Madrid’s famous New Year’s Eve square is called Puerta del Sol.
Puerta del Sol is a central public square in Madrid and the traditional national focal point for Spain’s New Year countdown. Its clock tower broadcasts the midnight chimes, and people try to eat one grape with each of the 12 chimes.
The square’s New Year celebration is watched by large crowds in person and by television audiences throughout Spain. The grape ritual is sometimes described as a test of timing because the fruit must be eaten quickly while the chimes are sounding.
Puerta del Sol is also important beyond New Year’s Eve. It contains the Kilometre Zero plaque, traditionally used as the reference point for measuring distances on Spain’s national road network. The square’s name means “Gate of the Sun,” although the medieval gate that gave it that name no longer survives.