Gran Vía and Sol: Madrid’s Golden Modernity

Few avenues capture the soul of a city quite like Gran Vía. Born in the early 1900s, it was Madrid’s leap into modernity — a bold urban project that blended European sophistication with local vitality.

The journey begins at the Metrópolis Building, on the corner of Calle Alcalá. Completed in 1911 by French architects Jules and Raymond Février and later finished by Luis Esteve Fernández-Caballero, it represents the elegance of Beaux-Arts design. Its black slate dome, adorned with golden accents and crowned by the Winged Victory, remains one of Madrid’s most photographed landmarks.

Further up the boulevard, the Carrión Building, better known as the Capitol, epitomizes Madrid’s 1930s avant-garde. Designed by Luis Martínez-Feduchi and Vicente Eced y Eced (1931–1933), this art déco masterpiece integrates commercial, cultural and residential spaces. Its curved limestone façade and the Schweppes neon sign, added in 1972, turned it into a pop-culture icon and a symbol of Madrid’s optimism.

Just beyond, the Puerta del Sol anchors the capital both geographically and emotionally. It’s the meeting point of tradition and movement, where stories begin — from the kilómetro cero to the New Year’s Eve bells. A few steps away, the Casa Palazuelo (1919), by Antonio Palacios, was one of the city’s first commercial buildings, pioneering the use of natural light through its glass-covered courtyard.

Gran Vía and Sol are the living stage of Madrid’s identity: luminous, urban, and timeless.

At BARNES Madrid, experts in luxury properties in the city center, we know that living around Gran Vía and Sol means being part of the rhythm that defines Madrid — elegant, cultural, and alive.