Puerta de Alcalá

This monumental granite gateway stands proudly at the edge of Retiro Park, marking one of the historic entrances to the city. Commissioned by Charles III and completed in the late eighteenth century, it was designed in a neoclassical style with five arches and decorative reliefs celebrating royal power. Originally part of the old city walls, it now sits isolated in the middle of a busy roundabout, illuminated dramatically at night. The gate is considered one of the earliest modern triumphal arches built in post-Roman Europe.