Please see my next post for places to eat near Plaza Mayor.
Plaza Mayor is the most iconic square in Spain.
It’s been the scene of football matches and markets, and also bullfights and public executions. Heretics were tried and punished here in what is known as an auto-da-fé.
In all there are nine entrances that open into the square.
It’s dominated by the brightly painted Casa de la Panadería (Bakery House). The ground floor was once a bakery whereas the upper levels house various public institutions.
The frescoes on the façade are relatively recent.
They were designed by the artist Carlos Franco and painted in 1992.
They depict the figures of Cybele, Proserpine, Bacchus, and Cupid, and other mythological characters imagined by the artist.
Under the porticoes the sides of the square are lined with traditional shops and cafes.
Nowadays it’s a major tourist attraction and the focal point for celebrating the festival of San Isidro, Madrid’s patron saint.
If you leave the square by the south-east entrance you quickly come to Plaza Providencia which has a nice fountain and some attractive buildings.
Photos put up in February 2016