Lavapies is Madrids district with the highest percentage of foreigners. The population of Lavapies has more than 40% foreigners, and possesses a high attraction for the alternative society.
Most of the immigrants come from Latin America, but also the amount of people from North and sub-Saharan Africa is still increasing. The area around “Calle del Meson de Paredes” is the home of Chinese wholesalers. Simple tourists are not able to buy there. Those Chinese only sell to resellers.
Calle de Argumosa is the street of bars, pubs, and restaurants. This area is not that international as the rest of Lavapies. Those bars, pubs and restaurants have still kept their Spanish character.
The Western part of Lavapies is known as the poor side of the district. Maybe the flea market on Sundays around the Calle Embajadores and Plaza Cascorro could be an interesting experience in this area. “Rastro” is the name of Madrids flea market in Lavapies.
The complete opposite can be found in the east of Lavapies. This is the rich part of the district. The visitor is able to find the museum of modern art with Picassos famous masterpiece “Guernica”, as well as the impressive railway station called “Atocha” with its tropical entrance hall.