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Walking through one of the busiest and well known places in Madrid, the Puerta del Sol, I noticed a crowd of people across the street.
They were all looking down.
Being of a curious mind, I needed to see why.
In front of the old Post Office building, under the clock tower, a slab is embedded in the concrete sidewalk.
Kilometer Zero.
This stone slab marks the point from which the distances of Spain’s national roads are measured and specifically the starting point for measuring the distances of the country’s six national roads. It is also the starting point for Madrid’s numbered streets. The closer to the kilometer mark 0, the lower the street number.
If you’ve ever heard the saying, “all roads lead to Rome”, this type of marker explains why as many countries used these type of traditional markers, most commonly in their capital cities, with the most famous marker being the “Golden Milestone” in Ancient Rome.
The Madrid marker was originally placed in this location in 1950 and replaced with newer stones in 2002 and 2009, however with the replacement in 2002, it was turned the wrong direction, but corrected in 2009.
Today, it attracts thousands of tourists and tour groups who come to see where travel begins.
If you are in the historic Puerta del Sol, challenge yourself to find Kilometer Zero.
It won’t be that hard…just look for a group of people looking down!
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Kilometer Zero
- http://www.comunidad.madrid/
- Address: Puerta del Sol, 7, 28013 Madrid, Spain
- Hours: daily, 24 hours
- Admission: free
- Getting There: Metro, stop Sol, lines 1, 2 and 3