Stage 1: Through the streets of Madrid Madrid to Tres Cantos 24,7 km, 6 hrs, é364m, ê272m, ñ638-762m 0,0 km ñ660m Church of Santiago tvsäã 10,1 km ñ709m Fuencarral tvsäã 19,0 km ñ742m El Goloso tsä 23,8 km ñ748m Junction towards Tres Cantos 24,7 km ñ745m Tres Cantos tvsäã P There is no official starting point of the Camino de Santiago from Madrid. A citizen of Madrid would probably just leave from his own front door. For a traveller coming to Madrid the church of Santiago, located at the square with the same name would probably make the best place to start from. At 12:00 o clock there is a pilgrim s mass which you may attend. In Madrid you will generally be walking on the sidewalk of the streets. Once you leave the city behind the route consist of mainly dirt roads. Albergues: Madrid: Albergue Petrus, close to the four towers, is an initiative of the Korean Santiago association, 20 beds, 20 euros, Calle Finisterre 20, tel. 653 954 145. Tres Cantos: public albergue in the Casa Consistorial, 6 beds, by donation, call in advance tel. 912 938 000. Hotels: Madrid: enormous amount of options for hotels. Probably the best would be to use a search engine to find a good offer. Hostal Apolo XI does a special rate for pilgrims, Calle Espoz y Mina 6, tel. 915 321 409. On www.caminosantiagohoteles.com you can book various hotels with a 10% discount. Tres Cantos: Hostel Tres Cantos, Avenida Viñueleas 39, tel. 918 037 117, usually the cheapest option in town. Hotel VP Jardin de Tres Cantos***, Avenida de los Encuartes 17, tel. 918 064 999, modern hotel with sometimes very good offers. Holiday Inn Express***, Ronda de Puente 16, tel. 918 039 000. Hotel Que Fierro****, Plaza de la Estacion 2, tel. 918 044 837. Campings: Madrid: Camping Osuna close to the airport, Calle Jardines de Aranjuez, tel. 917 410 510.
Madrid It was not until 1561 that Madrid became the capital of Spain. At that time King Philip II was spending more and more time at his palace in El Escorial, north of Madrid and he found it too long a drive from Toledo, which was the capital at the time. Therefore, he decided to move the Spanish court to Madrid, which was back then an extremely modest village. With this in mind, the Madrileños still speak of their city, with affection, as being an out-of-control sheep village. A day trip to El Escorial, before you set out on your journey, will be a very rewarding experience. It is just an hour by train or bus from the centre. Madrid has grown in the 20 th century to one of the mayor cities in the world. With a population of 3,2 million people, this is the third largest city in Europe. During this enormous growth entire villages where encompassed inside the city borders. The names of the different neighbourhoods are still testimony to the villages of old times; Chamartin, Fuencarral, El Pardo. Due to its size, you will spend most of the first day walking through the city. However, this is not at all an unpleasant experience. If you pay attention you can see the changes in the city and the difference in ambience as you go from one neighbourhood to the next. From the posh centre with its Gran Via to the multicultural Tetuan, around the Calle Bravo Murillo and the modern architecture of Chamartin. The church of Santiago from the outside is certainly not the highlight of Spanish architecture. The original church was located a bit further down the road, but in 1810 José Bonaparte decided to tear it down to make space for the front side of his palace, creating the Plaza de Oriente. The current church dates from the 19 th century and has a modern look to it. Above the entrance you can see an image of Santiago depicted as matamores. Legend has it that Santiago appeared on a cloud during the battle of Clavijo to assist the fighting Christians in achieving victory. Inside the church is surprisingly peaceful and you can enjoy the intimate atmosphere as you go from the busy streets of Madrid to the relative calm of the church. On the main alter Santiago is once again depicted as matamores and you will see images of the four Great Doctors of the Western Church: St. Augustine, St. Gregory the Great, St. Ambrose and St. Jerome. After a moment of reflection, you can obtain you pilgrim s passport and with some words of comfort you are on your way.
