Since the birth of the city, it was the cradle of every commercial, cultural and administrative activity.
Its construction was completed in various stages. It began with the construction of the Post Office (Casa de Correos), in the mid-eighteenth century, the building that today is the seat of the Presidency of the Comunidad de Madrid.
Later, between 1857 and 1862, the square took on its final appearance with the intervention of the architects Lucio del Valle, Juan Rivera and José Morer, who designed the rest of the buildings.
The Square, the true cradle of Madrid’s youth nightlife, is dominated by fountains and is surrounded by some symbols associated with the city, such as the noble palace surmounted by a giant luminous sign by Tio Pepe (Spanish sherry producer known all over the world).
In Puerta del Sol there are also three very famous places in Spain:
- The Statue of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree: the symbol of Madrid
- The clock of the Casa de Correos: a place where New Year’s Eve chimes have been broadcast since 1962
- Kilometer Zero: it is the point from which the Spanish roads start
