Paseo del Prado
The Paseo del Prado is one of the main boulevards in Madrid, Spain. The Paseo del Prado is the oldest historical city street in Madrid and was declared Bien de Interés Cultural. It runs north-south between the Plaza de Cibeles and the Plaza del Emperador Carlos V, with the Plaza de Cánovas del Castillo lying approximately in the middle. The Paseo del Prado forms the southern end of the city's central axis.
This densely tree-lined, wide and central avenue is a landmark for the city residents and the location of important cultural and tourist spots in the city, including the so-called Golden Triangle of Art, which encompasses three museums: the Prado Museum, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, and the Reina Sofia Museum. In the vicinity are located the Parque del Buen Retiro and the Casón del Buen Retiro, as well as the headquarters of the Real Academia Española, the Bolsa de Madrid, and the Congreso de los Diputados.
The Paseo del Prado boulevard includes several monuments and enclosures that are of historical and artistic interest, erected in the eighteenth century for the Hall of Prado urban project. Numerous ornamental and landscaping grounds were constructed for this project. The highlights of this project include the Villanueva Building, the Royal Botanical Gardens and three sculptural water fountains designed by Ventura Rodriguez, depicting Neptune, Cibeles and Apollo.
A controversial project of thorough reform and revitalization of the Paseo del Prado and the Paseo de Recoletos, known as Plan Especial Recoletos-Prado and authored by an international team of architects led by Álvaro Siza, was approved by the city council on 23 June 2005, but as of December 2010 its environmental impact study is still underway and reconstruction has not been initiated.Notable structures
