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Number 12 of 20 in Madrid

Gran Vía and Puerta del Sol: Madrid's two centres

The Puerta del Sol is where Madrid meets, and the Gran Vía is where it shows off. Between them, in a mile and a half of walking, you see the city's old heart and the one it built for itself a century ago.

What it is
Walk
Time to allow
1 to 2 hours
Cost
Free
Best time
Early evening, when the lights come on

Madrid this week

    Why the Gran Vía is worth it

    The Puerta del Sol was a gate in the town wall of the fifteenth century, named after a sun that decorated it. When the wall went, it became the square everyone passed through, the place for news and gossip, and in the 1760s the post office was built on its south side. That building's clock tower is the one all of Spain watches at midnight on New Year's Eve.

    The Gran Vía was cut through the old streets north of Sol between 1910 and 1929, an axe blow on the map, as people said at the time. It was lined with banks, hotels, cinemas and Madrid's first skyscraper, the Telefónica building, in every style from Viennese to Art Deco.

    It is still the street of theatres and musicals, and in the evening, when the signs light up, it is at its best.

    What to see

    1. The Metrópolis building

      The wedge of white stone and black slate dome at the start of the Gran Vía, finished in 1911, with a winged Victory on top. It is the picture of Madrid on a thousand postcards.

    2. The Telefónica building

      The telephone company's tower of 1929, at the junction with the Calle de Fuencarral, was the tallest building in Spain until the 1950s.

    3. The Plaza de Callao and the Capitol

      The middle of the Gran Vía, with the curved front of the Carrión building and its cinema, and the giant screens of the Callao square.

    4. Kilometre Zero

      A stone plaque in the pavement in front of the Real Casa de Correos marks the point from which Spain's main roads are measured.

    5. The Bear and the Strawberry Tree

      The bronze of the bear reaching into a strawberry tree, the emblem of Madrid's coat of arms, on the east side of the Puerta del Sol.

    How to do it well

    • Start at the Metrópolis building and walk west to the Plaza de España. It takes about half an hour without stopping.
    • For the view down the Gran Vía, go up to one of the roof terraces at its eastern end.
    • On New Year's Eve the Puerta del Sol is packed for the twelve chimes of the clock, a grape eaten at each.
    • Keep a hand on your bag in the crowds of Sol and Callao.

    Where it is

    Address

    From the Calle de Alcalá to the Plaza de España, and the Puerta del Sol

    Nearest station

    Sol (lines 1, 2 and 3), Gran Vía (lines 1 and 5) or Callao (lines 3 and 5)

    Museums and sights nearby

    Distances are in a straight line.

    Tickets and tours: Gran Vía and Puerta del Sol

    Gran Vía and Puerta del Sol: common questions

    What is Kilometre Zero in Madrid?
    A plaque in the Puerta del Sol, in front of the old post office, that marks the point from which the distances on Spain's national roads are measured.
    How long is the Gran Vía?
    About 1.3 kilometres, from the Calle de Alcalá to the Plaza de España. Walking it from end to end takes half an hour.
    Why do people eat grapes in the Puerta del Sol?
    On New Year's Eve, Spaniards eat a grape at each of the twelve strokes of midnight for luck in the year ahead. The clock on the Real Casa de Correos in the Puerta del Sol is the one the whole country follows on television.
    How much time do you need for the Gran Vía?
    Allow 1 to 2 hours. That is this site's estimate for an unhurried visit.

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