A group of about 50 people waited on the pavement on the Calle del Padre Damian on Monday morning, seeking the shade offered by the trees.
At 9.30am, the entrance to Gate 55 at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu swung open and the group, who had paid to be on the first tour of the day, hurried into the sacred confines beyond.
The staircase that led down from the spectator concourse was lined with sepia photos from the 1950s and sharper images from modern times. The first showed a team of 10 men in kits of brilliant white and a goalkeeper with a dark shirt.