1027 Best Sights in Spain

The 17th-century Convento de Capuchinos surrounds this small square north of Plaza de San Miguel. The square is where you feel most deeply the city's languid pace. In its center, a statue of Cristo de los Faroles (Christ of the Lanterns) stands amid eight lanterns hanging from twisted wrought-iron brackets.

Marbella's appeal lies in the heart of its casco antiguo, which remains surprisingly intact. Here, a block or two back from the main highway, narrow alleys of whitewashed houses cluster around the central Plaza de los Naranjos, where colorful, albeit pricey, restaurants vie for space under the orange trees. Climb onto what remains of the old fortifications and stroll along the Calle Virgen de los Dolores to the Plaza de Santo Cristo.

This shady square filled with palms and orange trees is separated from the Murillo Gardens by an iron grillwork and ringed with stately glass balconies. At its center is a monument to Don Juan Tenorio, the famous Don Juan known for his amorous conquests.

This stately semicircular plaza, sandwiched between the Palacio Real (to its east, or oriente) and the Teatro Real (Royal Theater), is flanked by massive statues of Spanish monarchs that were meant to be mounted atop the palace. Queen Isabel Farnesio, one of the first royals to live in the palace, had them removed because she was afraid their enormous weight would bring the roof down. (That's the official reason; according to local lore, the queen wanted the statues removed because her own likeness wouldn't have been placed front and center.) A Velázquez drawing of King Felipe IV inspired the statue in the plaza's center. Dating to 1640, it's the first equestrian bronze ever cast with a rearing horse. The sculptor, Italian artist Pietro Tacca, enlisted Galileo Galilei's help in configuring the statue's weight so it wouldn't tip over.

León's busiest tapas bars are in and around this 12th-century square. The area is called the Barrio Húmedo, or \"Wet Neighborhood,\" allegedly because of the deluge of wine spilled here late at night.

The square and café terraces around it—and its atmospheric tavern, Taberna San Miguel–Casa El Pisto—form one of the city's finest combinations of art, history, and gastronomy. San Miguel Church has an interesting facade with Romanesque doors built around Mudejar horseshoe arches and a Mudejar dome inside.

In this orange-tree-lined plaza you'll find the 15th-century church of San Vicente Ferrer with an adjoining convent that's now the Parador de Plasencia.

This plaza was the heart of the theater district in the 17th century—the Golden Age of Spanish literature—and is now one of Madrid's most happening nightlife centers. A statue of 17th-century playwright Pedro Calderón de la Barca faces the Teatro Español, where other literary legends such as Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina, and Ramón María del Valle-Inclán released some of their world-renowned plays. Opposite the theater, beside the ME by Meliá hotel, is the diminutive Plaza del Ángel, with one of Madrid's best jazz clubs, Café Central. Cervecería Alemana, a favorite haunt of Hemingway, is on the southeast corner and makes phenomenally tender fried calamari.

The main square of the medieval city is surrounded by palaces as well as the cathedral. The highlight is the fountain, built in 1564 and resembling a triumphal arch.

This square was once called Plaza del Grano (Grain Square) because it was the site of the city's corn and bread market. Also here is the church of Santa María del Camino, where pilgrims stop on their way west to Santiago de Compostela. The fountain in the middle of the plaza depicts two cherubim clutching a pillar, symbolizing León's two rivers and the capital.

At the edge of the Barrio de los Toreros—a neighborhood where many of Córdoba's famous bullfighters were born and raised—stands a statue of the famous bullfighter Manolete (1917–47). It faces the lovely church of Santa Marina de Aguas Santas (St. Marina of Holy Waters), one of the oldest in Córdoba, traditionally believed to have been built by order of Ferdinand III following his conquest of the city in 1236. Not far away, in the Plaza de la Lagunilla, a commemorative bust of Manolete offers another tribute to his enduring legacy.

The main sight in Ronda's commercial center, El Mercadillo, is the bullring. Pedro Romero (1754–1839), the father of modern bullfighting and Ronda's most famous native son, is said to have killed 5,600 bulls here during his career. In the museum beneath the plaza you can see posters for Ronda's very first bullfights, held here in 1785. The plaza was once owned by the late bullfighter Antonio Ordóñez, on whose nearby ranch Orson Welles's ashes were scattered—indeed, the ring has become a favorite of filmmakers. Every September, the bullring is the scene of Ronda's corridas goyescas, named after Francisco Goya, whose tauromaquias (bullfighting sketches) were inspired by Romero's skill and art. The participants and the dignitaries in the audience don the costumes of Goya's time for the occasion.

Sevillanos have spent many a thrilling evening in this bullring, one of the oldest and loveliest plazas de toros in Spain, built between 1760 and 1763. The 20-minute tour (in English) takes in the empty arena, a museum with elaborate costumes and prints, and the chapel where matadors pray before the fight. Bullfights take place in the evening Thursday–Sunday from April through July and in September. Tickets can be booked online or by phone; book well in advance to be sure of a seat.

