Plaza Mayor of Chinchón

An irregular square of three-storey houses with arcades and green-painted wooden galleries, 234 balconies in all. It is the symbol of Chinchón and the reason almost everyone comes: the town centre was declared a Historic-Artistic Ensemble in 1974 and, in 2008, the square was voted the fourth wonder of the Community of Madrid.

How it was made

Before it was a square it was an open space where livestock drank and fairs were held. The council bought houses here in 1499 to meet in, and the town hall is still in the same place today. In 1502 Joanna the Mad and Philip the Handsome visited. Houses closed in around it until, in 1683, the square was completely enclosed, leaving gaps for processions and carts to pass.

Its irregular shape betrays that popular origin: it was not laid out at once, but completed gradually. The wooden balconies are called "claros" here. The square has served as a comedy theatre, for cane jousts, religious plays and bullfights. In the nineteenth century the Sociedad de Cosecheros remodelled it as a bullring, and it still serves as one at fiestas.

What to do in it

The best thing is to go all the way round the arcades, looking up, and then climb the steps towards the church of the Asunción: from above you see the whole square. In the square itself, in the former wash-house, is the tourist office, where guided tours are booked. To eat without moving, the Café de la Iberia is at number 17.

The town council suggests stopping for a tapa and a glass of the town's wine before lunch; local cooking revolves around wood-fired roasts, Chinchón garlic, anise and sweets such as pelotas de fraile. It is a free walk, with no hours, suitable for dogs on a lead.

Dates that change the square

Madrid Region Tourism highlights the Living Passion of Holy Saturday, declared a Festival of National Tourist Interest; a medieval market in February; the patron saint festivals in August, in honour of the Virgin of Gracia and Saint Roch; and a bullfighting festival in October. On those days there are many more people in the town. Outside those dates, on weekdays, you can walk it at leisure.

How to get there

Chinchón is about 45 km south-east of Madrid, by the A-3 and the M-311 and M-313 roads, or by the A-4 and the M-404. By bus, La Veloz's line 337 leaves almost hourly. The old town is covered on foot; there are park-and-walk car parks at the approaches and regulated zones.