The Chamartín neighborhood is situated to the north of Salamanca. The neighborhood is sometimes referred to as Nuevos Ministerios, which is one of the transportation hubs of Madrid and has the largest, poshest El Corte Inglés in Spain. This is the only department store that sells upscale brands like Tom Ford and other international designers. The Chamartín neighborhood is home to the legendary Bernebeú, the stadium of Real Madrid. Football fans will be interested to learn that the first Real Madrid stadium was actually called the Chamartín Stadium; it was replaced in 1947 by the iconic Estadio Santiago Bernabéu

The architecture in Chamartín is diverse. Nuevos Ministerios is all glass and tall buildings, mixed with the stately, traditional architecture of Spanish government offices such as the Ministry of Public Works, Employment and Social Security. These public buildings were constructed in the 1930s by the Spanish architect Secundino Zuazo, who modeled the complex after the massive El Escorial. Interestingly, in the 1930s the Chamartín neighborhood was not a part of Madrid. It was originally named Chamartín de la Rosa and remained an independent municipality until it was incorporated into Madrid in 1948.

If you go to El Viso, you will see something completely different than in the rest of Madrid. El Viso is filled with free standing homes, built in a contemporary, cubist style. It is a planned urban development, with the feel of a small village. Houses here are in high demand, so prices are the most expensive in the Chamartín neighborhood; they rival prices in Recoletos or Almagro.

Much of the business in Madrid is conducted in the north of the city, which you can see in the relatively tall buildings of the Five Towers of Madrid. The tallest of these is the Torre de Cristal. At 52 floors, it is the tallest building in Spain and houses businesses such as KPMG, Volkswagen and Coca-Cola. The newest, smallest tower in this complex is the new home of IE Business School, an international business school which consistently ranks among the highest in Europe. Traditionally, real estate in Chamartín was not expensive but with big business moving to the north of the city, and the addition of IE, it is highly in demand so people can walk to work or classes.

Because of all the money that has flooded into this neighborhood, it has some of the best restaurants in Madrid, such as DiverXO, which has three Michelin stars.

Chamartín is an excellent neighborhood in which to live if you prefer quiet, elegant restaurants to the late, intense nightlife one finds in neighborhoods such as Malasaña and Sol. It is also a great neighborhood for families, and people that travel a lot; it’s only a 10 minute taxi ride from the airport.