Top 5 Things to Do in Sol, Madrid

The short answer

Sol is where Spain measures itself from: the Kilómetro Cero plaque outside the old post office marks the point all six national roads count their distance to. Sleeping here means Plaza Mayor is three minutes away, the Prado fifteen, and the two metro lines plus Cercanías under the square put the whole region — airport included — one seat away. No neighbourhood in Madrid has more hotel rooms per block, and the competition keeps mid-range prices honest.

The list, ranked

1. Plaza Mayor at opening hours — Madrid's 17th-century parade ground is a different place at 8am — empty arcades, café con leche under the frescoes of the Casa de la Panadería.

2. Kilómetro Cero & the Oso y Madroño — The two obligatory photos — the zero-kilometre plaque and the bear-and-strawberry-tree statue — are 40 metres apart.

3. Mercado de San Miguel — The wrought-iron gourmet market beside Plaza Mayor: expensive but gorgeous. Go for one vermut and one tapa, then eat properly elsewhere.

4. Chocolatería San Ginés — Churros con chocolate since 1894, open around the clock — the classic end to a Madrid night out, at 6am, before bed.

5. The Austrias loop — 2.5 km · 1.5 h. Sol → Plaza Mayor → Plaza de la Villa → Calle Mayor to the Almudena cathedral and Palacio Real, returning via the Ópera arcades. The whole Habsburg city in one flat loop.

Make a day of it

Sol is Madrid's transport bullseye: metro lines 1, 2 and 3 plus the Cercanías C-3 and C-4 under the square itself. The airport is ~35 minutes (Cercanías to Nuevos Ministerios + L8, or L2 + L8 via Nuevos Ministerios), Atocha is one stop, and night buses fan out from the plaza. You will not use a taxi all week.