The Gran Vía de Don Diego López de Haro is the main avenue

Avenue (landscape)

__notoc__In landscaping, an avenue or allée is traditionally a straight route with a line of trees or large shrubs running along each, which is used, as its French source venir indicates, to emphasize the "coming to," or arrival at a landscape or architectural feature...

 of the city of Bilbao

Bilbao

Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...

, Basque Country

Basque Country (autonomous community)

The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....

 (Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

).

History

It's named after the founder of the city, Diego López de Haro V, lord of Biscay

Lord of Biscay

Lord of Biscay is a historical title of the head of state of the autonomous territory of Biscay, Basque Country.- History :The first known Lord of Biscay , Íñigo López "Ezkerra" was a lieutenant of the Kingdom of Pamplona , and this was until the Castilian conquest of Gipuzkoa in 1200...

. It was conceived in 1876, when the extension (ensanche

Ensanche

Ensanche means "widening" in Spanish. It is used to name the development areas of Spanish cities around the end of the 19th century, when the demographic explosion and the Industrial Revolution prompted the tearing down of the old city wall and the construction of neighborhoods under grid plans.The...

) of Bilbao was planned by architects Alzola, Achúcarro and Hoffmeyer in the wide plains of the former municipality of Abando

Abando

----Abando was the name of an old municipality of Biscay , that was eventually absorbed by Bilbao. Nowadays, the name refers to the central district and neighbourhood of this city, holding the provincial administration, the long-distance RENFE Bilbao-Abando train station, three subway stations ,...

.

Features

The avenue is 50 meters wide and 1.5 km (one mile) long. It starts at the Circular square, beside the BBVA building, and ends at the Sacred Heart

Sacred Heart

The Sacred Heart is one of the most famous religious devotions to Jesus' physical heart as the representation of His divine love for Humanity....

 square. The main Moyúa

Moyúa

Moyúa or Elliptic square is a public square located in the center of Bilbao's extension, in the district of Abando. The square was conceived in 1876 as a central hub in the middle of Gran Vía de Don Diego López de Haro avenue, from where the main eight streets depart in radius-like shape and was...

 square is in the middle of the avenue, about 500 m from its beginning and 800 m from its end. The statue of the Sacred Heart is aligned with the spire of the Basilica of Begoña

Basilica of Begoña

The Basilica of Begoña is a basilica in Bilbao, in Spain, dedicated to the patron saint of Biscay, the Virgin Begoña.The current parish priest is Jesús Francisco de Garitaonandia.-History:...

, about 3 km away, through the Gran Vía, forming a monumental perspective in a way similar to Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

' Axe historique

Axe historique

The Axe historique is a line of monuments, buildings and thoroughfares that extends from the centre of Paris, France, to the west. It is also known as the "Voie Triomphale" ....

.

Economy

The avenue is the most important shopping and business area of Bilbao, BBK and BBVA banks have their headoffices in it, and El Corte Inglés

El Corte Inglés

El Corte Inglés S.A. , headquartered in Madrid, is the biggest department store group in Europe and ranks fourth worldwide...

 department store has two buildings in it. It is has some of Spain's most expensive real estate

Real estate

In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...

prices.