Edificio Telefónica

A 1929 early skyscraper on the Gran Vía — one of the first true high-rises in Europe, blending American skyscraper massing with Madrid granite to anchor the great boulevard. It served as a vantage point and target during the Spanish Civil War, when shells scarred its facade, and today its lobby hosts exhibitions. Its silhouette helped define the Gran Vía's brash, cinematic skyline. For visitors, the free exhibition space inside is a draw, and the building itself is a landmark of early 20th-century ambition — the moment Madrid reached for the sky, on its grandest street.