Gran Via

Madrid’s Gran Vía – the street famous for shopping, hotels, theaters, cinemas, and nightlife – cuts through city from Plaza de España in the west to Calle de Acalá in the east. Planning of the road and demolition of existing structures in its path began in the 1800s, but the project was slow to get started, earning it the slightly sarcastic name “Gran Via”. Construction began around 1910 and was completed in 1930 – the buildings that line the street are great examples of a variety of early 20th century architectural styles.

Several notable buildings mark the street. There’s the Edificio Carrión/Capitol with its neon Schwepps sign, the Edificio Telefónica (Madrid’s first skyscraper), the Edificio Grassy with its wedding cake top and Rolex sign, and the Edificio Metrópolis – perhaps the most recognizable of all with its ornate black and gold dome with an angel perched on top. The street was renamed numerous times in the 20th century, generally reflecting the politics of who was in control of the Spanish capital. The name ‘Gran Via’ didn’t officially return until 1980, after Franco’s death.

While Gran Via has Spanish chain stores like El Corte Inglés, Zara, and Pull & Bear, it’s also got international ones, like H&M, Primark, Nike, and Adidas. As far as coffee shops go, you’re got Starbucks and Tim Hortons. You could be excused forgetting what country you’re in with the fast food options, which include Burger King, McDonalds, KFC, and – to my D.C. area surprise – Five Guys. (Seeing the bags of peanuts lining the windows was a little surreal.)

I started my walk at the Plaza de España, picking up a frappuccino at the Starbucks directly across the street. The sun was already blasting down, so it was nice to sip as I made my way toward my lunchtime destination – El Corte Inglés and its top-floor ‘Gourmet Experience’ food court. If you’re in Madrid for more than a couple days, I’d definitely recommend coming here for lunch. The views of Gran Via – and the rest of the city – are incredible.

Not knowing where the elevators were, I took escalators up nine floors – shades of Japan! Gourmet Experience had at least one Spanish tapas option, but I went with the sassily decorated Pizza al Cuadrado instead. I wasn’t sorry – they had some great toppings combos and the pizza was delicious. I ordered a tinto de verano as well (the first of oh so many) and found a seat near the windows. A family was snapping pictures at the table with the best view as they got ready to leave. As soon as they split, I nabbed the spot for myself.

After lunch, I cut back and forth across Gran Via, visiting different churches and museums. It wasn’t until Sunday that I made it to the far end – the quickest route from La Latina to the Prado deposited me at the Banco de España metro stop, right by Cibeles. As a Real Madrid fan, Cibeles was on my must-see list anyway.

Cibeles is a fountain in front of the grand Palacio de Cibeles, and is the spot where Real Madrid comes to celebrate major wins, typically by draping the goddess statue in flags, scarves, and kisses. (Cross-town rivals Atletico Madrid do the same to the Neptune statue further down the Paseo del Prado.) According to this El País article, the two used to be switched, till geography and team personality brought them to their current spots.

Cibeles wasn’t the only sculptural presence on the circle, however. I also found several of the Meninas Madrid, a public art project like CowParade in which city streets are decorated with a simplified, mass-produced sculpture that has been modified and decorated by local artists.

Inspired by 'Las Meninas' (1656) by Velázquez, statues of the maids of honor decorate the streets of Madrid. Artist Antonio Azzato led this colorful public art project, with over 90 sculptures decorated by different artists and placed around the city center. In almost every neighborhood I visited, I spotted a few.

As you can see above, a few of the Meninas received further decorative “help” from the public. They were slated to be up until July 15th, giving another fun layer to walking around the city and making me glad I visited this summer.