Explore the real-world places that appear in Spain: 1808-1975 by Raymond Carr. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Puerta del Sol, Palacio Real de Madrid, Palacio de las Cortes (Congress of Deputies), Cádiz Oratory of San Felipe Neri, Monumento al Dos de Mayo and 7 more.
Plaza de la Puerta del Sol — Heart of Madrid's political life
Carr repeatedly returns to the Puerta del Sol as the stage of Spanish revolutions. Crowds gathered here for the Dos de Mayo uprising in 1808 and for the pronunciamientos and street risings that toppled governments through the nineteenth century. It is a symbol of the volatile politics of liberal Madrid.
The Puerta del Sol was a gate in the city's old wall and became the central square of Madrid. The Dos de Mayo uprising against Napoleon's troops began nearby in 1808. The Real Casa de Correos on the square became the Ministry of the Interior under Franco.
The square is the symbolic center of Spain, with the kilometre zero marker. The Casa de Correos is now the seat of the Community of Madrid government.
Visit: Puerta del Sol (landmark)
Calle de Bailén — Seat of the Bourbon monarchy
The Royal Palace embodies the Bourbon monarchy whose crises dominate Carr's narrative, from Ferdinand VII's absolutism to Isabella II's court camarillas. Palace intrigues, the influence of royal favourites, and the army's role as arbiter of the crown's fate are central themes. Alfonso XIII's reign ended in 1931 with the monarchy's collapse.
Built in the eighteenth century on the site of the burned Alcázar, the palace was the principal residence of Spanish monarchs. Alfonso XIII left it in 1931 as the Second Republic was proclaimed.
The palace is used for state ceremonies and open to visitors as a museum, with royal apartments, armoury and collections.
Visit: Royal Palace of Madrid (museum)
Carrera de San Jerónimo — Home of Spanish parliamentary life
The Cortes represent the fragile liberal parliamentary tradition Carr traces. Under the Restoration monarchy, politicians of the Conservative and Liberal parties alternated in power through the rigged system of caciquismo and electoral management. The building also stands for the Second Republic's debates and, in the final chapters, for the Francoist rubber-stamp parliament.
The Congress building was inaugurated in 1850 under Isabella II. It hosted the legislatures of the Restoration and the Second Republic. The 1981 coup attempt by Lt. Col. Tejero took place here.
It remains the seat of the Spanish lower house. Free guided visits are offered on set days.
Visit: Congreso de los Diputados (landmark)
Calle Sacramento, Cádiz — Where the 1812 Constitution was debated
Carr treats the Cortes of Cádiz as the birthplace of Spanish liberalism. Deputies met here while French forces besieged the city and drafted the Constitution of 1812. Its principles of national sovereignty and limited monarchy became the touchstone for later liberals, even as Ferdinand VII repudiated the text in 1814.
The Oratory of San Felipe Neri was a baroque church where the Cortes sat from 1810 to 1814. The Constitution was promulgated on 19 March 1812, giving it the nickname La Pepa.
The oratory is a museum devoted to the 1812 Constitution and the Cortes, adjacent to the Museo de las Cortes de Cádiz.
Visit: Oratorio de San Felipe Neri (historic site)
Plaza del Dos de Mayo, Malasaña — Uprising of 1808
Carr opens the modern period with the Peninsular War, when the Madrid populace rose against Napoleon's troops on 2 May 1808. The war created guerrilla warfare, a politicised army, and a power vacuum which let liberals and absolutists compete. The Arco of Monteleón artillery park, where Daoíz and Velarde fought, is remembered here.
The Monteleón artillery barracks stood on this site. Captains Daoíz and Velarde resisted French troops here. The arch remains as a memorial.
The plaza is a lively square in the Malasaña district with the remaining arch and cafes.
Visit: Plaza del Dos de Mayo (monument)
Toledo — Nationalist siege of 1936
In July 1936 Colonel José Moscardó and Nationalist forces held the Alcázar against Republican militias. Carr discusses how the siege became a central myth of Franco's regime, symbolising heroic resistance. Franco's decision to relieve Toledo delayed the advance on Madrid and helped consolidate his leadership.
The Alcázar is a fortress rebuilt under Charles V and long used as a military academy. It was heavily damaged in the 1936 siege and rebuilt under Franco.
It houses the Army Museum, with exhibits on Spanish military history.
Visit: Museo del Ejército (Alcázar de Toledo) (museum)
Barcelona — Working-class radicalism and repression
Carr examines Catalan industrialisation, anarchism, and the social conflict of Barcelona. The Semana Trágica of July 1909, sparked by call-ups for the Moroccan war, saw churches burnt and brutal repression. Montjuïc fortress became a symbol of state violence against anarchists and later Republican prisoners.
Montjuïc castle was used as a prison and execution site. Anarchists were tortured there in the 1890s, and President Lluís Companys was executed there in 1940.
The castle is a military museum turned municipal site with a memorial exhibit and park views.
Visit: Montjuïc Castle (historic site)
Gernika-Lumo, Basque Country — Bombing of 26 April 1937
Carr discusses the Civil War in the north and the Condor Legion's bombing of Guernica, which shocked world opinion. The Basque question and regional nationalism are central to his account of Spain's unresolved territorial tensions.
Guernica was the Basque traditional seat of liberties, with the Tree of Gernika. The 1937 bombing killed hundreds of civilians.
The town hosts the Gernika Peace Museum and the Assembly House with the oak tree.
Visit: Gernika Peace Museum (museum)
Madrid — Defence of the capital, 1936
The assault on Madrid in November 1936 stopped at the Casa de Campo and Ciudad Universitaria. Carr describes how the Republican defence, supported by International Brigades and Soviet aid, held the capital. The siege lasted until March 1939.
Front lines ran through the University City and the Casa de Campo park for nearly three years. Trenches and bunkers remain in parts of the area.
The Casa de Campo is Madrid's largest public park, with preserved Civil War trench remnants in the West Park area.
Visit: Casa de Campo (park)
San Lorenzo de El Escorial — Franco's monument
Carr's chapters on Francoism examine the regime's use of Catholic symbolism and its memory politics. The Valley of the Fallen, built partly by political prisoners, memorialised the Nationalist victory. Franco was buried here in 1975.
Construction ran from 1940 to 1958. Franco's remains were exhumed in 2019.
The site is now managed as a place of democratic memory, with the basilica and monumental cross open to visitors.
Visit: Valle de Cuelgamuros (monument)
Madrid — Franco's residence
Carr describes Franco's regime as a personal dictatorship resting on the army, the Church, and the Falange. From El Pardo, Franco governed as Caudillo from 1939 until his death in 1975. The palace stands for the bureaucratic, conservative state the book analyses in its added chapters.
The palace was a royal hunting lodge dating to the 16th century. Franco lived there from 1940 until his death.
The palace is open to the public as a royal site managed by Patrimonio Nacional.
Visit: Palacio Real de El Pardo (museum)
Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid — Francoist administration
The Francoist state depended on a network of ministries run by technocrats and Falangists. In the 1950s and 1960s the Opus Dei technocrats pursued the Stabilisation Plan of 1959 and economic liberalisation, which Carr credits with transforming society.
The Castellana became the axis of ministerial buildings in the Franco years. The Nuevos Ministerios complex was begun under the Republic.
The Nuevos Ministerios complex still houses government ministries and is not a visitor attraction.
More by Raymond Carr: All Raymond Carr books
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