Plaza Mayor
written by jelga
on May 9th, 2008
(0 votes)
If you are visiting Madrid, then you should definetly pay a visit to the Plaza Mayor, one of the highlights of the historic center (and one of my favorites spots in my city of birth! During the middle ages the site was just a market place outside the city walls.
In the XVI-XVII centuries it was to turn into a real square. Since its creation, the Plaza Mayor has been the center of festivities. Believe it or not here took place bull fights, royal coronations and executions and it is still used today for concerts, parades, processions and the like. La Casa de la Panaderia is the oldest building of the plaza and will certainly catch your eye with its colorful murals (which by contratst were only added recently, in 1992).
I don’t advice you to sit on the terraces of the extremely touristy restaurants here, but if you are hungry go to the nearby Museo del Jamón or to one of the little bars where they sell the tradicional bocadillos de calamares. Around the plaza you will find all kind of crazy old shops selling coins, stamps, hats, wool and all you can imagine. You can complete the visit going to la Plaza de la Villa, el Mercado de San Miguel, la Latina and of course la Puerta del Sol.
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