In the hood... La Macarena

Although formerly known as a shady district, La Macarena has evolved to a popular, clean and safe neighbourhood, especially for younger people who will infrequently burst out in song and dance just out of zest for life. People watching it the must-do when visiting. We never felt unsafe and it was pleasantly void of your average kind of tourists. 

The old city walls stem from the Romans, and remains have been found that can be dated back to the 1st century B.C. But over centuries the walls have been torn down, renewed, expanded and destroyed again.

Especially popular is the urban landmark Metropol Parasol, also known as Las Setas (the mushrooms), a wooden structure designed by the German architect Jürgen Mayer (the name couldn't get more German than that). Under this umbrella or mushrooms if you like you'll find shops, a market place, bars and breweries, and it became our favourite go-to place for food and drinks.