Point Zero

It was always said that ‘all roads lead to Rome’, but apparently the destination is actually Madrid.

The original radial road network in Spain was established by King Carlos III on June 10th 1761, the idea being to construct solid and straight roads to facilitate commerce between regions and provinces, these roads radiating from Madrid.

The original radial roads were the N-I (Madrid to Irún), N-II (Madrid to La Junqyera), N-III (Madrid to Valencia), N-IV (Madrid to Cádiz), N-V (Madrid to the Portuguese border near Badajoz) and the N-VI (Madrid to La Coruña).

Point zero, from where all distances are measured, is in Puerta del Sol, Madrid, and a plaque marks the spot. It is also almost the centre of the Iberian peninsular.

Point Zero, Madrid

The six main radial highways, also radiating from Madrid, are the A-1 to A-6. The old Roman numerals are now only used for administrative purposes