With your back to the main entrance of the church turn left and walk into Calle de Santa Clara. At the end turn right into Calle de Vergara and follow it till Plaza de Isabel II. Here you turn left again, pass the Opera building and walk into Calle de Campomanes, which you follow until Cuesta de Santa Domingo. Walk passed the stairs and turn right and then at the end left, into Calle de San Bernardo. You follow this street for a while, crossing the busy Gran Via, until you arrive to Glorieta Ruiz Gimenez. 300 metres further on, at a junction, you keep right and continue to Glorieta Quevado, which you cross over. You now enter Calle Bravo Murillo, a very long street, which you follow all the way until Plaza Castilla, a distance of 4,2 kilometres. Once you arrive at the large roundabout, with the golden obelisk, turn left onto the Castallana, passing in between the Gate of Europe Towers, better known as the Kio Towers (after the architect). Together with the Cuatro Torres (four towers), which are in front of you, they form the skyline of modern Madrid. Just in front of the first tower of Cepsa, as you cross the road, you will see your first yellow arrow on the sidewalk. These arrows, along with countless signs, shells and markers, will guide you the way to Santiago. Walk passed the four towers and then turn left into Calle Arzobispo Morcillo. At the roundabout initially continue straight ahead and then turn right into Calle de Pedro Rico. Follow the road, as it veers to the left and then turn right, crossing the bridge over the M607. On the other side turn left onto Calle San Modesto, passing the Ramon Y Cajal hospital. In front of the entrance to Consultas Externas, cross the road and continue until the traffic lights. Cross the road, turn right and 20 meters further go left again passing in between the houses and the red painted wall. Here begins the former village of Fuencarral, now a neighborhood of Madrid. It looks a bit rough around the edges, but during daylight you should not have to worry for your safety. At the end of the path continue straight into Calle de Caldus de Estrach and follow this as it turns right into Calle de San Culat del Valles. When the fence on the left makes a turn, you also turn left along it crossing through the park. Further down you turn left again (you are walking around the tennis courts) and at the end of the track cross the bridge over the highway. On a clear day, you have fantastic views from here of the mountains to the north, which you will cross in a few days.
On the other side continue straight ahead (with the McDonalds on the horizon) and where the track splits you take the middle path, crossing the park diagonally. Arriving at a road you turn right onto Calle de los Monasterios de Suso Y Yuso. At the traffic lights you turn left and continue until the end of the Calle de Monte Carmelo. In front of the cemetery turn right and then at the end of the cemetery turn left, following its walls. Continue until the railroad. Turn left and then right through the tunnels of the railrway and the M-40 highway. You finally leave Madrid behind you. The immediate surroundings of Madrid are marked by pleasant hills which are mainly use for cultivating grain (at 700 meters above sea level this crop is still easy to grow) and cattle farms. Until Colmenar Viejo the countryside is dominated by this landscape. Initially continue straight ahead ignoring all side tracks. After about a kilometer at a junction keep right and continue for another two kilometers until you arrive at bridge with the old station of Valdelatas on the left. Turn left here and follow the road just left of the modern railway tracks. Ignore two tunnels underneath the railroad. After a kilometer, at a split, turn right and pass through the tunnel under the railway. Next turn left and continue until the station of El Goloso. Here you continue straight ahead.
Keep on the dirt road in between the highway and the railroad. At a junction keep right and slightly afterwards turn left onto a smaller sand track. The yellow arrow is here joined by the red and white markings of a long distance track; the GR-124 Senda Real, which will stay with us until Manzanares el Real. You are in fact walking here on top of the water pipe of the Canal Isabel II, which supplies Madrid with fresh water from the mountains. The path will bring you in 1,7 kilometers to a red painted bike track. Follow the bike track, or the little sand path next to it, for another kilometer until you are close to the Hotel Foxa 3 Cantos. The Camino turns here left into the fields. If you wish to overnight in Tres Cantos, pass over the bridge on the right and proceed into the village. Tres Cantos Some fifty years ago everything you see here was farmland. It was the Spanish dictator Franco himself who approved the plans for the construction of a new city in 1971. From the mid-eighties young families looking for living space starting moving here from Madrid. As a result, the average age in Tres Cantos is much lower than in the rest of Spain. Not surprisingly there are very few places of interest for a traveller, but it does make for a convenient stopover on your way north. If you have difficulty finding a suitable sleeping place you could consider using the commuter train to go back into Madrid.