In the midst of Madrid’s constant change, it is now the turn of a new iconic space in the city to be rebuilt. No generation of Madrileños has experienced the same Puerta del Sol, but now it is the turn of Calle de Alcalá between Cibeles and Puerta de Alcalá, which will be transformed into a large tree-lined boulevard with much wider sidewalks, a central promenade, and a segregated bike lane, reducing space for cars in the historic heart of the city.
The works, with an investment of €6.1 million, will start in early February and will continue until the first quarter of 2027, with the approval of UNESCO and the heritage bodies that oversee this World Heritage Site.
The project restores the historic layout of this section of Alcalá and creates a 3.8-meter-wide central promenade between traffic lanes, designed so that Madrid residents and tourists can walk with a privileged view of the Puerta de Alcalá. This central platform, landscaped and equipped with benches, will serve as an urban viewpoint and allow visitors to “get closer” to the monument, which will cease to be just a traffic roundabout and regain part of its status as the gateway to the city.
To achieve this, the section of the street will be reorganized: there will be two lanes plus a bus lane in each direction, instead of the current roadway, freeing up space for pedestrians and bicycles without breaking the continuity of the traffic axis between Cibeles and the Retiro. The reduction in lanes will be concentrated in this section and will be accompanied by a reorganization of public transport, with new islands and shelters to facilitate access to bus lines.
Double tree-lined avenues and giant sidewalks
Editorial credit: Madrid City Council
One of the most visible changes will be green: the historic double row of trees on both sides of the street, which disappeared in the late 1960s when the roadway was widened, will be restored. The City Council, which has been heavily criticized on other occasions for removing trees, will plant 57 new specimens, as well as strips of shrubs and vegetation on the sidewalks and in the central promenade itself, reinforcing the character of a “garden avenue” in the heart of the Paisaje de la Luz (Landscape of Light).
The space gained from the removal of cars will mainly be used to significantly widen the north sidewalk (the one next to the Bank of Spain and the Cervantes Institute), which is currently crowded with tourists and workers at almost any time of day. The south sidewalk will also be renovated and will feature a segregated bike lane connecting the existing one on Alcalá with the one on Serrano, thus creating a direct cycling corridor to the Retiro and the Castellana axis.
A more accessible and better-lit Puerta de Alcalá
The project extends to the Plaza de la Independencia to better integrate the Puerta de Alcalá into its surroundings and make it easier to walk around and across safely. The garden will be remodeled to restore one of the original designs from the late 19th century, a new pedestrian crossing will be opened on the west side of the plaza, and the existing one on the east side will be improved, creating more direct routes between Alcalá, Serrano, and the entrances to the Retiro.
All the lighting on the monument will also be reviewed, changing the location of the light points and modernizing the projectors to better highlight the reliefs of the Puerta de Alcalá and reduce the impact of surrounding traffic. The street furniture in the square will be renovated and expanded, and the entire roadway will be repaved to unify the appearance of the complex.
Throughout the entire section, the pavement will be replaced with granite slabs and cobblestones, materials commonly used in major renovations in the city center, and the asphalt on the roadway will be renewed. The street lighting will be replaced with a model inspired by the historic design of Calle de Alcalá itself, but equipped with energy-efficient LED technology.
The project includes work on Alfonso XI and Pedro Muñoz Seca streets: on the former, the west sidewalk will be widened and the parking spaces will be converted from parallel to perpendicular, creating space for a new row of trees; on the latter, accessibility and paving will be improved to better integrate it into the boulevard environment.
With this redevelopment, the City Council seeks to reinforce the pedestrian and landscape vocation of the most symbolic section of the Paisaje de la Luz (Landscape of Light), the axis that links Cibeles, the Puerta de Alcalá, the Retiro and the Prado. Fewer lanes for cars, more trees, giant sidewalks, a central promenade, and a continuous bike lane will mark the biggest change in the area’s image since the major reforms at the beginning of the century, promising to transform the way people walk, cycle, and view this part of Madrid, which is already a world heritage site.