In Spain’s Puerta del Sol countdown, what clock tower provides the famous midnight chimes?

In Spain’s Puerta del Sol countdown, the famous midnight chimes come from the Real Casa de Correos clock.

The Real Casa de Correos is the historic building that faces Madrid’s Puerta del Sol. Its clock became central to Spain’s nationally televised New Year countdown, during which people traditionally eat one grape with each of the twelve midnight chimes. The building also carries the plaque marking Spain’s kilometer zero for national roads.

The clock was installed on the building in the nineteenth century by José Rodríguez Losada, a Spanish clockmaker based in London. Its chimes are now strongly associated with the final moments of December 31 throughout Spain.

The grapes are sometimes mistakenly attributed to the clock tower itself or to Madrid as a citywide ritual with no specific source. The broader custom is Spanish, but the nationally famous broadcast countdown is centered on this particular clock in Puerta del Sol.