Puerta del Sol

Puerta del Sol is Madrid's central plaza and has been the civic heart of the city since the medieval wall was demolished in the sixteenth century. The name recalls the old eastern gate with its rising sun; in the pavement in front of the Real Casa de Correos lies the Kilometre Zero marker from which Spain's six radial national roads are measured. The square holds the equestrian statue of Charles III and the famous bronze "El Oso y el Madrono", Madrid's heraldic bear and strawberry tree. Political history is packed in: the popular uprising of 2 May 1808 against Napoleon, the proclamation of the Second Republic in 1931, the thousands of Indignados of the 15M movement in 2011. On New Year's Eve half of Spain gathers before the clock of the Casa de Correos to eat the twelve grapes of luck in time with the midnight chimes. On weekdays commuters, tourists and street performers flood the square.