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Reloj de la Puerta del Sol

Madrid, Spain

Reloj de la Puerta del Sol

This plaza is the heart of Madrid and one of the busiest places in the city - a hub for the local transit system, a favorite meeting spot for locals, a visible area for festivals or political demonstrations, and a opportune location for tour guides, street performers, pickpockets and anyone else loo

king to take advantage of all the tourists on hand. In the center of the plaza sits the '''Statue of King Charles III''' on horseback, facing the '''Royal Post Office''' (''Real Casa de Correos''), the red-and-white building adorned with a clock tower on the plaza's south side. Originally the building served as Madrid's first post office, then the police headquarters under Franco before being transformed into it's current use as the office of the President of Madrid, the head of the regional government. The clock tower is noteworthy for being the center focus of New Year's celebrations every year, which are broadcast across Spain and mark the traditional eating of the Twelve Grapes (one for each ring of the bell) and the beginning of a new year. In front of the building is '''Kilometer Zero''' (''Kilómetro Cero''), a plaque showing the point where the measuring of national highway system begins. On the east side of the plaza is the famous '''Bear and the Madroño Tree Statue''', a bear climbing a ''madroño'' tree, which is the symbol of Madrid, and on the west side of the plaza is the '''Mariblanca statue''', a white marble goddess of at least the XVII century. Nearby the giant neon

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