In the 19th century, the Marqués de Salamanca intentionally created Salamanca to be an enclave for the capital’s aristocracy and wealthy bourgeoisie. To this day, the neighborhood attracts the rich and famous not just from Spain, but from around the world. Barrio Salamanca is home to many embassies, located in elegant old buildings. For example, the beautiful Italian embassy is located in a French Baroque style building designed by Joaquín Rojí, one of the best Spanish architects of the early 20th century. The building once belonged to the Marquess of Amboage, a man of immense wealth who had a noble title granted to him by the Vatican.
The Salamanca neighborhood is especially evocative in spring, when the trees lining the elegant streets are festooned with yellow flowers. Calle Serrano, which starts at the roundabout that houses the Neo-Classic arch called Puerta Alcala, is Spain’s version of the Champs-Élysées. It is lined with shops from big international brands, such as Longchamps, MaxMara, Coach and Caroline Herrera. Plaza de la Independencia, which sits at the foot of Calle Serrano, is a circular plaza filled with fashionable restaurants. The smaller streets, such as Calle Lagasca and Calle Claudio Coello, have many fashion boutiques, as well as shops by local designers.
Pricing Overview
Real estate in posh Salamanca is the most expensive in Madrid. As of December 2025, the average price for a square meter of real estate in Salamanca was 9,993€. The year 2025 saw an interesting development in Salamanca real estate pricing. Real estate in the northern part of Salamanca, called Castellana, overtook rarefied Recoletos to become the most expensive real estate in Madrid. The median home price in Castellana was 11,273€ per square meter in December 2025. This part of Salamanca has a younger, more dynamic vibe as it is home to IE University, one of Europe’s best business schools.
Recoletos, which lies directly to the north of the historic Retiro park, historically had the most expensive part of Salamanca. Although it was overtaken by Castellana, the neighborhood is still quite exclusive, with a median price of 11,000€ per square meter. The premium apartments in Recoletos have views of Retiro Park, echoing the vibe of the apartments on New York City’s Upper East Side along Fifth Avenue.
Real estate prices in old school Goya really took off in 2024 and 2025. The median price of a home here is 10,297€ per square meter. Although prices in the neighborhood increased 13.4% from December 2024 to December 2025, this was much slower than the 30%+ prices increases seen in 2024.
The median price of a home in Lista is 10,448€ per square meter. Fuente de Berro, located in the eastern part of Salamanca, has more attainable prices, with median home prices of 7,762€ per square meter. However, these represent big prices increases over December 2024 prices as buyers looked to the more reasonably priced neighborhoods in Salamanca.
Current Market Prices
Restaurants
Pricing Overview
€ 9,993 per square meter
13.3%
