Aravaca, Madrid

Aravaca comprises a part of the city of Madrid. It belongs to the Moncloa district. Aravaca, Madrid is about 10 kms away from the downtown of the city on the other side of the Casa de Campo, a sprawling urban park situated beside the Monte de El Prado. In Aravaca, you can enjoy the scenic landscapes that dot the peripheries of Madrid. Aravaca was a war front during the period of the Spanish Civil War for three years during the Siege of Madrid (1936 - 1939) where Nationalists were led by General Franco and the Royalists of the Second Spanish Republic.

In some places of the Aravaca quarter of Madrid, one finds the parks, woods, and war bunkers that were used by General Franco when he attacked Madrid. The old town of Aravaca was completely devastated but was restored to its present form in the 1940s. In this period, some of the structures that were designed in old Castilian style comprise the parish church and some of the houses in the Baja de la Iglesia Street. Until the year 1951, Aravaca was an independent city within the province of Madrid with its own council hall and major. In the period of the Spanish postwar - 1940 to 1959 - millions of Spaniards left the city to the economically backward provinces of Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia or the Basque Country.

Between 1950 and 1980, Aravaca grew rapidly into a residential suburb for the middle class. Since 1990, urban planning by the government has resulted in doubling up the population of Aravaca and the streets of the place have been connected to the neighboring town of Pozuelo de Alarcon. Aravaca, to sum it up, is an extravagant Spanish city that gives visitors the trip of a lifetime. Wander through the expansive 9th century Walls of Madrid, taste the opulent Casa de Los Luianes and its ornate gothic portal, and soak in the balmy evening breeze after a long day of sightseeing.