Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes

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Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes

Location
Gran Via is a major Barcelona avenue that runs across the city from the northeast edge near Sant Adrià de Besòs to the southwest border in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat. It passes important squares such as Plaça d’Espanya, Plaça Universitat, Plaça de Catalunya, Plaça de Tetuan, and Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes. The street is about 13.1 km long. To the south and west of Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes it is a surface boulevard with tree-lined promenades. To the north and east the central road drops into an open trench and becomes an expressway.

History
In the late 1800s, urban planner Ildefons Cerdà included this road in his plan for a reform and expansion of Barcelona, calling it Lletra N, Número 11. It was renamed Corts in 1900, then Corts Catalanes after 1931. Under Franco it was renamed Avenida de José Antonio Primo de Rivera in 1939. After democracy returned, the name Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes was adopted in 1979.

Transportation
Barcelona’s first metro line (built in the 1920s, initially called Gran Metro) ran between Plaça Catalunya and Plaça Espanya and is now part of Line 1. Today, several metro stations are on Gran Via:
- Ildefons Cerdà (L8)
- Magòria-La Campana (L8)
- Espanya (L1, L3, L8)
- Rocafort (L1)
- Urgell (L1)
- Universitat (L1, L2)
- Passeig de Gràcia (L2, L3, L4)
- Tetuan (L2)
- Glòries (L1)
- Besòs (L4)

In addition, Lines T5 and T6 of the Trambesòs tram system run through the northern third of Gran Via, and Line H12 of Barcelona’s BRT network runs along the entire street.

Places of note
Notable spots along Gran Via include Cinema Coliseum, a monument (Font de Diana) opposite the Cinema, Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, and Ciutat de la Justícia de Barcelona i l’Hospitalet de Llobregat. The street also connects to major squares and landmarks such as Plaça de la Universitat, Plaça d’Espanya, and Plaça de Tetuan, with numerous other cultural and civic buildings nearby.

See also
- Ildefons Cerdà
- Eixample
- Barcelona

External links
- City map of Barcelona (in Spanish)