Centro Cultural de los Ejercitos

This cultural centre, also known as ‘The Military Casino’, was inaugurated in 1916 by King Alfonso XIII and has been used for entertainment and recreational purposes since then. It is a private non-profit association that promotes knowledge and cultural development (mainly focused on military history and culture and national defence), with different activities and spaces, such as gaming rooms and a fencing area, which also hosts conferences, congresses, concerts, and exhibitions. There is also a restaurant open to the public where meals are served daily. To book a table, call (+34) 91 425 09 92.

The Centro Cultural de los Ejércitos is one of the most original buildings on Madrid's Gran Vía. The ground floor is particularly eye-catching, sumptuously decorated with a large skylight, stained glass windows and art nouveau lamps. It also has an important library specialising in military subjects with publications dating from the 16th and 17th centuries.

The Centre was created in 1871, an initiative of a group of Army and Navy officers who, motivated mainly by intellectual impulses, named it the “Military Athenaeum”.

After three years, in which most of its members were absent, posted to the various national and colonial campaigns that took place in that troubled period of Spanish history, it resurfaced in 1881 under the name of “Centre for the Army and the Navy”.

Later, when the Air Force was created, its name was updated again, and it is now known as the “Cultural Centre for the Armed Forces”.