Nuevos Ministerios - The heart of the Business & Financial District of Madrid (Lauren Manning)

Today I want to present you the neighbourhoud of Nuevos Ministerios & Chamartin – the business and financial district of Madrid.

First of all, if you want a first overview of Madrid neighbourhoods, I recommend you read this and look at the interactive map to understand where Madrid neighbourhoods are located and search “Nuevos Ministerios” for instance.

This is how I would describe in a few words Nuevos Ministerios & Chamartin (see all short descriptions for all neighbourhoods of Madrid in my post on how to choose the neighbourhood made for you)

- Business

- Residential

- Quiet out of working hours

Nuevos Ministerios is the northern limit of what we would call the center of Madrid, which would lay within the #6 Circular Metro Line (see interactive map). Through Nuevos Ministerios goes the “Paseo de la Castellana”, the major axis of Madrid, which goes South to North and links Nuevos Ministerios to Plaza Castilla, Chamartin train station and its neighbourhood.

Plainly put, this business focused neighbourhood organizes itself around the Castellana (look on the interactive map).
The closer you are to the Castellana, the more business focused your surroundings will be: tall buildings, offices, parkings, malls and shops for corporate people, restaurants full at midday and empty at night.
The furthest you go west or east from the Castellana, the more residential your surrounding will be: smaller buildings, all flats for families, couples and singles, local shops. Let’s say that if you work on the Castellana, a good idea can be to live 15 minutes west or east from your work. If you go east, prices will rise quickly since you are getting closer to the upscale Salamanca neighbourhood. If you go West and North, you will find cheaper rentals and properties.

The Towers of Chamartin, emblematic of the Madrid Landscape

To sum up, Nuevos Ministerios and Chamartin is:

• a neighbourhood close to the center, thanks to the #10 and #8 lines which are the quickest in Madrid,
• a very business focused or residential neighbourhood,
• quiet out of working hours since it is so business oriented.

It is a great neighbourhood to live in if you work there. Especially if you prefer quiet and practical neighbourhoods over nightlife. Also very practical if you travel a lot since the airport is only a 10 minutes drive away or only 12 minutes in the new direct train from Chamartin.

For renting and buying properties, Nuevos Ministerios and Chamartin are less expensive than the center of Madrid: the square meter is 14-15 € / m2 to rent, 3000 – 4000 € the m2 to purchase a property (for more information on the cost of living, see my post)

I recommend living in “Nuevos Ministerios & Chamartin” if you:

- want to be connected to the center of Madrid,
– work in the same neighbourhood, or around the Castellana,
- prefer to be in a quiet neighbourhood, with little nightlife, but with restaurants and bars.

When flathunting in the Nuevos Ministerios and Chamartin neighbourhood, do complete the classic checks I explained in the “10 flathunting tips” post.

If you need help or advice to choose the school for your children, do not hesitate to send me an e-mail.

Madridly yours,
Pierre – Moving2Madrid