is the true centerpiece of this Madrid neighborhood, bordered by Alcalá and O'Donnell Streets at the northern end, Doctor Esquerdo Street to the east, Avenida del Mediterráneo and Paseo de Reina Cristina to the south, and Alfonso XII Street at the western end.