Reviewing *nearly* every station on metro line 1: pt 2
I realized I was overly ambitious with my last goal of reviewing every single metro line on line 1. People did warn me it was unrealistic, and I did not listen to them. Sorry, guys. I did make an effort, but it is a lot of miles to cover and I just don’t have much free time at the moment. Also I’ve been sick for like all of December and January. However, I have succeeded to visit every metro station on line 1 within the city center.
The precise borders of the city center would change depending on who you asked, but I’d say that on line 1, it would be from Cuatro Caminos to Menendez Pelayo. Past that, I feel like you’re considered to be in either the outskirts or suburbs of the city, even if you’re technically within its limits.
I like taking the metro. I like watching people while they look at their phones (I've seen some crazzyyy things on people's phones), and seeing what people are reading, and overhearing conversations, and wondering where they’re all going.
My only complaints are that it smells kind of bad and it’s pretty uncomfortable when it's full, and I also get coughed on a lot. But that is the price you pay for functional public transport.
Here are the stops I’ve been to so far. I’ve highlighted the ones I’ll be covering in this post in green.
Ríos Rosas
This is the stop of my new apartment. It’s only one stop north from my old stop, Iglesia, but I had somehow never been until this month. The first time I ever used this stop was when in early January, I was going to a stationary store to buy my new planner for the year. This stop is in Chamberí, a neighborhood with a reputation for being calm, quiet, and sophisticated. My old place was also technically in Chamberí, but also right on the borders of Malasaña and Chueca, so it definitely had influence from those two areas, which are younger and busier. This stop is very solidly Chamberí. The streets around it are tranquil and tree-lined. The area is definitely still urban, but feels far more residential than any of the stops directly south of it. It also feels noticeably less touristy. There are lots of bars and restaurants, but none of the rowdy pubs or clubs of Malasaña and Chueca a 15 minute walk way. I do have to say that as much as the peace and quiet of this neighborhood is nice, you kind of run out of things to do pretty quickly unless you’re going to a bar or restaurant. I went bar hopping with some of my coworkers in the area a few weeks ago and it was really nice.
The station itself is dedicated to the Spanish author, Benito Pérez Galdos. His most famous work is called Fortunata y Jacinta, a realist novel depicting Madrileños of diverse social classes in the 19th century. Text excepts from the novel and illustrations wrap the walls. I like to read them while waiting for my train in the morning on the way to work. I still don’t really know what it’s about other than that from the excerpts it seems marriage and class conflict are prominent themes. I didn’t know about this novel or this author until this month. I have to make a point of reading it someday. This station is also pretty clean, and usually not too busy. My only complaint is is the placement of the entrances. They are located on really loud and busy streets that aren’t really close to any businesses or homes. So I have to walk a fair amount down and across big streets from my apartment to get to it. I’d still give this station a high rating though.
4/5
Tribunal
I have a lot of great memories near Tribunal. It’s the main stop for the neighborhood of Malasaña. My favorite café is at this stop. I’ve spent a lot of time wandering into the many overpriced vintage shops or getting lunch with friends around here. It’s one of the city’s older neighborhoods, so there's a lot of narrow streets, and terracotta roofs, and iron terraces. But there’s also a lot of street art. It’s a fun mix of old and new, ancient brick covered in graffiti tags and stickers promoting music sets. There’s just as much to do at night. Whenever my friends and I go out to bars, we usually meet up at Tribunal. There’s nothing like wandering around in the middle of the night with friends, the cobblestone streets glistening with yellow streetlight and neon signs from bars and the air saturated with second-hand smoke and laughter. Even if I’m not going out, sometimes I go come here just to take a quick walk by myself at like 10 or 11 before bed. It’s super lively at all hours of the day and night. And never feels unsafe or creepy. There’s always people hanging out in groups taking smoke breaks outside, and laughter, and teenagers lurking around in the main square. The vibes are unbeatable.
The stop itself is kind of gross and dirty and smells bad. But the surrounding area makes up for it. I also prefer taking Tribunal to the stop directly north of it, Bilbao, because it’s a pretty small station so it’s pretty easy to get in and out of. Because of the area and the relative okay-ness of the station, it’s getting the highest rating.
