Calle de Alcalá

Calle de Alcalá, seen from Plaza de Cibeles

Calle de Alcalá is the longest street in Madrid. It starts at the Puerta del Sol and goes on for 10.5 km, to the northeastern outskirts of the city.

Calle de Alcalá is also one of the oldest streets in the city. It was the old road which led to the city of Alcalá de Henares (from which it takes the name) and continued to Aragón; today, this route is covered by the A-2 motorway. Along this street it is possible to find landmarks such as Banco Bilbao Vizcaya (at number 16), the former Alcalá 20 discotheque (at number 20), Edificio Metrópolis, Círculo de Bellas Artes, Plaza de Cibeles, Puerta de Alcalá, the Spanish Ministry of Education, the Instituto Cervantes HQ building, the Bank of Spain building, Parque del Buen Retiro and Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas.

In popular culture

Por la calle de Alcalá was a popular cuplé describing a florist selling violets on the street.