The dome and the statue
A dark dome covered in gilded ornament, topped since 1977 by a winged Victory after the first owner took the phoenix statue with them to their new headquarters.
Diego Delso — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Nemo — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Armando545 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · --v from USA — CC BY 2.0
Metropolis Building stands on the corner where Calle de Alcalá runs into the start of Gran Vía, a dark dome under gilded ornament. It went up between 1907 and 1911 to a design by the French architects Jules and Raymond Février, for an insurance company. Since 1977 a winged Victory has stood on the dome, after the previous owner took the original phoenix statue away to a new headquarters. What to know before you plan around it: this is a private office building and there is no interior to visit. No ticket, no entrance. The whole visit happens from the pavement, you stop, look, photograph and carry on. Ten minutes covers it for most people. So it does not justify a dedicated trip, but it sits at the top of Calle de Alcalá, on the short walk between Cibeles and Gran Vía you were going to do anyway. The clearest angle is from the pavement opposite on Calle de Alcalá, and a view from above means the paid rooftop of the nearby Círculo de Bellas Artes. The facade is floodlit at night and its detail reads better after sunset, and the streets around it are dense with restaurants and cafés.
A dark dome covered in gilded ornament, topped since 1977 by a winged Victory after the first owner took the phoenix statue with them to their new headquarters.
The clearest shot is from the pavement opposite on Calle de Alcalá, and if you want it from above, the paid rooftop at Círculo de Bellas Artes, a short walk down Calle de Alcalá, gives you the classic elevated view of the dome.
It sits at the top of Calle de Alcalá, between Cibeles and the start of Gran Vía, so you pass it without changing your route or adding time to your day.
Calle de Alcalá 39, Madrid, Spain
Círculo de Bellas ArtesA heavy 1920s block on Calle de Alcalá, designed by Antonio Palacios for a priva1 minute walk4.3
Museo ICOOn a quiet side street alongside the Cortes building, a short walk from Madrid's3 minutes walk4.6
Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San FernandoThe Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, founded by royal decree in 174 minutes walk4.5
Thyssen-Bornemisza MuseumThe Thyssen is the Golden Triangle's third corner with a singular story: the gre5 minutes walk4.8
Cibeles Fountain & PalaceCibeles is Europe's most sumptuous crossroads: the goddess on her lion chariot a5 minutes walk4.6No. It is a private office building, closed to visitors, with no interior tours and no viewing terrace. The nearest alternative for seeing the area from height is the rooftop of the Círculo de Bellas Artes, a minute away on Calle de Alcalá, which is a paid venue.
Sevilla on Line 2, about two minutes on foot. Banco de España, also on Line 2, is about five minutes away at Plaza de Cibeles, and Gran Vía (Lines 1 and 5) is about a five-minute walk up the street.
After sunset, when the facade is lit and the detail on the dome and the statues comes out. The pavements and crossings here are busy at almost any hour, so expect people in the frame. Either way, ten minutes is plenty.