The clock at the Puerta del Sol

Few are the tourists that visit Madrid that leave without taking a picture next to the clock from Puerta del Sol, that every 31st December marks the end of the year and welcomes the new year, surrounded by crowds, scrutinised by millions of spectators from their homes across the country.

The clock in the Puerta del Sol is an undisputed symbol of Madrid, and one of the elements that make up collective imagination of all Spanish people. However, its origin are not in Spain but in London.

The famous pealing clock was fabricated by Spanish exile in London, José Rodríguez de Losada, a soldier who carved out a successful career in the City creating accurate clocks, it is estimated that he created around 6,000, engineering gems that have rolled from pocket to pocket, generation after generation.

Some of his works were intended as important gifts, sent from London to Spain, as lavish gifts to the monarchs in the nineteenth century. It is believed that this was the case of the clock in the Puerta del Sol, a mechanism that the watchmaker would have created in honour of Elizabeth II and sent to Spain back in 1860. The clock, unique in Europe, was placed in the building of the Casa de Correos, the Post Office, and inaugurated in 1866.

Since then it has never stopped working. Accurate and precise, it is one of the few clocks that feature a 3 metre pendulum and a manual mechanism ball, that currently is only used once a year. It slows just four seconds a month and is always exactly coordinated with the National Astronomical Observatory.

The watch is serviced weekly by the famous Casa Losada watchmakers and remains the meeting place for many locals and tourists visiting the capital of Spain.

To all who wish to see it, there are a number of hotels near the Puerta del Sol, some with balconies offering exceptional views of the square and the clock:

· Hotel Petit Palace Posada del Peine

· Hotel Petit Palace Puerta del Sol

· Hotel Petit Palace Mayor Plaza

· Hotel Petit Palace Londres

· Hotel Petit Palace Arenal