If you want to stay right in the square itself, check out Apartamentos en Sol, some self-catering apartments whose address is Puerta del Sol 3.

Outside the Casa de Correos is a stone slab on the pavement marking Kilometre Zero – the official starting point for Spain’s 6 National Roads. The photo below shows the original stone (first placed here in 1950) in its deteriorated state, but in September 2009 it was replaced with a shiny bright new one.

Directly opposite this building is where until recently (and since 1984) we would expect to see the most important of the 3 statues to be seen in the square, “El Oso y El Madroño” (the Bear and the Strawberry Tree). However, on 25th September 2009, this statue was returned to its original location at the East side of the square, below the famous “Tío Pepe” advert. This was the statue’s location when it was placed here in 1967, so it has simply returned home.

The Oso & Madroño is the official symbol of the city although with an unclear origin – it seems that there used to be many bears in the fields around Madrid although the original symbol was supposed to be a female bear (osa). And the strawberry tree seems to be have actually been a hackberry tree (almez), which was once in abundance around Madrid.

Whatever the real history, this bronze statue is the work of the sculptor Antonio Navarro Santa Fe.

The other statues to be found in this square are a reproduction of the Mariblanca statue (the original is in the Municipal Museum) which is believed to be Venus or Diana the Hunter and which marks the spot where previously a fountain stood, and a statue of King Carlos III (placed here by popular demand, since he was called the “Mayor of Madrid” due to the improvements he ordered made to the city).

Click here to see the Puerta del Sol on our tourist map

This is a vibrant part of the city – full of bars, restaurants and shops. Leading off the Puerta del Sol are several streets, amongst which we can name Arenal Street, Calle de Alcalá, Calle Mayor, and Calle Preciados, this last one a pedestrianised street on which large department stores such as El Corte Inglés and FNAC are located, together with international clothes shops such as Zara, H & M, Bershka and many more.

Many old and historic shops selling traditional goods may be found close to this historic square.

Smaller boutique type shops for shoes, clothes and other accessories can be found on the nearby Calle del Arenal, Calle Carretas and other surrounding streets.

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