Madrid did not start as a city, nor was it Spain’s capital. It began as Mayrit, a 9th-century Muslim watchtower planted on a rocky hill above the Manzanares, where the Royal Palace stands today. Emir Muhammad I chose the site for two reasons, control and water. Mayrit was built on water. Underground qanats supplied drinking water, baths, gardens, and fountains, keeping the hilltop fortress alive during sieges. Remnants of that medieval network can still be visited across Madrid, forming the groundwork for what later became Canal de Isabel II.

What grew around that watchtower was an intellectual outpost, producing astronomers, mathematicians, jurists, and scholars while much of Europe was still arguing about whether the earth was flat. Knowledge kept the city alive. Control ultimately outlived it, and the cost is still being paid.

Centuries later, Christian troops didn’t just walk into Mayrit, they scaled 12-meter-high walls using daggers for footholds, earning the city’s residents the nickname “Gatos” for their cat-like agility. The fortress fell, and the city spilled into the surrounding hills and valleys. Today, these outer neighborhoods come alive with festivals, markets, and traditions that survived conquest, court, and centuries of rule, showing a side of Madrid most visitors never see.

Madrid has its museums, plazas, and tour buses, but the real duende lies beyond the bustling city centre, where the hills rise and the concrete ends. Here, monasteries loom over the hills, forests hide hiking trails, and ovens still bake regional specialties. Festivals belong to the people, cocidos bubble away in kitchens that have fed locals for generations, and the air gives your lungs and curiosity room to breathe. Step outside the capital and let the city’s shadow fall behind you. You’ll discover a Spain that feels like a story only you can tell.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

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Step out of the city’s heart and discover neighborhoods alive with celebrations, markets, and local traditions outsiders rarely see.

We’re currently building a guide to Madrid’s hidden corners, hillside neighborhoods, and the traditions that live beyond the city center. Expect stories that go past plazas and museums.

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