The Gran Vía is 20th-century Madrid: a great avenue of about 1.3 kilometres running from calle de Alcalá, near Cibeles, to Plaza de España, cut through the medieval streets between 1910 and 1929 to give the capital a modern artery like those of Paris and New York. In the 1920s and 1930s banks, hotels, department stores, cinemas and Europe's first skyscraper rose along it. Today, partly pedestrianised with very wide pavements, it is the street of shopping, musicals and neon signs. It is part of the Madrid guide.
Along the Gran Vía
- The Metrópolis building (1911), at the junction with calle de Alcalá, with its black and gold dome topped by a winged Victory: Madrid's most famous image.
- The Grassy building, with its ground-floor watchmaker, the Metrópolis's stylistic twin.
- The Military Casino and the other eclectic buildings of the first, most elegant stretch.
- The Telefónica building (1929), 89 metres tall, Europe's first skyscraper, inspired by American architecture; during the civil war it was an observation post and a target for Franco's artillery. It houses the Espacio Fundación Telefónica, with free exhibitions.
- Plaza de Callao, with the Callao cinema and its screens, the El Corte Inglés department store and its ninth-floor rooftop.
- The Carrión building, with the Schweppes neon sign, and the Palacio de la Música.
- Plaza de España, renovated in 2021, with the monument to Cervantes, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza and the two 1950s skyscrapers, the Edificio España and the Torre de Madrid.
Madrid's Broadway
The Gran Vía is the heart of Madrid's theatre scene: big international and Spanish musicals run for years at the Lope de Vega, Coliseum, Rialto and EDP Gran Vía theatres. Tickets are sold online, often discounted on weekdays. At weekends the avenue is crowded until late at night, and the side streets towards Chueca and Malasaña are full of bars (see Malasaña and Chueca).
Cibeles and the Puerta de Alcalá
At the eastern end of the Gran Vía, calle de Alcalá descends to the Plaza de Cibeles, the great junction dominated by the Cibeles fountain, the earth goddess on a lion-drawn chariot, an 18th-century work designed by Ventura Rodríguez: Real Madrid fans celebrate here. Four palaces face the square: the Palacio de Cibeles, the former Post Office, a white early 20th-century cathedral that is now the city hall and houses CentroCentro, with free exhibitions and a rooftop terrace; the Bank of Spain; the Buenavista palace, army headquarters; and the Casa de América in the Linares palace.
A little further, towards the Retiro, stands the Puerta de Alcalá, the neoclassical triumphal arch built by Francesco Sabatini for Charles III in 1778, one of the city's symbols. On calle de Alcalá, the Círculo de Bellas Artes has Madrid's most famous rooftop, with its statue of Minerva and views of the Metrópolis.
Temple of Debod
Beyond Plaza de España, in the Parque del Oeste, stands the Temple of Debod, a genuine Egyptian temple from the 2nd century BC given by Egypt to Spain in 1968 for helping save the monuments of Nubia from the waters of the Aswan dam. Dismantled and rebuilt stone by stone, it is reflected in a pool and is the favourite spot for sunset over the Casa de Campo and the sierra. The interior can be visited free, with limited entry.
The Paseo de la Castellana
From Cibeles northwards runs the Paseo de Recoletos and then the Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid's modern backbone: 19th-century palaces, the National Library with the Archaeological Museum, the Plaza de Colón, then ministries, the Bernabéu and, at the end, the Cuatro Torres, the four skyscrapers over 230 metres on Madrid's skyline.
Tips
- The Gran Vía is beautiful in the evening, with the signs lit up; the best light for photographing the Metrópolis is at sunset from calle de Alcalá or the Círculo rooftop.
- Rooftop terraces charge a small fee; the El Corte Inglés one at Callao is free.
- Watch out for pickpockets at rush hour.
See also what to see in Madrid and shopping in Madrid.