Plaza de la Villa (Town Square), Madrid

If you fancy a bit of quiet in the heart of busy Madrid, the best place to go is the town square, not far from Main Square. This small, medieval square is surrounded by lovely buildings, each with its own story. Among them is Madrid’s old town hall, built in 1696 and renowned for its graceful stained glass windows and frescoes by Antonio Palomino. Remarkably, at some point, this building was used as a prison. Adjoining the town hall by an archway is Cisneros House, an early Spanish Renaissance palace built in 1537. It boasts a plateresque facade, quite rare in Madrid, and an outstanding collection of fine tapestries.

The nearby Lujanes House and Tower are supposedly the oldest buildings in the city; the tower dates back as far as early 15th century. According to a legend, King Charles I imprisoned King Francis I of France here after the battle of Pavia in 1525. The reason for that was the French king's refusal to show respect and bow head to his captor. Therefore, King Charles ordered that the tower door be lowered, so as to force Francis to bow head each time he entered and exited the building. That gave people an impression that the French monarch, indeed, was bowing to their king.

In the center of the square stands a statue of Alvaro de Bazan, the Spanish admiral who remarkably, never lost a battle in his entire 50-year-long career. The statue was was inaugurated in 1891 to commemorate the three hundredth anniversary of Admiral Alvaro de Bazan's death.