Teatro Real (Royal Opera House) and Plaza de Isabel II

Chapter 8/11 · Madrid

This is the Plaza de Isabel II, which locals call Ópera, and the large building is the Teatro Real, Spain's leading opera house; its main façade faces the Plaza de Oriente and this is the other one. The old Caños del Peral theatre stood on this site and was demolished to build the new one.

The foundation stone was laid on 23 April 1818, in the reign of Ferdinand VII, to a design by the architect Antonio López Aguado, but lack of money and political upheavals delayed the works for decades. Queen Isabella II inaugurated it on 19 November 1850 with Donizetti's opera La favorita.

In 1925 it had to close because it was in danger of collapsing. It reopened in 1966 as a concert hall and, after a long renovation, became an opera house again on 11 October 1997. Its auditorium has 1,746 seats, and in 1969 it hosted the Eurovision Song Contest.

Now we take Calle del Arenal, one of the liveliest streets in the centre, to the church of San Ginés.

← Plaza de Oriente and statue of Philip IV · San Ginés church and chocolate shop →