Gran Via
The Gran Via is a great dividing line that separates the districts of the city: to the north of the avenue is Malasaña – going west – and Chueca – to the east and the south zone of Sol and Opera. The Gran Via starts where it intersects with calle Alcalá, very close to Sol. At the other end, the via finishes at Plaza de España and here begins the districts of Moncloa and Arguelles.
Gran Via is the nerve centre of urban life in Madrid: always crowded with people in a hurry going shopping, to the cinema, musicals, work……With its splendid buildings, the Avenue has a certain New York feel to it.
A few meters away from the metro Callao, about three blocks from the zero kilometre mark of the city and in Puerta del Sol. In the absolute centre of the capital, the most historic along with the most modern, the most visited by tourists and at the same time the most frequented by the people of Madrid.
Walking a few minutes from this apartment you arrive at the most visited sites of the city. Emblematic sites such as the Plaza Mayor, Palacio Real, and Gran via plus Madrid’s own Broadway is only a block away. Prominent and globally known museums like the Reina Sofia, Prado, and the Thyssen Bornemizsa. Also the large parks such as the Retiro and Jardines de Oriente.
Everything is at your fingertips without having to take the metro. Many people also say this zone is where to find the restaurants, bars and shops most typical of Madrid. A place to find the real essence of Madrid.
There is little to present of this particular point as here begins ´´Kilometre 0`` of Madrid, where they begin to count the kilometre distance for all the national highways. The absolute centre of the capital.
From the apartment you can see the Puerta del Sol with its representative clock and all the bustle of this big city. The area is full of typical bars, restaurants and shops for tourists to feel the essence of Madrid.
Next to the Plaza Mayor is an area very typical of Madrid and only three minutes to the Palacio Real and the Jardines de Oriente, made accessible to pedestrians only a few years ago where you can walk through its green zones and have a drink in any of the numerous terraces that are in Opera and the surrounding area.
With a metro stop 100m away and numerous buses that can take you to anywhere in the city in a short amount of time.
In the first section of the via, there are monumental buildings: the most prominent is the Metrópolis building, directly in front you find the Circulo de las Bellas Artes, one of the most active cultural centres and at the same time with more character of the city. The beautiful building has a roof terrace where they sometimes hold concerts during the summer.
The Telefonica building is another emblematic construction of the Gran Via. When inaugurated in 1929 it became the first skyscraper of Madrid. With its 81 floors it could be seen from anywhere in the city. In the part closest to the Plaza de Callao, there is also the emblematic Capital building, with a modern American style that is crowned by a semicircular Schweppes sign that has become an icon of the city.
In the Plaza de Callao there are a number of cinemas and theatres that still remain, but little by little house the best-known international fashion stores and boutiques, but in all cases are buildings from the 20`s, a characteristic alike to that of the Palacio de la Prensa.
The Gran Via is known as the Spanish Broadway, not only for its similar, original American architectural style, but also due to its rise in the last few years as a musical capital of the World. It’s ranked as third in the World with its number if staring works per year and all of these are shown in this enormous and fantastic Avenue full of multicolour lights, huge painted sign boards and buskers.
From Callao, there are two well known streets only accessible by pedestrians that arrive directly to Puerta del Sol: the calle Preciados where you can find the shopping centres FNAC and Corte Inglés, and the calle del Carmen. At the end of calle Carmen is the famous statue of the ´´Oso and the Madroño`` a very popular site of Madrid and in Puerta del Sol.
The people of Madrid love their shows in masses, whether they are stories of Victor Hugo, Lloyd Weber, Walt Disney or their own stories with versions of 80´s pop with actors and singers….