The Spanish city square hosting the famous midnight grape-eating tradition is Puerta del Sol in Madrid.
At midnight, Spain’s national broadcasters traditionally show the clock at Puerta del Sol as its bells ring twelve times. Many people try to eat one grape with each chime, creating the custom known as the twelve grapes of luck. Each grape is associated with good fortune for one month of the coming year.
Puerta del Sol is one of Madrid’s best-known public spaces and contains the clock whose chimes provide the national countdown. The square also features the bronze statue of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree, a symbol associated with Madrid. Large crowds gather there, while families across Spain follow the ceremony from home.
A common mix-up is to identify the tradition with Barcelona’s Plaça de Catalunya or Madrid’s Plaza Mayor. Those are important Spanish squares, but the nationally recognized clock and grape countdown are linked to Puerta del Sol. The practice became especially widespread in the early twentieth century.