Madrid · Spain
Gran Vía
A practical guide to Madrid's Gran Vía and the hop into Malasaña: which buildings to look at, where to take the Metrópolis photo, when to go, which scams to avoid and how to reach Plaza del Dos de Mayo.
Worth it as a 30- to 45-minute architecture walk with your eyes up. The shops are the same chains as in any capital.
Gran Vía is the boulevard Madrid cut through the middle of its old center between 1910 and 1929: 1,316 meters from Calle de Alcalá to Plaza de España, with 312 buildings demolished and 14 streets wiped off the map. It’s called Madrid’s Broadway for its theaters and cinemas, but the real reason to go is the architecture: in a single walk you can read how taste changed between 1907 and 1933. To the north begins Malasaña, the neighborhood of the Movida.
Our experience
We walked it on the afternoon of Friday, May 22, after leaving Botín. That day’s change of plan, suckling pig instead of the calamari sandwich, took the place of our planned nap, so we went straight there: by around 15:10 we were in front of the Metrópolis and the Telefónica Building. Then we went up Fuencarral to Plaza del Dos de Mayo and on to Bodega de la Ardosa for a vermouth before walking to the Temple of Debod. We planned it as reconnaissance, not a shopping afternoon. See all of day 13.
A bit of history
Madrid’s planners were looking at Haussmann’s Paris and wanted a direct route between Calle de Alcalá and the new western districts. The plan by José López Salaberry and Francisco Octavio Palacios was approved in 1899, and Alfonso XIII laid the first stone on April 4, 1910. It was built in three sections, and each carries the fashion of its decade: Beaux-Arts and Vienna Secession in the east, Plateresque revival in the middle, Art Deco and skyscrapers in the west.
Malasaña has a different story. It’s named for Manuela Malasaña, a 15-year-old girl shot by French troops on May 2, 1808, during the uprising Goya painted in the canvases that hang in the Prado. In the 1980s the neighborhood was the center of the Movida Madrileña, with bands in its basements and Almodóvar’s first films shot in its streets.
What to see, in order
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The Metrópolis Building
On the corner of Calle de Alcalá. French architects Jules and Raymond Février designed it, and it opened in 1911. The slate dome carries some 30,000 leaves of 24-karat gold, topped by the 1977 Winged Victory. The best photo is from Calle de Alcalá, looking west.
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The Telefónica Building
At number 28. At 89 meters and 14 stories it was Spain's first skyscraper and, when finished in 1929, the tallest building in Europe. The first telephone call from Spain to the United States was made from here in 1928.
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Plaza del Callao
On top of the Edificio Carrión, built 1931 to 1933, the Schweppes neon sign has glowed since 1972 and is protected as a historic sign. Below it, the Cine Capitol is still running.
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Calle Fuencarral
The pedestrian street that climbs into Malasaña. The chains gradually give way to vintage clothing shops and cafés.
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Plaza del Dos de Mayo
The heart of Malasaña, with the arch dedicated to Daoíz and Velarde where the Monteleón barracks stood. By day it belongs to families; by evening the benches fill up.
Tips we wish we’d known
Tips
- If someone with a lanyard offers to take your photo in front of the Metrópolis or the Schweppes sign, say no: they either charge you or run off with the phone.
- Don't buy musical tickets from resellers at theater doors: some are fake or were paid for with stolen cards and get canceled before the show.
- Real police never ask to check your wallet. If a "plainclothes officer" does, ask for ID and offer to walk to the police station.
- On some weekends stretches become pedestrian-only and the walk is easier.
Do
- Walk looking up: the architecture of 1907 to 1933 is on the upper floors, not in the shop windows.
- On Calle de San Andrés, look for the plaque to Manuela Malasaña, the young woman who gave the neighborhood its name.
- Finish with a vermouth at Bodega de la Ardosa, two minutes from Plaza del Dos de Mayo.
Don’t
- Don't eat at terraces with an English-only tourist menu and no wine prices.
- Don't buy sunglasses, watches or perfume on the sidewalk: they're counterfeit, and buying them is illegal.
- Don't jaywalk: on Gran Vía, cars don't yield.
Frequently asked questions
How long is Gran Vía?
1,316 meters, from Calle de Alcalá to Plaza de España. It was built between 1910 and 1929, and 312 buildings were torn down to open it.
What is the best time to see Gran Vía?
The last hour of daylight, for the gold on the Metrópolis dome, or at night, for the neon and the cinema marquees.
Where do you take the photo of the Metrópolis Building?
From Calle de Alcalá, looking west, with Gran Vía in the background.
What is there to see in Malasaña?
Plaza del Dos de Mayo, Calle del Espíritu Santo with its vintage shops, Plaza de San Ildefonso and old taverns like Bodega de la Ardosa or Casa Camacho.