The city of Madrid has a lot to offer to tourists, however, there is a part that is unknown to the vast majority: the subway city. In LOCK & enjoy! we encourage you to read this article of great interest.
Don’t forget to book a luggage storage in Madrid with us so you can enjoy the wide range of leisure and culture that the capital city has to offer.
The hidden secrets of Madrid’s subway city
Here are the tunnels and passageways that we recommend you visit once in your life. Each place is full of history, magic and charm.
The passages of the kings
The different monarchies that have reigned in Spain built a series of escape routes. The objective was to flee from possible political crises or social revolts, and even to have a much more comfortable social life.
The Royal Palace of Madrid was the ideal place to build tunnels and passages to connect different parts of the city. The monarchs used them to leave the city without being seen or to go to the theater. Let’s see some examples:
- There is a tunnel that connects directly from the Royal Palace to the Royal Theater. It opened directly to the box reserved for the monarchs during their reign.
- Another of the subway places was the one that connected with the Queen Mother’s Pharmacy. It is a store that is still open to the public today, being one of the oldest in the city. It was the favorite place of the monarchs, as they preferred to buy their medicines outside to avoid being poisoned.
Another of the secret enclaves under the ground of Madrid is the secret tunnel of Joseph Bonaparte, also called “Pepe Botella”. It was created by order of himself to move without passing through the surface due to the rejection that aroused among the population by the Napoleonic invasion.
Considering that these secret corners are located in places with a high level of security, it is not possible to visit them.
Basements of the Vargas House
In the famous Plaza de la Paja there is a tunnel that leads directly to the chapel of the Bishop of Plasencia. Moreover, it even has a greater depth that, today, has not yet been explored.
It was ordered to be built by the Vargas family, one of the most powerful and renowned at that time. The purpose of this construction was to access the chapel that the members of that family ordered to be built at that time.
As a curious fact, we would like to point out that this road was used in the 70’s by thieves to steal the treasures in the chapel.
This passageway remains accessible, therefore, reserve one of our lockers in Madrid to leave your luggage and go comfortably to the visit.
The subway corners of the political class
The rulers and politicians were similar to the monarchs in relation to the secret conduits, since security was essential. The vast majority of tunnels are located in the bowels of the
- A shooting gallery was built in the Senate, which was used by the dictator Franco as a kind of bunker after the end of the civil war.
- The president of the Second Republic, Manuel Azaña, did not escape the temptations of using these secret corners. He frequently used the one that moved him from the Ateneo de Madrid to the Congress of Deputies. The objective was to avoid any kind of attack.
- The Ministry of Finance also has an extensive network of ducts. Numerous political personalities took refuge there during the civil strife of the 1930s.
The Madrid Metro
The capital’s subway is one of the places with the greatest history of the city, since it was inaugurated in 1919. This fact allows it to keep many secrets more than 100 years later.
First of all, we, LOCK & enjoy!, like very much the so-called Andén Cero, also known as the “ghost” station of Chamberí. It is so called because it was the first to be inaugurated, however, in 1966 it closed due to the impossibility of extending it.
In the old days, if you stuck your face to the glass of the carriage you could glimpse it from the inside during the traffic. However, now it has become a museum that is well worth a visit to see what an old subway station was like. Please note that you have to make a reservation prior to the visit.
The vault of the Bank of Spain
Yes, you are reading correctly, as this is not a hoax or a legend. Seven floors below the Bank of Spain is its vault. It was built in the 1930’s with a very sophisticated protection system. So much so that a door is never opened without closing the previous one.
Visits are restricted to educational centers, universities and non-profit associations.
A total of 5,000 gold bars and approximately 2 million gold coins are stored inside. All in a 500 square meter facility.
A coal mine in the center of Madrid
And finally, another peculiar place: a coal mine near the center of Madrid. It is located in Chamberí, specifically inside the Escuela Superior de Ingenieros de Minas. It was built in the last century so that the students of the mentioned institution could carry out practices.
You can visit it on the first Sunday of each month and it costs 3 €. We recommend comfortable shoes, as you have to go down 75 steps to walk the 50 meters of rails and trolleys.
Visit Madrid with LOCK & enjoy! and discover its subway history! Also, don’t worry about your luggage and book one of the Luggage storage at LOCK & enjoy! so you can enjoy with total freedom. However, if you have any questions you can contact us through the different ways that are on the web.
