Every major city worth its salt typically boasts its own luxury area: New York has Fifth Avenue, Paris has the Champs-Élysées and in Madrid an area known as the “Golden Mile” stands out.
“Golden Mile” is a network of streets located in the Spanish capital’s Salamanca district where some of the most exclusive clothing and jewelry brands in the world are concentrated. It is an environment that has attracted foreigners eager to invest in housing, and a large part of them come from Latin America.
“It’s like an open-air shopping mall,” Cristina Lanzarot, the director of the Salamanca Neighborhood Merchants Association in Madrid, with about a hundred premium stores in the area, told CNN. “If not the most special (shopping mall), it is one of the most special in the world.”
It’s not just the “Golden Mile” foreigners are flocking to. This trend extends to the six neighborhoods that make up the Salamanca district, making it noticeable when walking through its streets, where the elegant atmosphere enraptures pedestrians with its wide avenues and majestic buildings.
The real shock comes with the prices — not just the cost of an afternoon of shopping indulgences, but of housing, too. This district has the highest price per square meter in all of Madrid: more than $11,500, compared with a citywide average of $6,800, according to figures compiled by the Madrid City Council in February.
Continue reading the complete article on the original source
