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IN IMAGES: Mick Jagger tours Madrid as a tourist

The Rolling Stones frontman isn't complaining about getting 'no satisfaction' in the Spanish capital as he shares with his fans photos of himself "enjoying lots of what Madrid has to offer".

Published: 1 June 2022 16:38 CEST
IN IMAGES: Mick Jagger tours Madrid as a tourist
Mick Jagger in Retiro Park in Madrid. Photo: Mick Jagger / Instagram

British rock legends The Rolling Stones (known simply as Los Rolling in Spain) on Wednesday open their European tour with a concert in Madrid to mark six decades since the band was formed.

Frontman Mick Jagger, 78, and fellow band members Keith Richards, also 78 and Ronnie Wood, who turns 75 today, arrived in the Spanish capital last week and have since been enjoying the city like tourists, visiting some of Madrid’s most famous sights. 

They have been enjoying the week in luxurious style, staying at the recently-opened Rosewood Villa Magna hotel in the well-heeled Barrio de Salamanca. 

“Sympathy for the Devil in Madrid. The Stones are in town! Countdown to the first show is on!” they wrote on Instagram, posting a picture of the Fallen Angel fountain in Madrid’s famed Retiro Park, referencing one of their best-known songs.
 
Jagger also posted several pictures to both Twitter and Instagram with a caption saying “Enjoying lots of what Madrid has to offer, from fallen angels to Flamenco!”
 

Mick Jagger in Retiro Park in Madrid. Photo: @mickjagger / Instagram
 
In the first picture, he poses in front of the Fallen Angel statue found in Retiro Park. In Spanish, it’s called La Fuente del Ángel Caído and can be found at the southern end of the park, not far from the gate of the same name. 
 
The statue was sculpted by Ricardo Bellver in 1878 for the Paris World Fair and was later bought by Madrid City Council, who commissioned the architect Francisco Jareño to design the pedestal it stands on. It was officially inaugurated in 1885.
 
Mick Jagger in Madrid

Mick Jagger in Madrid. Photo: @mickjagger / Instagram
 
In the second picture, Jagger poses outside the Taberna de Ángel Sierra in Chueca neighbourhood, a historic tavern which is known for being one of the oldest in Madrid at over 102 years old.
 
This emblematic bar is known for its iconic decoration –  its elegantly-carved wooden bar, its century-old bottles lining the walls, its antic wine barrels, and original vermouth taps.
 

Mick Jagger in Madrid’s Retiro Park. Source: @mickjagger / Instagram
 
Jagger spent more time in Madrid’s best city park, posting another photo of himself posing under arches of colourful flowers. He was most likely enjoying Retiro’s Rosaleda rose garden. El Retiro is one of Madrid’s largest city parks, covering over 125 hectares and home to more than 15,000 trees. In July 2021, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, together with the nearby Paseo del Prado.
 

Mick Jagger posing with Picasso’s Guernica in Madrid’s Reina Sofia. Photo: @mickjagger / Instagram
 
Jagger is also seen posing with one of the Reina Sofía Museum’s most celebrated artworks – Guernica by Pablo Picasso. The painting commemorates the bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War in 1937. 
 
 
Along with El Prado and the Thyssen-Bornemisza, the Reina Sofía is part of Madrid’s so-called Golden Triangle, home to its very best museums. The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía is home to a vast collection by some of Spain’s greatest contemporary artists such as Salvador Dalí, Antoni Tàpies and Joan Miró. 
 
Jagger’s last slide is actually a video of a flamenco rendition of one of The Rolling Stones’ most beloved songs – Paint It Black (skip to final slide to watch). 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Mick Jagger (@mickjagger)

 
Now you know where to go in Madrid to tour the capital like a Rolling Stone  👅!

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TOURISM

Spain’s Málaga rolls out new rules to limit tourist rentals

The southern Spanish city of Málaga has for some time now been battling with the rapid increase in the number of tourist apartments. New rules aim to put a stop to this.

Published: 13 June 2024 10:42 CEST
Spain's Málaga rolls out new rules to limit tourist rentals

According to a municipal estimate, there are already around 8,000 tourist rentals in Málaga, which have been taking over the city, outpricing locals and causing issues for neighbouring residents.

Locals have reacted to the general uptick in tourism by planning mass protests, similar to those in the Canary Islands and the Balearics and plastering anti-tourist slogans across the city walls. 

In just the last three and a half months alone, there have already been 800 new applications for tourist licences, which is approximately eight every day.

This trend leads to “excessively high numbers,” Mayor Francisco de la Torre explained, noting that the desired balance between tourist activity and neighbourhood coexistence is at risk.

READ: Why Málaga has become a victim of its own success

As a result of this, Málaga City Council has been forced to implement a new series of control measures that will establish limits in saturated areas and favour long-term rentals instead.

The most important of these regulations requires that holiday homes have an independent access, as stated in the decree of the Junta de Andalucía, which came into force at the end of February.

General facilities such as electricity, water, telephone lines etc. must also be separate from those of the rest of the block of apartments.

This would mean no new tourist apartments located in buildings where locals and tenants reside and may mean that commercial buildings will become tourist rentals instead. 

The new order will not, however, affect those apartments registered before the legislation came into force, meaning that the circa 8,000 rentals that already exist will be allowed to stay.

This requirement had already been contemplated in the General Málaga City Plan since 2011, but will only now begin to affect those 800 new applications for licences, as well as any more in the future.

De la Torre explained that they will study which of the 800 applications submitted under the new legislative framework meet this requirement, adding that “It will not be easy for there to be properties for tourist use with an independent entrance”.

“We recognise the positive role that tourism has in Málaga, of course, both in hotels and tourist housing, but we want everything to be done in terms of harmony and coexistence,” since “the number of tourist apartments is too high,” he continued.

He explained that the objective is that rental prices will not rise uncontrollably and the market will be healthier. He added that people who want to rent out their home as a vacation rental will have the option of offering it up as a long-term rental instead.

Málaga is not the only city that has been cracking down on tourist rentals recently. Seville has become the first city in Andalusia to actually ban new tourist licences in certain areas.

Seville’s mayor José Luis Sanz has already announced that he will not grant new licenses in the most saturated areas. “There is no room for one more tourist apartment,” he warned.

Licences will no longer be granted in 11 central neighbourhoods including Santa Cruz, Arenal, Alfalfa, San Bartolomé, Feria, Encarnación-Regina, Santa Catalina, San Lorenzo, San Gil, San Vicente and Triana.

And in the Galician city of Santiago de Compostela, hundreds of tourist apartments will be forced to close due to new rules that limit their use to ground and first floors in buildings only in the old town.

READ MORE: ‘We won’t look for renters’: Holiday lets in Spain’s Santiago forced to close

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