Puerta del Sol Returns to Normal After Five Weeks of Housing Protest Camp
Puerta del Sol Returns to Normal After Five Weeks of Housing Protest Camp
For more than a month, Madrid's Puerta del Sol square has been the site of a protest camp focused on access to housing. Between late September and the first days of November 2026, hundreds of tents occupied a large part of the square, in an encampment that, according to various estimates, gathered several hundred people at its peak. Five weeks after it began, the camp has entered its final phase, with the square on its way back to its usual daily use.
Origins and Demands
The camp emerged in late September, following a demonstration called in connection with the specific case of Mari Carmen, which became the visible trigger for a broader protest over housing access and rent regulation in Madrid. What began as a one-off rally turned, that same night, into a permanent camp, which in the following days grew to include several hundred tents. Organizers called for measures to regulate the rental market and for greater public intervention against what they described as a structural housing problem in the capital.
Coexistence and Sanitation Issues
As the camp went on, residents and local shopkeepers began reporting problems with coexistence and sanitation. The most frequent complaints pointed to the accumulation of urine and the resulting ammonia smell around the square, particularly near the entrances to the Sol metro station. In mid-October, the Community of Madrid announced the partial closure of that station, citing sanitation concerns linked to the camp. Local merchants publicly described the situation as unsustainable for their daily business. These complaints were among the grounds the regional government used to ask the courts for the camp's immediate eviction, a request the High Court of Justice of Madrid rejected in early October, prioritizing the campers' right to assembly and protest.
Current Outcome
Over the following weeks, the movement itself began a gradual, voluntary withdrawal of tents, partly to avoid prolonging friction with local merchants and residents. At the same time, Madrid's City Council allocated roughly half a million euros to monitoring the square and dismantling the awnings and structures set up there. Municipal cleaning crews stepped up their work in the area in recent weeks, clearing remaining camp material and disinfecting the surroundings of Puerta del Sol and the Sol metro entrances. As of now, the square is in a process of gradually returning to normal, with most tents already removed and pedestrian and commercial activity recovering its usual levels, although cleanup and restoration work continues in some spots.
With Puerta del Sol regaining its familiar look, the heart of Madrid is once again, as always, a great starting point for exploring the city on foot. If you'd like to discover this square and the rest of the historic center with the context and stories that make it unique, join our 3-Hour Walking Tour through Habsburg Madrid, led by local guides.
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