Puerta de Alcalá, Madrid, Spain

The Puerta de Alcalá is a Neo-classical monument in the Plaza de la Independencia in Madrid. It is regarded as the first modern post-Roman triumphal archbuilt in Europe, older than the similar monuments Arc de Triomphe in Paris and Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

Puerta de Alcalá was a gate of the former city walls built by Philip IV. It stands near the city center and several meters away from the main entrance to the Parque del Buen Retiro. The square is bisected by Alcalá Street, although the street does not cross through the monument, and it is the origin of the Alfonso XII, Serrano and Olózaga streets. Its name originates from the old path from Madrid to the nearby town of Alcalá de Henares.

Madrid in the late 18th century still looked like a somewhat drab borough, surrounded by medieval walls. Around the year 1774, king Charles III commissioned Francesco Sabatini to construct a monumental gate in the city wall through which an expanded road to the city of Alcalá was to pass, replacing an older, smaller, gate that stood nearby. It was inaugurated in 1778.

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User Reviews

Lala (14 months ago)
THE GATEWAY TO MADRID!!! Magical place to visit obligatorily. It is also in front (depending on the cardinal point in which the person is) of the Retiro Park. There are several restaurants, businesses and shops around, it is also in an exclusive neighborhood of the capital.

Lorena Palacios (14 months ago)
La Puerta de Alaca is under maintenance, but you can still take great pictures. You are going to find a lot of groups of people doing a tour through the city.

Gus Arango (2 years ago)
It is currently undergoing repairs so I could not see it. It is all covered with a banner with a photo of it. The area looks pretty nice, a few fancy, expensive restaurants in the square, next to Parque del Retiro and Salamanca. Beautiful buildings and surroundings so real shame I missed the whole Puerta de Alcalá experience

Isabella Dicaprio (Isabella) (2 years ago)
Nice monument. One of the many doors that still stand from roman times. It reminds me a bit of the arch ot triumph in Paris, but smaller.

Fluffy Co (2 years ago)
Save Mariupol! Save people! They are sitting in basements without food and water, the Russian military has almost destroyed the city, but the people are still alive! so many still alive! Take to the streets of your city, turn to your government! This is genocide!

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