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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".

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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PROPERTY

Spain considers banning tourist lets in residential buildings

The Spanish government has announced it's studying the possibility of prohibiting tourist apartments in residential buildings where property owners live.

Spain considers banning tourist lets in residential buildings

The Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda, Isabel Rodríguez, announced this Tuesday that the Government is studying a reform of the Horizontal Property Law in order to allow property owners to prohibit tourist apartments in their residential buildings.

In Spain, each building has what’s known as a community of neighbours, referred to La Comunidad or Comunidad de Vecinos in Spanish, and essentially the Spanish government is considering giving them veto power over tourist apartments in their buildings.

READ ALSO: ‘La comunidad’: What property owners in Spain need to know about homeowners’ associations

The announcement was stated in an interview on Telecinco, in which Rodríguez stated that this move comes as a consequence of recent supreme court rulings on tourist apartments in Oviedo in Asturias and San Sebastián in the Basque Country.

In the rulings, the magistrates concluded that the rental of housing for tourist use is an economic activity, and agreed that communities of owners in two separate buildings could ban tourist rentals in several apartments.  

“It will be the neighbourhood communities that will also be able to participate in these types of decisions, because this phenomenon, which is not exclusive to our country, affects the entire world and the main capitals in Europe,” explained the minister.

READ ALSO – UPDATE: Which cities in Spain have new restrictions on tourist rentals?

Recently, Rodríguez has criticised that the proliferation of tourist apartments causes problems for locals, that it stops them from being able to access decent housing and raises the price of rentals.

She praised the regions which have taken steps to try and put a stop to this and gave the recent example of Barcelona City Council, which announced last Friday that it would eliminate all tourist apartments by the end of 2028.

She believes this move in Barcelona “will benefit citizens who want to live in their city, who do not want it to be a theme park and who prioritise the right to access housing over economic interests”.

Spain’s Horizontal Property Law , which was modified once in 2019, already states that it “requires a favourable vote of three-fifths of the total number of owners who, in turn, represent three-fifths of the participation quotas”. This means that already owners have a big say in whether tourist licences can be granted to apartments in their buildings.

However, the particular wording of the law has been the subject of much legal controversy and judicial interpretation. The reason is because the wording of the law only mentions the possibility for communities to “limit or condition” tourist use, but they do not have the power to “prohibit” since the law does not expressly say so.

Several regions have their own rulings through regional courts, but this new announcement aims to make it universal across the board in Spain and ensure that there’s no room for misinterpretation.

Rodríguez is set to meet this afternoon with the governing board of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) and the Housing and Tourism Commissions to address this matter and come to a decision. 

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