Towns and villages in the Madrid Region abound with history and culture, and also unsolved enigmas.

The almost 8,000 square kilometres known today as the Madrid Region, has its own space in the history of Spain. Every time researchers investigate the origins of a zone, they come across fascinating legends that give rise to the present culture and identity. The Madrid Region is no exception, so why not take a magic journey through its towns and villages.

This route takes you to those places of legends and mysteries that have not been solved, such as appearances of the Virgin and cave not visible to our eyes. Depending on whether you feel like going to the town or countryside, you can take a trip to Patones de Arriba, a town in miniature set in another era, or go round palaces and churches in the centre of Madrid, wherein reside stories and more than one ghost. This route takes you to the Hospital General de San Carlos, today the Queen Sofía Art Centre, to San Ginés church, whose entrance is over a cemetery, and to the Royal Palace, which they say is inhabited by noisy beings that are definitely not human.

However, this route started thousands of years ago, when the terraces of the Manzanares and Jarama Rivers were populated by strange creatures and others belonging to far-off latitudes. It is difficult to imagine these days that our ancestors ate elephants, mammoths and hippopotamus from the once fertile banks of the Manzanares River. You can see remains of these in the Municipal Museum of Madrid (Calle Fuencarral Street, 78), a must to visit for those who are really interested, as the exhibits contain plans, pieces of ceramics, medals, coins…

From the heart of the Retiro Park to Plaza Cibeles Square

It has always been said that the Retiro Park is the only place in the world where there is a statue to a devil. This is something which may be in doubt, but, all the same, you should not miss having a good look at the amazing statue of Luzbel.

Cross the Puerta del Ángel Caído (Gate of the Fallen Angel), near the sign for Cuesta de Moyano, to reach the square, one of the central parts of the gardens enclosing odd nooks, like the one containing a Romanesque shrine originally from Ávila. Not far from there is Calle de Alcalá Street and the Paseo del Prado, main thoroughfares dotted with mansions and small palaces, which at one time or another, were certainly used as circuses and experimental centres for researchers into the paranormal.

At one of the crossroads in Plaza Cibeles Square is the palace of the Marquesses of Linares. The buildings nowadays occupied by the Casa de América used to be inhabited by a ghost, which was revived in 1990, thanks to the media. The supposed voices of spirits and shadows which appeared in photographs were just that, mere suppositions, but there are still mysteries held in the crypt of the ancient palace, a place where the inquisitive and curious cannot go.

Discovering the patron saint

There are many stories relating to apparitions and miracles of the Virgin Mary. Some of these lead you to the Prado Nuevo, near El Escorial. The Virgin de los Dolores appeared at the foot of an ash tree to some of the townsfolk having a picnic there. Since that Saturday in October 1980, the field has become a place of pilgrimage.

One legend that has been explained, at least in part, is the Virgen de la Almudena. In the year 711, the Moors arrived, and the Christians only just had time to hide the statue of the Virgin and child in the district known today as Cuesta de la Vega. However, to make her feel less alone, they put two large, lit candles with her, which obviously were not going to last long.

By a miracle, or mere chance, on 9 November 1805, the statue was found in the wall surrounding Magerit (the old name for Madrid). But the strange thing was that the candles placed with the patron saint were still alight after almost 11 centuries.

Cathedrals to the sky and caves that remain hidden

The route also takes in the town of Mejorada del Campo. Here, there are two very different phenomena: one is faith, which instead of moving mountains, is building cathedrals. Since 1961, Justo Gallego has been building, without very much help, a church dedicated to the Virgen del Pilar, but it is not simply a shrine or small church; this building will become a cathedral covering 8,000 square metres, with a dome 40 metres from the ground.

Not far from this town, 18 kilometres from Madrid, legend has it that there is a hidden cave. Several writings, some from the 16th century, refer to a grotto where Christians could take refuge from the pillaging of the Moors. The Cueva de Sopeña cave still is not marked on the maps, as no one has found where it is. If you have an adventurous spirit, perhaps you would like to go and look for it.

From Aswan to Príncipe Pío hill

Few cities can boast an Egyptian sanctuary re-built stone by stone. Madrid is one of these, although in fact, there is only one more building of the kind outside Egypt, and that is in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

The Temple of Debod was given by President Nasser's government in 1968 to thank Spain's participation in recovering monuments and archaeological remains which, without the efforts of volunteers and researchers, would have sunk beneath the waters of the Aswan dam.

Before ending this route around the more magical and surprising places in Madrid, try this game to sharpen your sight: as you are walking along the streets of Madrid, raise your hear and look at the sky. This simple act of observation will reveal dragons, serpents, monster's claws and threatening beings on façades, cornices and groups of sculptures. But these are just gargoyles.