360 Virtual tour of Ancient Renaissance Madrid

This 19th-century recreation of the Paseo del Prado places you before the Museo de Nobles Artes and the Palacio del Buen Retiro, two of Madrid's iconic and most luxurious structures in its long and rich history.

Commissioned by King Carlos III in 1764, the Puerta de Alcalá was constructed after the king deemed the older model unfit for one of Madrid's main entrances. Standing to the east of the city, the gate welcomes visitors to the grandeur of Madrid.

Today one of Madrid's most iconic places, this recreation of the Plaza de Cibeles in 1850 illustrates the space before modern renovations to the plaza and the talismanic statue of Cybele, the Phrygian mother goddess, were made.

Here at the Puerta del Sol in 1450, you stand before one of the city's main entrances with a view of the defensive wall that encircled the city. The hospital behind you stood outside the walls to quarantine citizens affected by the Bubonic Plague.

The precursor to the Plaza Mayor, the Plaza del Arrabal was one of two main marketplaces in Madrid but became the central market in the 16th century, a distinction further enhanced by Antonio Sillero's pragmatic and attractive architectural style.

One of Madrid's premier marketplaces, the Mercado de San Miguel was the place to go for Madrid's finest seafood. Named after the beautiful Church of San Miguel in the plaza, the market here was an important part of daily life in Madrid.

The heart of Madrid in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Plaza de la Villa illustrated the increasingly diversified population of Madrid after medieval times, present in its distinct architectural style influenced by Islamic and Christian traditions.

After the Reconquista, when Alfonso VI retook Madrid in 1083 under the banner of Christianity, a community of Muslims known as the Mudejar remained and ostensibly converted to Christianity while maintaining their lifestyle present in this scene.

This 16th-century reconstruction of the Plaza de Ramales shows the space before its absorption of the square of San Juan. The Church of San Juan Bautista, a stalwart of the area, stood high with its distinct spire and which previously divided the two plazas.

Destroyed by a fire on Christmas Eve in 1734, this royal palace served as the residence for the Bourbon dynasty of Spain after Charles I and Charles II transformed the former Alcazar, a fortress, into the building before you in the late 17th century.

Here you walk along the footpath leading to the inner sanctuary of the Temple of Debod. On the Nile rests a ritual boat used for transporting a divine idol, of Amun in this case, to other temples and sanctuaries along the Nile.