travel.mapsofworld.com provides information on Gran Via, Madrid

As a major cosmopolitan city, Madrid has many things to offer. The famous bullfights, flamenco dances and beautiful gardens could be enchanting for the tourists. One of the most important streets of Madrid is the Gran Via. It is nearer to Plaza de Cibeles and connects the Calle de Alcala and Plaza de Espana. Gran Via is a lively street, which is filled with entertainment centers like hotels and movie theaters. It has become a tourist attraction because of the architecture of the buildings in this street.The plan to create this street was made in the middle of 19th century, because of the decision of the urban planners to have a thoroughfare, which can connect the Calle de Alcala with Plaza de Espana.

But to activate the plan many buildings in that area were required to be demolished. Due to this problem the idea could not take off until 1904 when the plan got the approved in this year. The project of the Gran Via was started around 1906 and was completed in the year 1929.

This project gave the architects an opportunity to create modern buildings. The most appealing and eye catching building is the "Edificio Metropolis" (Metropolis building). It is a famous one and situated in the beginning of the Calle de Alcala. This is a landmark of the city and was constructed during the years 1907 and 1911. Jules and Raymond Fevrier, were the architects who designed this building. This building has got the statue of a winged Goddess Victoria, which was installed in the year 1975.

Another landmark of Madrid is the Edificio Grassy, which has a tower and was constructed in 1917. The tower of "Telefonica building", that was built during the period of 1926 to 1929 can be seen from the "Edificio Grassy" building. This tower building is used by the Spanish telecommunications.When walking through the Gran Via towards the Plaza de Espana, one can find a small square, which is called as the Plaza del Callo. This square can be called as cinematic Madrid because it contains six cinema theaters, one out of that being the Capitol.The last part constructed in Gran Via was a square, which leads to the Plaza de Espana and was built in the years between 1925 and 1929. Two skyscrapers were built in the year 1950, which were Edificio de Espana and the Torre de Madrid.

The street of Gran Via is a showcase of marvelous architecture from the early 20th century and a place one must definitely visit in Madrid.