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The Gran Via , Madrid's great thoroughfare, runs from Plaza de Cibeles to Plaza de Espana, effectively dividing the old city to the south from the newer parts northwards. Permanently jammed with traffic and crowded with shoppers and sightseers, it's the commercial heart of the city, and - if you spare the time to look up - quite a monument in its own right, with its turn-of-the-twentieth century, palace-like banks and offices, and the huge hand-painted posters of the cinemas. Look out, too, for the towering Telefonica building, which was the chief observation post for the Republican artillery during the Civil War, when the Nationalist front line stretched across the Casa de Campo to the west. North of the Telefonica, c/Fuencarral heads north to the Glorieta de Bilbao. To either side of this street are two of Madrid's most characterful barrios : Chueca , to the east, and Malasana , to the west. Their chief appeal lies in an amazing concentration of bars, restaurants and, especially, nightlife. However, there are a few reasons - bars included - to wander around here by day.
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