The Fantastic Playgrounds of Spain: Barrio de las Letras (Madrid)

 Barrio de las Letras. Charming little barrio with the old houses of famous Spanish writers like Miguel de Cervantes. Lots of little coffee shops and bars. There is a small playground at the intersection of Calle de las Huertas and C/ de Jesús. It has a small slide, little springy cars, and the playground surface is that springy rubber stuff. It's fenced in, shady, and there is a nice little dog statue, el Perro Paco, in the adjoining plaza.

Barrio de las Letras tot lot

Logistics: To go through Barrio de las Letras, I recommend walking downhill from the Sol Metro station. I cross through Plaza de Santa Ana, which has two little playgrounds (toddler playground and one of those big swing/spinning top thingys...not the greatest playgrounds but at least there is something there.) C/ de las Huertas is QUITE steep so it is way better to walk down toward Paseo de la Castellana vs walking up. Bonus: C/ de las Huertas will deposit you right across the street from El Prado and next to the Caixa Forum.

The middle of Paseo de la Castellana is nicely paved with fountains and a lot more pleasant than walking along the sidewalk that hugs the buildings as cars blast past on the stroad. Closest metro stop at the bottom of the hill is Estación de Arte (old Atocha stop).