The goddess and lions
Cybele on her chariot since 1782 — guardian of the city's celebrations.
Fernando — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Naknaknak — CC0 · Benjamín Núñez González — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Benjamín Núñez González — CC BY-SA 4.0
Since the eighties Cibeles has been Real's celebration shrine: players crown the goddess with flag and scarf after every title before a hundred thousand — the city barricading her on big nights since she lost a hand to one old party. A Madridista? Know your date.
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Cibeles is Europe's most sumptuous crossroads: the goddess on her lion chariot amid the 1782 fountain, behind her the crowned white Cibeles Palace — once the post office, now city hall — with towers like a secular cathedral, and nineteenth-century palaces on every corner. The fountain is ceremonial Madrid's heart: Real Madrid celebrate their titles around their goddess (Atlético's faithful at nearby Neptune — the city's sacred division), and every state procession passes here. The visitor's clever move is the palace behind: the Mirador Madrid gallery in its tower (small ticket, lift) gives the finest central view over Gran Vía and Alcalá — a secret known to few. And the night shot of fountain and lit palace is among Madrid's icons.
Cybele on her chariot since 1782 — guardian of the city's celebrations.
A city hall like a cathedral — the grandest post office ever built.
Gran Vía and Alcalá beneath you from the eighth-floor gallery.
Plaza de Cibeles, 28014 Madrid