Puerta del Sol & Kilometre Zero: The Center of Spain

Why is it significant?

Stand right here in the center of the vast semicircular paving of Puerta del Sol and look down directly in front of the Royal Post House. Set flush into the granite stones beneath your shoes is a polished brass and granite slab: Kilómetro Cero.

Key Facts

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Stand right here in the center of the vast semicircular paving of Puerta del Sol and look down directly in front of the Royal Post House. Set flush into the granite stones beneath your shoes is a polished brass and granite slab: Kilómetro Cero. From this precise geographic marker, all six radial national highways of Spain measure their distances across the Iberian Peninsula. Turn toward the entrance of Calle de Alcalá to spot the beloved four-meter bronze sculpture of El Oso y el Madroño: the Bear and the Strawberry Tree. Since the thirteenth century, this charming symbol has formed the coat of arms of Madrid, representing a historic treaty between the town council, who owned the wild pasture and game, and the Catholic church, who owned the surrounding timber and berry forests. Look up at the clock tower of the Casa de Correos: every New Year's Eve, millions of Spaniards gather across this square and before television screens to eat twelve grapes, one for each stroke of the midnight chime, for twelve months of prosperity. Follow Calle Mayor westward through the historic Habsburg quarter toward the grand arches of Plaza Mayor.