Night Gran Via, Western part

On the last night of the trip, I went for a walk along the main street of Madrid, because my pension Lemus was literally fifty paces away, on the street of Ortales.

Callao square with the Callao City Lights cinema and the constructivist "Iron", on which, for perhaps fifty years, advertising Schweppes flaunts. In any case, in the Great Soviet encyclopedia issue of the 70s on the illustration to the article about Madrid, this inscription was present.

At the back of the square is the main Department store of Spain, which occupies several blocks, and next to it is the original building of the FNAC media market.

The upper part of the Gran via, from Callao to Plaza de Espana, is crowded well into the night.

There are many theaters and cinemas here, where the last session is closer to midnight.

Teatro Rialto is one of the most famous. The famous "Cabaret" has been going on here for almost a year. Being here last fall, I did not have time to visit this wonderful musical, and this time I did not plan to, since the theater's schedule listed the production until mid-March. When I discovered that Cabaret was still running in the Rialto (it had been extended until June 12), I was quite annoyed that I had missed the opportunity to see the legendary musical performance it started just 20 minutes ago, but the cash register was already closed.

Teatro de La Luz Philips, where classical Opera and ballet are staged.

The Lope de VEGA theater, where the most popular Spanish musical "the lion King" (El Rey Leon) has been running since 2011.

In the next quarter, in the street of Isabel the Catholic, can be found in more mundane entertainment.

As I walked from Callao square, a dozen Arab - and Afro-Hispanic men came up to me, shoving booklets of illegal places into their hands.

For advertisers, the working day is just beginning, and you can only change your billboards at night when the sidewalks are empty.

Meanwhile, the rain began to fall again, and I went home to where the clock face of the telefonika office, Europe's first skyscraper, glowed under a black sky.