Puerta del Sol

Central and bustling, the Puerta del Sol square is one of Madrid's emblems. A meeting place for locals and a must-see for all tourists, it is the intersection of several of the city's historic and busiest streets, such as Mayor, Arenal, Alcalá, and Preciados. The square, semicircular in shape and pedestrianized since August 2020, brings together several of the most representative elements of this city. One of them is the famous clock of the Casa de Correos (Post Office Building), the seat of the Community of Madrid, which every December 31st strikes twelve to ring in the new year before a crowd that gathers at its base to eat the traditional twelve grapes in a ceremony broadcast on television to millions of Spaniards. In the same spot, next to the iconic clock, is the Kilometer Zero plaque, which marks the starting point for the kilometer markers of the various national radial highways that originate in Madrid, and next to which countless Spanish tourists take photographs every day. The Puerta del Sol is also home to the statue of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree, much loved by Madrid residents and a popular meeting point, representing the elements of the city's coat of arms. At the western end of the row of benches located in the northern arch of the square is the statue of Mariblanca, a replica of the 17th-century original that once crowned a fountain on the same site and is now kept in the City Hall. Nearby, in the center of the square's current fountain, stands the equestrian statue of Charles III, the king who modernized Madrid in the 18th century with a series of improvements to the city's infrastructure.