The Plaza Mayor in Salamanca is one of the city’s main tourist attractions, thanks to its Baroque-style architecture. This tourist hotspot is an absolute must-see - you cannot miss out on seeing it! If you have already visited Madrid’s very own Plaza Mayor, you will soon realise that the two have some similarities in terms of their structures and designs, but Salamanca’s square has some obvious differences that give it a unique charm, especially at night.
Miguel de Unamuno, a famous Spanish writer, depicted the beauty of this structure through this very well-known quote:
“Es un cuadrilatéro. Irregular pero asombrosamente armónico. ”
(In English - “It’s a quadrilateral: irregular but astonishingly harmonious. ”)
Design
Salamanca’s Plaza Mayor is enormous: I think that it could be even bigger than that of Madrid. Its design is unique in the sense that it uses materials that are distinctive of the buildings in Salamanca: freestone from Villamayor (a province of Salamanca where all the quarries are located). The guide explained to us that this type of stone usually has a very light colour when it is extracted from the quarries. However, once the stone has been moulded and with the passing of time, the iron is oxidised upon ‘contact’ with both air and the sun, which ultimately gives it its distinctive “golden” colour, which the majority of buildings in Salamanca have. So, it’s for this reason that Salamanca is, in fact, usually referred to as the “Golden City”.
The monumental square has 3 floors and 88 arches, which you can access from outside by four different points, and it has absolutely loads of balconies, around 250 of them, or something in that region.
Something that you will notice is that the square’s design has lots of different circular portraits or medallions (depictions of people in sculpture form), which are distributed around the entire square. There are 89 of them in total, and they represent important figures in Spanish society. Amongst these, you will see several Kings like Ferdinand VI, Alfonso IX, Charles III, and Philip II, as well as important figures like El Cid, Christopher Columbus, Guzmán el Bueno, Gonzalo de Córdoba, Saint Teresa of Ávila, Cervantes, and others who were representative of Spanish history and culture.
An interesting fact for you: General Francisco Franco also had his own medallion, but the locals demanded for it to be removed.
A very old, but legendary square
I always like to mention how old these places are because it's a great way of truly understanding their socio-historic value. The square was finished in 1756: imagine just stopping in the middle of a monument that is a quarter of a century old, and it was, in fact, built on top of a much older square that used to be called Plaza de San Martín, due to its proximity to the church that bears the same name.
This square has been used for all manner of events: previously it was used as a market, and it has even come to host bull running and Baroque style parties. But, currently, it is used as a meeting point, a tourist hotspot, or as a place to eat, given the endless number of restaurants located both in and around the square.
Enjoy a cup of history at Café Novelty
In fact, if you are going to visit the square, I recommend going to the oldest café in Salamanca, Café Novelty, which is located in Plaza Mayor and was opened in 1905. Its importance for locals in Salamanca is the same as that of Café San Gines for the citizens of Madrid (if you are interested in finding out more about this place, you can find a short review about it on my profile).
This café has played host to several important celebrities coming from many different spheres - the arts, politics, and social - like Miguel de Unamuno, Vargas Llosa, Juan Benet, Fernando Mayoral, Jimmy Carter, and General Franco, amongst others.
How much does it cost to visit?
Given that it's a public place, this must-see attraction is free. The only thing that you may want to consider is the cost of food because I am almost certain that you will want to eat whilst you are there.
How do you get there?
The streets in the centre of Salamanca are made for walking: the only cars that I have seen there are ones for weddings. Prepare yourself for seeing the city on foot and finding yourself one of the thousands of city maps available at hostels, hotels and restaurants.
To get to the square, you have to walk through the surrounding streets: Calle Pozo Amarillo, Calle Quintana and Calle Prado (which are accessible by car). Then, from these, you can access the square via any one of the four entrances located on these streets: Calle Concejo, Calle Toro, Calle Prior and Calle Varillas.
Recommendations:
- Visit the Plaza Mayor both during the day and at night: during the day, you will be able to appreciate how golden in colour the stone is, and at night, you will fall in love with the lighting in the square.
- If you are on a tight budget, I recommend eating somewhere that's not particularly close to the square; in fact, the further away, the better. The prices at restaurants usually increase both during the weekend and at tourist traps located in the immediate vicinity of Plaza Mayor. That day, we ate in a place recommended to us by our guide, Mandala, which is highly recommendable; you will be able to find a short review about it on my profile.
