GRAN VÍA
A walk down Gran Vía will take your breath away with all that it offers by way of commercial activity set against one of the city's most impressive backdrops. At sunset and by night, the avenue and buildings light up in a spectacular way, while the neon lights decorating shop windows and announcing musicals make the area even more attractive. In 2010, Gran Vía turns a century old. A great number of leisure and cultural activities are organised to celebrate. The programme's purpose is to provide insight into the history of this brilliant and highly ambitious architectural project launched in the early 20th century and which modernised Madrid's appearance.
Madrid's new tourism promotion campaign centres on a new version of Agustín Lara's famous chotis song titled Madrid, revamped by Ariel Rot and The Cabriolets. Gran Vía's image changes in the campaign, evolving from how it is depicted in the black and white photographs that Català Roca took in the 1950s, to the fluorescent shades that characterise it today. Discover the dynamism of a city whose vibrancy only grows with the passing of time!
Get a copy of your guide and find out more on Gran Vía's most attractive facets. The best advice you can get is to discover the avenue on foot, at your own pace, evoking the glamour and splendour that characterise its buildings. Enjoy the cultural opportunities on offer, as well as the leisure and diversity that you can find on one of Madrid's most important thoroughfares.
Gran Vía turns 100 this year and Madrid is ready to celebrate in style, with a variety of activities organised by public and private institutions taking place throughout the year to commemorate the avenue's significance, at once transforming the city and making it all the more cosmopolitan.
Take a walk down Gran Vía to uncover its history and the transformations it has undergone over the years. This is your best bet to get to know the variety of architectural styles that characterise the avenue, as well as its centenary shops, cultural and leisure institutions, and the celebrities that frequented it and made it so famous.
Architecture lovers will find pleasure in walking down this avenue. Follow our route and view the ten buildings that act as an inventory of the various styles that marked the first half of the 20th century: historicism, modernism, art-déco and rationalism.
related links
The Madrid Gran Vía Snapshot
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