Room Puerta del Sol

This plaza is the heart of Madrid and one of the busiest places in the city - a hub for the local transit system, a favorite meeting spot for locals, a visible area for festivals or political demonstrations, and an opportune location for tour guides, street performers, pickpockets and anyone else looking to take advantage of all the tourists on-hand. In the center of the plaza sits the Statue of King Charles III on horseback, facing the Royal Post Office ( Real Casa de Correos ), the red-and-white building adorned with a clock tower on the plaza's south side. The building served as Madrid's first post office, then the police headquarters under Franco before being transformed into its current use as the office of the President of Madrid, the head of the regional government. The clock tower is noteworthy for being the center focus of New Year's celebrations every year, which are broadcast across Spain and mark the traditional eating of the Twelve Grapes (one for each ring of the bell) and the beginning of a new year. In front of the building is Kilometer Zero ( Kilómetro Cero ), a plaque showing the point where the measuring of national highway system begins. On the east side of the plaza is the famous Bear and the Madroño Tree Statue , a bear climbing a madroño tree, which is the symbol of Madrid, and on the west side of the plaza is the Mariblanca statue , a white marble goddess of at least the 17th century. Nearby the giant neon Tío Pepe sign sits above the plaza and is a famous fixture of this area.

Source: Wikivoyage, „Madrid/Sol-Letras-Lavapiés“ · authors per page history · CC BY-SA 4.0