Barrio de las Letras

The Barrio de las Letras, the Literary Quarter, is the most charming part of central Madrid to wander, eat and drink in, and it is free from start to finish. The neighbourhood fills the slope between the Puerta del Sol and the Paseo del Prado, around the Plaza de Santa Ana and Calle de las Huertas, and its name comes from the writers who lived here during Spain's Golden Age in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, lived and died here, and he is buried in the Convent of the Trinitarias, the enclosed convent on the street now named after Lope de Vega. Lope de Vega, the most prolific playwright in Spanish history, lived in a house on the street named after Cervantes, a nice irony of Madrid street naming, and that house is now a museum that preserves his home and garden, with free visits. Francisco de Quevedo and Luis de Góngora, rivals in life and verse, also lived in these streets, as did many actors, because the area was the city's theatre district, and the Teatro Español on the Plaza de Santa Ana stands on the site of one of the open-air playhouses of the period. As you walk, look down: quotations from the great writers are set in brass letters into the pavement of Calle de las Huertas. Look up as well, for tiled plaques marking where writers lived, and for the facades of old taverns, pharmacies and shops decorated with painted tiles. The Plaza de Santa Ana is the social heart of the quarter, ringed with terrace bars and watched over by statues of the poet Federico García Lorca and the playwright Pedro Calderón de la Barca. Around it, the streets are packed with tapas bars, wine bars, old-fashioned taverns serving vermouth on tap, and a lively nightlife that carries on late.

A walk through the quarter: start at the Plaza de Santa Ana, then walk down Calle del Prado or Calle de las Huertas, reading the quotations in the pavement. Turn onto Calle de Cervantes to visit the Casa Museo de Lope de Vega, where visits are free, guided and usually need booking in advance, then continue to Calle de Lope de Vega to see the walls of the Convent of the Trinitarias, where Cervantes is buried; the church opens only for services. Finish at the Paseo del Prado, where the Prado, the Thyssen and CaixaForum are a few steps away. The whole walk takes an hour without stops, and much longer with them.

Eating and drinking: the Barrio de las Letras is one of the best areas in Madrid for tapas. Around the Plaza de Santa Ana and Calle de Echegaray, you will find old taverns with tiled walls, vermouth on tap, anchovies, croquetas and patatas bravas, and newer wine bars and restaurants. Locals go out late, so dinner rarely starts before nine and the bars fill afterwards. The terraces on the Plaza de Santa Ana are pleasant but priced for the location; the side streets are better value. Weekend nights are noisy and lively, especially along Calle de las Huertas.

Who it suits: foodies, who will find some of the city's best tapas here; nightlife lovers, for the bars around Santa Ana and Huertas; couples, for an evening stroll from the museums to dinner; and first-time visitors, as a natural link between the Puerta del Sol and the Paseo del Prado. Pair it with a morning at the Prado or the Thyssen, an evening flamenco show, or a rooftop drink at one of the hotels on the Plaza de Santa Ana.