Madrid’s Puerta del Sol hosts Spain’s famous New Year’s Eve countdown, when people eat grapes to the clock’s twelve chimes.
Puerta del Sol is a central square in Madrid and one of the best-known public gathering places in Spain. Its clock tower provides the televised midnight countdown on 31 December, drawing crowds into the square and viewers across the country to watch the chimes.
The custom linked to the countdown is known as the twelve grapes of luck. Participants try to eat one grape with each of the twelve midnight chimes, with the grapes representing the twelve months ahead. Completing the sequence is widely associated with good fortune for the coming year.
The square’s clock is often confused with Madrid’s famous landmarks elsewhere in the city, such as the Cibeles Fountain or Plaza Mayor. Puerta del Sol is also associated with the Kilometer Zero marker for Spain’s major roads and the statue of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree.