Calle de Alcalá is the longest street in Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

. It starts at the Puerta del Sol

Puerta del Sol

The Puerta del Sol is one of the best known and busiest places in Madrid. This is the centre of the radial network of Spanish roads. The square also contains the famous clock whose bells mark the traditional eating of the Twelve Grapes and the beginning of a new year...

 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

Alcalá de Henares

Alcalá de Henares , meaning Citadel on the river Henares, is a Spanish city, whose historical centre is one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, and one of the first bishoprics founded in Spain...

 (from which it takes the name) and continued to Aragón

Aragon

Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...

; today, this route is covered by the A-2 motorway. Along this street it is possible to find landmarks such as Edificio Metrópolis, Plaza de Cibeles

Plaza de Cibeles

The Plaza de Cibeles is a square with a neo-classical complex of marble sculptures with fountains that has become an iconic symbol for the city of Madrid.-Cibeles Fountain:...

, Puerta de Alcalá

Puerta de Alcalá

The Puerta de Alcalá is a Neo-classical monument in the Plaza de la Independencia in Madrid, Spain. It stands near the city center and several meters away from the main entrance to the Parque del Buen Retiro...

, the Spanish Ministry of Education, the Instituto Cervantes

Instituto Cervantes

The Cervantes Institute is a worldwide non-profit organization created by the Spanish government in 1991. It is named after Miguel de Cervantes , the author of Don Quixote and perhaps the most important figure in the history of Spanish literature...

 HQ building, the Bank of Spain building, Parque del Buen Retiro and Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas

Las Ventas

The Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas is a famous bullring in Madrid .Situated in the Guindalera quarter of the district of Salamanca, it was inaugurated on June 17, 1931. It has a seating capacity of 25,000 and is regarded as the home of bullfighting in Spain.This bullring was designed by the architect...

.