In addition to escorting prospective couples to and from ballrooms, this lane was also a place for gentlemen to settle scores.

This restaurant's specialty is "a major enigma for food historians."

Don't be fooled by this fake medieval facade even if it is almost 300 years old.

With lush plants and flowers, huge trees, ponds, and hidden monuments, this place feels a bit like discovering Narnia.

One of the most beautiful bookstores in the world hides a neo-Gothic interior behind an art nouveau facade.

This memorial to the thousands of Indian dead during WWI was callously used for target practice during WWII.

A hidden sculpture garden tucked within the middle of Brighton.

Once one of the largest rooms full of books in the world, this bookstore basement is still a treat for bibliophiles.

This historic fountain is a favorite neighborhood meeting point.

Once a resting spot for King Fernando VII.

One of the best examples of the modernist movement in Madrid.

The Spanish king's private bathroom embraced the idea of a porcelain throne.

Dedicated to a young woman who broke gender barriers at the University of Madrid.

Nicknamed the "Spirit of Paul Klee," this colorful apartment building features an array of multicolored panels.

This Art Nouveau gate still stands at the former entrance of a 20th-century Spanish writer's colony.

A must for film lovers in Madrid and home to the Spanish Film Library's projection space.

A window into a long-lost world, these colorful tiles advertise a long-defunct range of purgative teas, harmless smokables, and diarrhea cures.

King Carlos IV laid the first stone during construction of this chapel.

A statue commemorating a beloved stray dog who was adopted by the entire neighborhood where he lived.

Strange masks and obscure costumes are housed in this old Madrid corrala.

Remains of the lost church hide beneath this Spanish Parliament building.

Five million people are laid to rest here, more than the population of Madrid itself.

An automaton perched above an classic clock and watch store

An iconic and controversial ancient Iberian funerary urn with a hauntingly penetrating gaze.