Madrid contains the Puerta del Sol, the square marking Spain’s official Kilometer Zero.
The reference point is a plaque set into the pavement outside the Real Casa de Correos, the historic building that now houses the regional government of Madrid. Spanish road distances traditionally use this point as their origin, making it a useful geographic and symbolic center of the country.
Puerta del Sol means “Gate of the Sun.” The name comes from a former city gate whose image reportedly featured a sun. The square developed beyond Madrid’s medieval walls and became one of the city’s busiest public spaces. The Real Casa de Correos was completed in the eighteenth century, and its clock is famous for the New Year’s Eve tradition of eating twelve grapes with its twelve midnight chimes.
Kilometer Zero is sometimes confused with the exact geographic center of Spain. It is instead a national road-distance reference point. The nearby statue of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree is another well-known symbol of Madrid.