Toledo's main square was built in the early 17th century as part of an unsuccessful attempt to impose a rigid geometry on the chaotic Moorish streets. Over the centuries, this tiny plaza has hosted bullfights, executions of heretics (autos-da-fé) during the Spanish Inquisition, and countless street fairs. Today it's home to one of the outposts of the largest and oldest marzipan maker in town, Santo Tomé. You can also catch intracity buses here.

With the massive Baroque facades of the Ayuntamiento (City Hall) and the Correos (central post office) facing each other across the park, this plaza is the hub of city life. The Ayuntamiento itself houses the municipal tourist office and a museum of paleontology.

Pop in just for a moment to marvel at the post office, with its magnificent stained-glass cupola and ring of classical columns. They don't build 'em like that any more.

The heart of Pamplona is this spacious square, lined with restaurants, cafés, and arcaded buildings. There's never a dull moment in the warren of narrow streets just beyond the plaza, especially Calle San Nicolás.

It's a two-minute walk from Plaza de la Iglesia to this square, one of the prettiest and liveliest in town, with plenty of cafés and tapas bars.

This is the heart of the old town, and on Wednesday and Saturday mornings the arcaded plaza bustles with farmers selling produce and cheeses.

In the middle of this tiny, irregularly shaped plaza—which is transformed during festivals into a bullring—is the 15th-century fountain with a haunting legacy. It was here, in 1496, that two Indigenous servants brought by Columbus were baptized, a symbolic act marking their forced assimilation into the world of their captors. Yet, as in much of Extremadura, there is a striking absence of reflection or acknowledgment of the region's deep entanglement in the brutal realities of the colonization of the Americas.

Make sure you check out the arcaded porticoes here and the view over the town from the Unquera road (N634) just inland.

East of the Plaza de San Vicente Ferrer, at the other end of the Rúa Zapatería, is this cheerful arcaded square. The mechanical figure clinging to the town-hall clock tower depicts the clockmaker and is called the Mayorga in honor of his Castilian hometown. Also east of the Plaza de San Vicente you can find a large section of the town's medieval wall beside a heavily restored Roman aqueduct.

This long, inclined, arcaded plaza contains several cafés, the tourist office, and—on breezy summer nights—nearly everyone in town. In the middle of the arcade opposite the old quarter is the entrance to the lively Calle General Ezponda, lined with tapas bars, student hangouts, and discotecas that keep the neighborhood electric with activity until dawn. The city's main Christmas market, selling candles, figurines, and sweets, is held here.

In front of the cathedral, this historic square comes alive every night and especially on weekends, when visiting madrileños and locals gather at casual cafés that line the perimeter. A gazebo in the middle occasionally hosts live music. (Otherwise it's occupied by children playing while their parents dine nearby.)

The south side of the cathedral overlooks this harmonious arcaded Renaissance square.

This roomy square at the upper edge of the Casco Viejo honors Bilbao's greatest intellectual, Miguel de Unamuno (1864–1936), the philosopher, novelist, professor, and public figure. Unamuno wrote some of Spain's most seminal works including Del sentimiento trágico de la vida en los hombres y los pueblos (The Tragic Sense of Life in Men and Nations). His Niebla (Mist) is generally accepted as the first existentialist novel, published in 1914 when Jean-Paul Sartre was but nine years old.

This 64-arch neoclassical plaza, built in 1851, is known for its Sunday-morning flea market, December 21 Santo Tomás festivities, and restaurants. Note the size of the balconies (the bigger the balcony, the richer the original proprietor) and the tiny windows near the top of the facades, where servants' quarters would've been. The building behind the coat of arms (bearing the tree of Gernika, a symbol of Basque autonomy) houses the Euskaltzaindia, or Academy of the Basque Language. The bars and shops around the arcades include two Victor Montes establishments, one for pintxos at Plaza Nueva 8 and the other for sit-down dining at No. 2. Café Bar Bilbao (No. 6), aka Casa Pedro, has Belle Époque interiors accented by photos of early Bilbao, while Argoitia (No. 15), across the square, has a nice angle on the midday sun.

In the old city, the center of life is this unassuming little square, officially called the Plaza Velarde. In August it's the venue for Santander's star event, the outdoor International Festival of Music and Dance.

Up Calle Prim, this plaza in the heart of the old town is bordered by 17th-century houses with Moorish overtones.

Near the ayuntamiento is this pretty square surrounded by white-and-yellow houses and filled with orange trees and elegant street lamps. It's especially lively during the evening paseo.

With its porticoes and covered walks, this square named for a hero of the Carlist Wars is protected from the gusty mountain wind. It is ringed by pastel-painted Renaissance houses, some with decorative sgraffito designs and all with balconies.