The Paseo de la Castellana is a well known and busy 6 kilometres long stretch in the city of Madrid. Along your route down this beautiful promenade, you will discover some of the country’s most important ministries, as well as the main business centres of the capital.
Start your tour in the Plaza de Castillo, walking around some of the city’s most impressive and iconic buildings. You’ll learn a great deal about Madrid’s history and culture as you admire its buildings and points of interest. What’s more, this avenue is considered one of the city’s main arteries and is not one to be missed!
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History of the Paseo de la Castellana
The Paseo de la Castellana is currently the main thoroughfare that unites the entire city of Madrid, as well as being its financial district. Originally, this promenade began as a set of streets full of gardens, serving as a recreational area for the population.
During the 19th and 20th centuries the status of this area changed, being a place where mainly upper class and bourgeois families settled. This promenade begins in the Plaza de Colón, reaching the north of the city. The person in charge of designing and supervising this project was the renowned architect Carlos María de Castro.
Initially, the project aimed to create a series of regular blocks where spacious streets, three-storey buildings and a series of gardens would come together. Over time, some of the most significant structures of the promenade began to be built. These include the Kio Towers, known together as the Puerta de Europa, as well as the famous Pelado Sotelo monument.
You will be fascinated when visiting the Paseo de la Castellana. Admire its impressive financial environment, its imposing buildings and the length of the avenue itself. It is certainly one of the places you can’t miss on your trip to Madrid!
Travel Tip: To organize your trip we recommend using Passporter totally free. You can be inspired by the experiences of other travelers, choose the places that interest you most, create the travel route with a geolocated map, upload all important documents such as reservations and invite your friends so that everyone can participate in the organization of the trip.
What to see on the Paseo de la Castellana?
As you walk along the Paseo de la Castellana, you will discover some of its most significant buildings. It is well worth taking a leisurely stroll to see them all. We’ll start at Plaza de Castilla. Here you will find some of the most important landmarks: the monument to Calvo Sotelo and the famous Kio Towers, largely known for having appeared in the film by Alex de la Iglesia. They are considered the first skyscrapers ever built in Madrid.
Next, on the right-hand side, you will see the National Institute of Statistics. It is one of the most eye-catching buildings as it is surrounded by a series of colourful panels. Continuing along the route, you will eventually reach the Plaza de Cuzco. Just a short distance away, you will find the iconic Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, the home ground of Real Madrid.
Just in front of it you will see the Palacio de Congresos, a building with spectacular ornamentation and a beautiful mural of coloured tiles made by the famous artist Joan Miró. At the entrance of this palace you will see a statue made in homage to Mahatma Ghandi.
What follows is even more interesting: the Azca Complex. It is a group of buildings that are some of the most interesting on the whole promenade. Among them are the Torre Europa, the Torre Picasso and the Castellana 81 (formerly known as the BBVA building).
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You will then arrive at what is known as the New Ministries, made up mainly of government buildings. Enjoy a stroll through its pleasant park, as well as visiting the different monuments located in the same area.
Finally, you’ll reach the Plaza de Emilio Castelar. Once you cross it, you’ll end the route in the famous Plaza de Colón. Here you’ll find some of the most important places along the promenade, such as the sculptures of Pablo Serrano and Joan Miró, as well as the Madrid Open Air Sculpture Museum. You’ll definitely feel that the route has been well worth the effort.
What to see near Paseo de la Castellana?
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is one of Madrid’s most symbolic places, in the heart of Paseo de la Castellana. It’s the headquarters of the Real Madrid Football Club and the meeting point of the team and its loyal fans. It currently has the capacity to hold more than 80,000 spectators. It is a place that has seen numerous victories and iconic football events.
Cuatro Torres Business Area
The Cuatro Torres Business Area is a business complex which you can access from the Paseo de la Castellana. This complex includes the four tallest buildings in Madrid, the Torre PwC, the Torre Cepsa, the Torre de Cristal and the Torre Espacio. So don’t forget to take your camera to take a photo of them!
Torre Europa
The Europa Tower is located along the Paseo de la Castellana, more specifically in the Azca Complex. It is considered one of the best known and most important skyscrapers in Madrid, as well as the seventh tallest building in the city. Just a short distance away you will be able to access the wonderful Moda Shopping shopping centre, as well as the famous Picasso Tower.
Where to eat in Paseo de la Castellana?
At over 5 kilometres long, the Paseo de la Castellana has numerous places where you can enjoy lunch or dinner at a very good price. Here are our recommendations:
- First of all, we suggest visiting La Vaca, a chain restaurant that serves top quality dishes, made with natural and fresh ingredients. It specialises mainly in meat and asado argentini – delicious!
- Secondly, you can visit Lateral, a restaurant dedicated to Mediterranean cuisine. You can try a wide variety of dishes made with love, and at a very affordable price.
- Finally, we recommend the Volvoreta Restaurant. Here you can enjoy a lunch or dinner of traditional haute cuisine, with an incredible assortment of recipes made with local and national producers. You’ll love it!
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How to plan your trip to Paseo de la Castellana?
Download the Passporter app:
- Get inspiration from the experiences of other travellers.
- Save important information about the destinations you want to visit that you have found on the internet. Just install the Chrome extension and save everything useful for your trip.
- Save your tickets and reservations.
- Organise your route on Google maps with your accommodation as the starting point or any other that you indicate.
- Find out the best travel option for each place.
- Save and publish your own photos and experiences as you go along, so that when someone asks you “How was your trip down the Paseo de la Castellana?” you can reply “Visit my traveller profile on Passporter!”
If you want to learn more about how to get the most out of the Passporter app, you can read our post: How to create your travel itinerary with Passporter.
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