CALLE DE ALCALÁ

Description

Essentials about Calle de Alcalá in brief

With a length of over ten kilometers, Calle de Alcalá is one of the longest streets in Madrid. But only the length would not be enough to qualify it as a landmark. However, the most important east-west communication axis of the Spanish capital is not only particularly long, but also particularly beautiful. On either side of Calle de Alcalá are some of Madrid’s most beautiful buildings.

The location of Calle de Alcalá

Calle de Alcalá begins at the Puerta del Sol in the city center and stretches from there as a more or less straight line to the eastern edge of Madrid, where it merges with the A2 highway. Incidentally, the street takes its name from the city of Alcalá de Henares in the east of Madrid, where it once led.

The history of Calle de Alcalá

Looking at the fashionable appearance of Calle de Alcalá today, it is hard to imagine that the street was once an unpaved and dangerous road, where not infrequently highwaymen waylaid their victims on the way to or from Madrid. However, at the time of King Philip II at the end of the 16th century, the first nobles began to build their palaces here. Thus, in the course of the 17th century, Calle de Alcalá developed into one of the most luxurious streets in the Spanish capital and has remained so to this day.

The buildings on Calle de Alcalá

Today, along Calle de Alcalá are some of Madrid’s most imposing buildings and landmarks, such as the Banco Bilbao Vizcaya building (house number 16), the La Unión y el Fénix Español building (house number 23), the picture-perfect Edificio Metropolis on the corner of Gran Vía (house number 42), the Círculo de Bellas Artes art house, the beautiful Plaza de Cibeles with the imposing Cybele Palace, the monumental Puerta de Alcalá gate, the headquarters of the Spanish central bank Banco de España (house number 48), the mighty main building of the Spanish cultural institute Instituto Cervantes (house number 49), the beautiful Retiro Park and the bullring Las Ventas (house number 237).