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The Plaza de Espana (Metro: Plaza de Espana), at the west end of Gran Via, was home, until the flurry of corporate building in the north of Madrid, to two of the city's tallest buildings - the Torre de Madrid , which has a top-storey bar, and the Edificio de Espana . These rather stylish 1950s buildings look over an elaborate monument to Cervantes in the middle of the square, which in turn overlooks the bewildered-looking bronze figures of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. The plaza itself is a little on the seedy side especially at night. However, to its north, c/Martin de los Heros is a lively place, day and night, with three of the city's best cinemas, and behind them the Centro Princesa , with shops, clubs, bars and a 24-hour branch of the ubiquitous VIPS - just the place to have your film developed at 4am, or a bite to eat before heading on to a small-hours club. Up the steps opposite the Centro Princesa is c/Conde Duque, dominated by the massive former barracks of the royal guard, constructed in the early eighteenth century by Pedro de Ribera. The barracks have been turned into a dynamic cultural centre, El Centro Cultural de Conde Duque (Tues-Sat 10am-2pm & 5.30-9pm, Sun & holidays 10.30am-2.30pm; free), which is home to the city's collection of contemporary art; it also hosts a variety of temporary exhibitions, and stages concerts, plays and dance as part of the Veranos de la Villa season. Just to the east of this, the Plaza de las Comendadoras - named after the convent that occupies one side of the square - is a tranquil space bordered by a variety of interesting craft shops, bars and cafes. A block to the west is the Museo Cerralbo , c/Ventura Rodriguez 17 (Tues-Sat 9.30am-2.30pm, July closes 2pm; Sun 10am-2pm; closed Aug; ?2.40, free on Wed & Sun; Metro: Ventura Rodriguez), an elegant mansion endowed with its collections by the Marques de Cerralbo. The rooms, stuffed with paintings, furniture, armour and artefacts, provide insights into the lifestyle of the nineteenth-century aristocracy, though there is little of individual note.
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