The grandest of Madrid's roundabouts, with the white marble fountain of the goddess Cybele drawn in her lion-pulled chariot at the centre (a 1782 work by Ventura Rodríguez). The four buildings surrounding it form one of the great urban tableaux in Europe: the Palacio de Cibeles (the early-20th-century neo-Gothic former post office, now the Madrid town hall and a cultural centre with a roof viewpoint), the Bank of Spain, the Palacio de Buenavista (army headquarters), and the Palacio de Linares (Casa de América).
The fountain doubles as the celebration spot for Real Madrid football and the Spanish national team — when either wins anything important, the players climb the fountain and tie a scarf around the goddess. The roof of the Palacio de Cibeles is open to the public (small fee) and gives a 360-degree view down both halves of the Paseo del Prado-Recoletos axis.