A Few Posts on Madrid #1 – The Original Cafe Oriental

A recent trip involved a great deal of mooching around Madrid and, of course, yielded a few China/Chinoiserie-related posts. Today Madrid’s well known Cafe de Oriente is situated on the Plaza de Oriente near the Royal Theatre and opposite the Royal Palace. It is one of Europe’s noted literary cafes but is a late twentieth century construction with a neo-Baroque interior. It’s a nice place to stop for a drink. However, the original Cafe de Oriente (or Oriental Cafe) was some way away along the Calle Gran Via between the streets of Carmen and Atlantico in the basement of a hotel – a few photos of the exterior survive….I’m not sure any exist of the interior….

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