Puerta de Sol

Puerta del Sol is the central square of Madrid, a semicircle of buildings where a number of the city’s main streets meet, and it is also the point from which the radial road network of Spain is measured, and Madrid’s traffic and Metro lines converge here. The name, meaning Gate of the Sun, comes from a gate in the city’s fifteenth-century wall, which faced east and caught the morning sun. The wall was later demolished as Madrid expanded, and the square took its present semicircular form between 1857 and 1862, after a redevelopment that gave it a more regular shape.

The most important building is the Real Casa de Correos, the old post office built in the 1760s by the French architect Jacques Marquet, which is now the seat of the regional government of the Community of Madrid. Its clock tower is central to a national tradition: at midnight on New Year’s Eve, millions of Spaniards eat twelve grapes, one for each chime, in time with the clock, and thousands gather in the square to do it. The custom is said to date from the early twentieth century. On the pavement in front of the building, a plaque marks Kilometre Zero, the starting point for measuring distances on Spain’s main roads, and visitors often stand on it for a photograph.

Among the other landmarks is the statue of a bear reaching for a strawberry tree, El Oso y el Madroño, which is the symbol of Madrid and appears on the city’s coat of arms. It was placed here in 1967 and has become a popular meeting point. A statue of Charles III on horseback stands nearby, and the king is credited with improving the city in the eighteenth century. The Tío Pepe neon sign above one of the buildings has been a feature of the skyline for decades.

The square has seen much of Spain’s modern history. The Second of May uprising of 1808 against French troops began in this area, and Goya later painted scenes of it. On 14 April 1931 the Second Republic was proclaimed here, and in 2011 the square became the centre of the 15-M Movement, when protesters camped for weeks. These events give the place a political weight beyond its role as a tourist stop.

The Sol metro station is one of the busiest in the city, with Cercanías trains and several bus routes. From the square, pedestrian streets lead towards the Plaza Mayor, the Royal Palace and the Gran Vía. The square is open at all times, and it is busy day and night, so keep an eye on belongings. Early morning is the quietest time to see the buildings.