It has taken more than 100 years to complete and was finally consecrated by Pope John Paul II in 1993, even though work was still to carried out after that date. The site was first occupied by a mosque, followed by a church dedicated to Santa Maria, and finally in 1883, work began on building Almudena Cathedral.

However there was some controversy when a new architect became working on the cathedral and introduced Neo Classical designs compared to the Neo Gothic designs it first started out with.

It is 104m long and 76m wide and the first aspect to be finished was the crypt. It has stained glass windows and also a statue of Pope John Paul II, commemorating the consecration. It has a bright modern interior and Prince Felipe and Dona Letizia took place here in 2004. It’s worth a visit just to see the gigantic size of its interior.