After interviewing the architect for this year’s Summit, architecture critic Paul Goldberger posed the question: What would Santiago Calatrava’s ideal day in Madrid look like? Here’s what he said.

If I was able to afford it, I would go to the Ritz and sit on the terrace on a Thursday and eat Cocido Madrileño, which is an extraordinary thing. The Ritz is so beautiful because you can take a room and be very close to the Prado; you get the feeling of sleeping in El Prado, sleeping close to these extraordinary pieces of art. And then in front of you, you have the Thyssen collection, which is also extraordinary, then the Reina Sofia, Paseo del Prado, et cetera. There is so much to see in Madrid, but to me, you can’t get better than the Prado.

My father passed away when I was very young, and one of the few memories I have with him is visiting el Museo del Prado. And then we went together to Toledo to visit El Entierro del Conde de Orgaz, which is the extraordinary painting by El Greco in La Sacristia at the Church of Santo Tome.

There’s a book called Dos o Tres Horas en el Museo del Prado by a professor of art history at the University of Gianni Dorst, who was a Catalan. He goes with a friend to visit the Museo del Prado, and he asks: What painting would you take if you could steal one painting? And he says, El Trancito de la Virgen de Manteña— because it's not very big and you can take it under your arm. But it's full of treasure, it's full of extraordinary paintings and it's so revitalizing and so beautiful.

Madrid is really a city of deep culture, and there are also so many places to go and spend an evening, to have dinner or lunch. Another thing I love about Madrid is all the people I met through my travels here and there. Even those who have only lived in Madrid for one or two months speak so highly of the city. To me, that shows it must be a very welcoming city.