Neighborhood
Malasaña / Gran Via
in Madrid, Spain
Alternative bars, culture and quick access to Chueca.
Where it is
Malasaña lies in the Centro district, north of the Gran Vía and west of Chueca, centred on the Plaza del Dos de Mayo.
Address: Malasaña, 28004 Madrid
What it is
Today Malasaña is Madrid's young, alternative quarter: vintage shops, independent cafés and record stores, plus legendary Movida bars like La Vía Láctea around the Plaza del Dos de Mayo. Together with the adjoining Gran Vía it forms one of the city's liveliest going-out areas, open and mixed.
History
The neighbourhood is named after Manuela Malasaña, a heroine of the 2 May 1808 uprising against the Napoleonic occupation, commemorated by the Plaza del Dos de Mayo. In the 1980s Malasaña became the cradle of the 'Movida Madrileña', the explosive counterculture that followed Franco's death.