Progress on Puerta del Sol construction, Madrid

From what I have heard it's open but still partially under construction, they plan to fully complete construction in early April.

You can look at the live webcam and see for yourself. It’s still pretty messed up and won’t be back to normal anytime soon. On the webcam, you’re looking towards the Oso y Madroño statute. Hotel Europa is down the street just past the first building on the left.

I was there 5 weeks ago, and they hadn't touched the entrance to the station, which is a key element of the redesign.

We were there three and a half weeks ago and it's great for tourists who like seeing construction equipment, temporary fencing and hearing the musical beep, beep, beep of reversing vehicles.

Thank you all. Its good to know what to expect

Thought I’d share an update on Sol, as I’m in Madrid at the moment and stay just a few blocks away.

Current status: Total mess!
-The fenced off areas have expanded, including spilling into some of the major feeder-streets.
-No work begun on the station entrance.
-Charles III statue has been removed (though the plinth is there. I didn’t look for or see the bear.
-the severely restricted traffic flow, combined with the streets filling as spring warms makes passing through pretty miserable.

So much for the late-March/early-April completion timeline!

I won’t be there until later this year. Hopefully there will be progress by then. The plaza will be different without the nightly mariachi band and daily faux Disney and Nintendo characters jockeying to have their photo taken for a fee. Guess they’d still be roaming the Plaza Mayor.

daily faux Disney and Nintendo characters jockeying to have their photo taken for a fee

We have now seen these in multiple Spanish cities. I have one question ... WHY?

No idea. A Mexican band makes no sense. Being Spain it seems that flamenco dancers, Tunos groups, or people in regional outfits would make more money. Guess it’s no different than than faux showgirls in Las Vegas.

Hi all
Just returned from Spain last night. Stayed at the Rick recommended Hotel Europa on Puerta del Sol, March 15-20. So gotta agree with Scudder from Hudson Valley. ( Maybe we even crossed paths). The square is still a big mess and we still heard its supposed to be done in 2 weeks! We got to watch as workmen put a harness on the Charles III statue, then eventually remove and wrap it. It was still sitting on the pavement wrapped in its white plastic shroud on the square when we left for Barcelona! But for me it was all part of being In the middle of where things are happening, watching from my balcony overlooking the Europa's sidewalk cafe on Calle del Carmen, as the throngs dwindle to a trickle of individuals around 2 am, to trying to tune out the jackhammers that seemed to start after midnight. Fortunately, the latter happened "only" twice, and lasted less than an hour, which was more than enough. I guess the experience just gives me an excuse to return, as if I need an excuse. LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Madrid, noise, mess, and all its amazing beauty, history, architecture, museums, friendly people, Retiro and others green spaces, etc, etc..... hoping to return

This is for Scudder. If you're still in Madrid, the bear with the berry tree is at the northeast corner of Puerta del Sol, (near the Casa de Diego shop), unless its been removed as part of the construction work. Thanks for your update. Hope you're enjoying your time there

I stayed at Hotel Europa last night. The construction is still going full bore. The Charles II statue is in it's place, but covered. Lots of construction fencing that route people every which way. The bear statue is uncovered. The construction vehicle and jackhammering sounds extend past 1800 at times. With all that, I still give Hotel Europa a thumbs up.

I just got home, like, 30 minutes ago. Apart from the tiring journey, I barely slept last night as the city was stripping the asphalt off of our little Calle Concepcion Jeronima, in preparation for repaving. Close to, but not related to the works at Sol.

I'd posted my update above after my first pass through Sol, and though I mostly avoided it on subsequent outings, yes, I saw that the bear statue is there. We joked that Carlos III, off his plinth and out of place, looked like a knock-off installation of Christo.

Sonia- I'm so glad to hear you loved Madrid. Some people are quick to knock it as nothing more than where a couple of museums happen to be. For the mess that the construction is, I'm kind of envious that you got to watch it from above!

Thanks Scudder, love to read your posts. Hope you're recovering from the tiring journey home. We literally had to sprint through the Frankfurt airport to make our connecting flight to EWR,, as our flight out of Barcelona was delayed nearly 2 hours. Travel is full of adventures. Can't wait to get out there again. Happy travels to you!