Recoletos is the prime area of the Salamanca district, the part closest to El Retiro. More specifically, this residence is just steps from Madrid’s largest and most iconic park. The Salamanca district is one of Madrid’s most prestigious areas, both for its distinctive layout and for the residents who have traditionally inhabited its emblematic streets. Its construction dates from the second half of the 19th century and formed part of the urban expansion carried out during the reign of Isabella II. The visionary after whom it was named was José de Salamanca y Mayol, the Málaga-born Marquis of Salamanca, who conceived a new district with carefully planned buildings intended to house Madrid’s aristocratic and bourgeois classes.
With its 19th-century style, the district is characterized by a regular, checkerboard layout of perpendicular streets. Its buildings are of particular interest thanks to their architectural quality and beautiful façades. Traditionally, Salamanca was a residential area, inhabited especially by the country’s political and economic elites. Over the past fifty years, this residential character has coexisted with other activities, including business, diplomacy and, above all, retail, as it is one of the capital’s most important luxury shopping areas.
El Retiro Park is the true centerpiece of this Madrid district, which is bordered by Alcalá and O’Donnell Streets to the north, Doctor Esquerdo Street to the east, Avenida del Mediterráneo and Paseo de Reina Cristina to the south, and Alfonso XII Street to the west.