Gran Vía and Callao
Gran Via, beginning in Alcalá St and ending in Plaza de España, is one of the main streets in the capital, dividing it into districts and serving as a communication link between east and west. Towards the north west you'll find the Arguelles area, whilst to the east you find Salamanca. To the south are the areas of La Latina and Sol: from Plaza Callao, the pedestrianised streets of Preciado and Carmen lead directly to Puerta del Sol. At the end of Carmen St you'll see the famous and popular 'Bear and fruit tree' (El Oso y el Madroño).
Gran Via was planned and developed at the begining of the 1900s to be a functional urban area as a meeting point for its citizens with commerce and leisure areas. From the first few decades of te 1900s there have been large luxurious shopping centres including El Corte Inglés, as well as cinemas and cafés. Nowadays this area, from Plaza de España to Plaza Callao, is known as Madrid Broadway for its large number of theatres and cinemas, whilst between Red de San Luis and Plaza Callao you'll find many international high street fashion chain stores.
The buildings along the Gran Via are of similar height and width due to being part of the same urban development project. In spite of this you'll see buildings of different styles as they were built throughout the decades of the 20th century.
The first part of Gran Via, from Calle Alcalá and Red de San Luis, built from 1911, presents many different styles: some buildings of neobarroque style and others of French style. The symbol of Gran Via, located between Calle Alcalá and Gran Via, is the Metrópolis building, designed by Jules and Raymond Février from the Insurance company 'La Union y la Fénix'. This part of Gran Via has always been dedicated to luxurious stores, imitating other chic European boulevards like Regent St of London, Rue de la Paix of Paris and Galleria Vittorio Emanuele of Milan.
The second part of Gran Via is, until Plaza Callao, correseponds to an old boulevard design with many French style buildings and some Amercan architecture too, including the Telefonica building, Palacio de la Prensa (Palace of Press) and the Palacio de la Musica (Music Palace).
The third part of Gran Via is known as Madrid' Broadway which goes until Plaza de España. Here you'll see more modern buildings including: Lope de Vega building, Carrión building, also known as Capitol.
Gran Via ends at Plaza de España. At the centre of this square you'll see the momument dedicated to Miguel de Cervantes, as well as Casa Gallardo, the Compañía Asturiana de Minas building, and two of the most representative skyscrapers in Madrid: Torre de Madrid (142 metres) and Spanish building (117 metres).
This square is located right next to Bailen St, which connects directly to the Royal Palace. Nearby there are many green area. Campo del Moro, Gardens of Sabatini and West Park, where the Debod Temple is located (of Egyptian origin donated by El Cairo de the Spanish government in 1960).
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