Madrid rises to the podium of luxury

• Isabel Antolín, the woman behind Galería Canalejas: "Being compared to Harrods is an honor"

• Xandra Falcó, daughter of the Marquis of Griñón: "We must change the perception of luxury"

• Isabel Alguacil, landscape designer at the Royal Hideaway Sancti Petri hotel: "You have to decorate the garden as if it were just another room in the house"

Madrid climbs positions in the luxury ranking.

And it does so spurred on by shopping tourism, which in the wake of the wave caused by the opening of the

hotel in Plaza de Canalejas, already known as the new golden mile, and the other five stars that have recently opened -a total of ten since 2019-, has increased in percentages that place the city on the path of the greats in this matter,

and

.

"These openings are having a very positive impact and show the way forward", says

, president of Círculo Fortuny, "we must lay the foundations for a model that attracts high-end tourists and especially the elite".

And although there is still a long way to go, it seems that this tourist has already placed the city in the spotlight: spurred on by travelers from the American continent,

has been the third European city where luxury sales have grown the most.

From January to May of this year, 88%, according to data from a recent report on shopping tourism prepared by Bain & Company for

.

A figure that raises the city to third place on the podium, only ahead of the French capital and Milan, the cradle of Italian fashion.

An unstoppable movement

Luxury tourism is currently an unstoppable movement that, with the support of institutions, is getting "Madrid to come face to face with

or

," says

, the 34-year-old from Madrid who runs the Four Seasons of Madrid.

The hotel, whose cheapest room is around 700 euros, proposes a new way of traveling where everything is possible and "puts Madrid on the map of luxury, because the city has what interests customers: culture, restaurants, fashion, architecture, art..., it has a lot to offer and

helps to position it”, explains Monica.

So do

like the one just held by the legendary jewelery firm Cartier, which for the first time in its history has chosen the capital to present its new jewelery collection, '

, an event that until now only took place in Paris, New York, London and Milan, the great meccas of high-rise shopping.

tall presentations

Why on this occasion have they chosen

?

“We thought it was a very interesting destination for our clients from all over the world.

It is a wonderful place, a wonderful city with many cultural points of interest and an

incredible

In addition, it is having a very positive contemporary evolution in many ways;

the work that is being done everywhere is fantastic, both at an urban level with the renovation of neighborhoods and with the

that are opening... We wanted to be part of it and share it, because we have the feeling that the city is not as well known as it should be”, replies

director of Heritage at

.

An idea on which he also insists

: «The people of Madrid are great in a thousand things, but not in selling ourselves».

Beautés du Monde Collection, by Cartier, at The Embassy (Madrid).

firm, which has always maintained a historic relationship with our country, are so important for the city

: many of its iconic creations have been designed for the Spanish royal family, from

to

who "had in her jewelry box an incredible collection of pieces, tiaras, bracelets..., many different pieces of jewelry," says

.

To what extent does a

, even one of this caliber, have the power to lift the city to the top of luxury?

“Madrid is doing very well on their own.

The city is in a

very positive

it is already an indispensable place for many people”, responds Rainero.

"However, I don't want to overestimate our own power to change things, for some of our clients it will definitely be a

."

Millennials and Zetas

and

have a lot to say about this new shopping tourism in the capital

: 37% of purchases are made by the generation of international travelers between the ages of 20 and 40, according to data from the

report .

By nationalities, the tourists from the

and those from

are the ones who leave the most money.

On average, they disburse 1,070 euros per transaction, especially in

and accessories (62%), far ahead of the next sector,

and watches (19%).

mythical jewels

The presentation in Madrid, for the first time in history, of Cartier's new High Jewelery collection,

represents an accolade from the French firm to the luxury sector in the capital.

The jewel in capital letters of this collection (yes, there is a top among the top) is the

a piece of platinum, diamonds and sapphires worthy of a museum, on a par with those exhibited by the Thyssen-Bornemisza in 2013 in The art of Cartier, when he brought together more than 400 mythical pieces, including jewels by

and

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