City walk · Barrio de los Austrias, Madrid · Spain
José Rodríguez de Losada
1797–1870 · a real person
an exiled clockmaker, precise, dry, a little guilty, in love with a square that no longer exists
Read what José Rodríguez de Losada says
Good day. I am José Rodríguez de Losada, clockmaker, of León and of London, and the clock over that door is mine. But I came home to a Puerta del Sol with a hole in it: the church of Buen Suceso, the steps of San Felipe, the great fountain — all gone, and nobody will tell me who took them. Five suspects: the road engineers, the clockmaker (that is me), the Metro diggers, a Florentine merchant, and a minister with a decree. Every stop in this square carries a written word that clears one of them. Walk, read, and hand me the name.
5.0 (1)27 min · 0.7 km · 5 stops · easy
You’re walking this one before anyone at Walk & Tell has. If something looks wrong, tap Report at any stop — we’ll fix it for everyone after you.
The walk
Puerta del Sol looks like it has always been this shape. It hasn't: a church, a convent's gossip-steps and a whole fountain were erased from this square in a single lifetime. Guided by the clockmaker whose bells still rule Spanish New Year, you'll read five inscriptions across the busiest 600 metres in Madrid and clear the suspects one by one. Every clue is a word, a name or a year written on stone.
Start here
Puerta del Sol, Barrio de los Austrias
