Madrid! Madrid! Madrid! It is always a pleasure to be back in Madrid. There is no complete visit to Madrid without strolling through its “Plaza Mayor”. Over time it has been known with various names: “Plaza del Arrabal”, “Plaza de la Constitución”, “Plaza Real” and “Plaza de la República”. However, it has never ceased to be “La Plaza Mayor” in Madrid.
King Philip II is responsible for the concept of remodeling the “Plaza del Arrabal” and the conversion to what we know today as the Plaza Mayor. The construction of the new square was under the reign of Philip III in the seventeenth century. The statue of Philip III dominates the center of the Plaza Mayor since 1848. The surrounding structure originally had five levels, but after the last massive fire of 1790, it was reduced to only three levels.
The Plaza Mayor has multiple access or entrances known by the following names:
· From the north – July 7, Arc de Triomphe and Philip III
· To the south – Cuchilleros, Toledo and Botoneras
· From the east – Sal, Zaragoza and Gerona
West – Ciudad Rodrigo
The “Plaza Mayor” in Madrid has restaurants, clothing stores, hats, souvenirs, in short, it fulfills the desires and cravings of all that converge there.