5/5
Estación del Arte
I’ve only ever taken this station twice. It sucks. Luckily the only reason you’d ever be in this area is if you’re going to the Prado museum or the Reina Sofía museum. They are both the biggest art museums in the city, hence the “station of art” name. Its entrances are at the intersection of like three absolutely massive avenues. They are weirdly difficult to locate and are all super spread apart. It’s always super crowded and dirty and smelly. This station is located near the south end of Retiro (Madrid’s Central Park) and I’ve walked across the entirely of Retiro just to avoid taking the metro from this station. The last time I used this station was when I was here with my cousin and we were going to the Prado. Her family friend was a visiting art historian, and we had a really nice lunch in the Prado lobby and got to get buzzed in through a special door. I felt so special.
The Prado is a gorgeous building. There’s so many things there it is really overwhelming. It’s mostly Renaissance and Classical work, which isn’t usually my favorite. But I’ve really enjoyed the few times I’ve visited and felt like I learned a lot. There was an exhibit I went to on a Neoclassicist painter from Germany, Anton Raphael Mengs. I really liked his portraits, especially his self portraits. I’m not really sure why. They just seemed really alive. The first time I went to this station was when I went to the Reina Sofía. I really love modern art and art museums so I was really excited to visit. There’s a lot of cubist and surrealist works there, since Spain is the historic center of that movement. Federico Garcia Lorca, Picasso, Salvador Dalí, etc. They also famously house Guernica. What’s kind of a shame is that it’s not super well curated in my opinion. There’s a lot of great art there, but I felt like the exhibits didn’t seem to make a lot of sense in terms of organization and grouping. There were a lot of paintings and artists I wanted to learn more about, but there just wasn’t much information about them displayed.
Other than the museums, this area kind of sucks. There's an odd mix of dingy fast food spots and random tourist trap paella restaurants. It's really close to Atocha, so I think most the businesses are oriented towards tourists and travelers passing through. It doesn't really feel like a real neighborhood. And like I mentioned, the station itself sucks.
1/5
Atocha
Atocha is one of the two major train stations in the city, the other being Chamartín up north. If you want to take a high-speed rail anywhere north of Madrid, you catch it at Chamartín. If you are going south, you take it at Atocha. Atocha is also where the Cercanías trains are, which are the suburban commuter trains. I’ve never taken those. But that’s to say, it’s the cities largest and busiest station.
My friends and I took our train for our day trip to Toledo from Atocha. My critique of Chamartín was that it was super difficult to find the platforms for the high-speed rail. Atocha is also slightly confusing and weirdly designed, but I was able to figure out where I needed to go pretty easily in comparison. The station also seemed to be cleaner and better maintained than Chamartín. It has a similar vaguely industrial/brutalist design as Chamartín that I’m kind of into. It has a cool balcony where you can look down at the metro line from above. One of my friends lives pretty close to this station, I sometimes take it when I go to her apartment.
3/5
Menéndez Pelayo
This is probably my favorite station as a station. It’s super clean, and doesn’t smell bad, and has fancy clear turnstiles and touchscreen card machines.
The area around here is nice, it’s on the south side of Retiro. There’s a lot of little wine bars and bistros. It must be a newer section of the city, because the buildings all seem newer. It doesn’t have the old-world charm of some other neighborhoods, but it’s super pleasant and the red brick that’s common in this side of town looks really nice. It’s super quiet and residential, but still feels like you’re in the city with high rise apartments. One of my friends lives at this stop, and that’s kind of the only reason why I’m ever here.
4/5
Pacifico
This is the final stop on my journey. I honestly don’t know much about Pacifico other than that it is where I end up when I forget to get off at Méndendez Pelayo.
Just this week I actually discovered a new neighborhood near here. It’s really interesting because it’s made up of single family homes, which is very uncommon for somewhere this close to the city center. It’s also really adorable, there’s lots of little parks and courtyards, and winding roads. There’s also some really fancy grocery stores.
3/5