Puerta del Sol is the Madrid square where Spain’s most famous twelve-grape New Year countdown takes place.
The square is centered on the Real Casa de Correos, a historic building whose clock provides the televised midnight chimes. Millions of viewers across Spain follow the clock while eating one grape for each chime, turning the location into the symbolic heart of the national celebration.
Puerta del Sol is also an important civic and transport landmark. The name means “Gate of the Sun,” and the square contains the Kilometre Zero plaque used as the reference point for Spain’s radial road network.
The midnight sequence follows preliminary sounds known as the cuartos, or quarter chimes. Those warning notes are not counted as part of the twelve grapes. Visitors sometimes also confuse Puerta del Sol with Madrid’s Plaza Mayor, another famous square but not the traditional broadcast location.