Square, Plaza sights in Europe
-
A
Grand Place
For one of Europe's finest urban views, head straight to Brussels' magnificent central square, Grand Place. It boasts the country's best baroque guildhalls, the beautiful Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall), museums, pavement cafés, chocolate shops and intimate cellar restaurants - a combination that lures visitors in droves. Hidden at the very core of the old town, it's revealed as you enter from one of six narrow side alleys (Rue des Harengs is the best) - a discreet positioning that adds charm.
The square dates from the 12th century and rose on a site that was once marshland. By the early 15th century, Brussels was booming through the cloth trade and the patronage of the…
reviewed
-
B
Piazza del Popolo
For centuries the sight of public executions, this elegant neoclassical piazza is a superb people-watching spot. It was originally laid out in 1538 to provide a grandiose entrance to the city – at the time, and for centuries before, it was the main northern gateway into the city. Since then it has been extensively altered, most recently by Giuseppe Valadier in 1823. Guarding its southern entrance are Carlo Rainaldi’s twin 17th-century baroque churches, Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Chiesa di Santa Maria in Montesanto, while over on the northern flank is the Porta del Popolo, created by Bernini in 1655. In the centre, the 36m-high Egyptian obelisk was moved…
reviewed
-
C
Ploshcha Rynok
This 16th-century market square lies at the heart of Lviv's rich heritage. A 19th-century town hall (ratusha) stands in the middle of the plaza, with fountains featuring Greek gods on each of its corners. You can climb the neo-Renaissance tower but the 40-odd buildings around the square's perimeter are more interesting.
reviewed
-
D
Maydan Nezalezhnosti
Fountain-filled maydan Nezalezhnosti is the city's most popular meeting place. This was made plain on worldwide TV at the end of 2004 when the square became ground zero for Ukraine's Orange Revolution and makeshift tent city.
The square has held protests since the Orange Revolution and will probably see many more. But 'Maydan' does not require political strife to affirm its place as Kyiv's loudly thumping heart. All streets in the centre seem to spill into maydan Nezalezhnosti, and with them spills a cross-section of Kyiv life: vendors selling food and souvenirs, teenagers carousing under the watchful gaze of winged angel statues, skate rats and snake charmers, lovers and…
reviewed
-
E
Plaza de Neptuno
Officially known as Plaza de Cánovas del Castillo, the next roundabout south of Cibeles is something of a crossroads of Spanish nobility. The Ritz and the Palace, two of Madrid’s longest-standing and most exclusive hotels, glower at each other across the plaza with self-righteous grandeur, while the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza and the Prado do likewise in competition for the title of Madrid’s best loved repository of fine art. The centrepiece is an ornate fountain and 18th-century sculpture of Neptune, the sea god, by Juan Pascual de Mena. But madrileños, never the most reverent lot, know it better as the celebration venue of choice for fans of Atlético de Madrid who lose…
reviewed
-
F
Prešernov Trg
The centrepiece of Ljubljana's wonderful architectural aesthetic is this marvellous square, a public space of understated elegance that not only serves as the link between the Center district and the Old Town but as the city's favourite meeting point. The square itself is dominated by a monument to the national poet France Prešeren.
Immediately south of the statue is the city's architectural poster-child, the small but much celebrated Triple Bridge (Tromostovje). The original Špital Bridge (1842) was nothing spectacular, but between 1929 and 1932 superstar architect Jože Plečnik added the two pedestrian side bridges, furnished all three with stone balustrades and lamps…
reviewed
-
G
St Mark's Square
Napoleon dubbed it the 'finest drawing room in Europe', and visitors and pigeons alike have been flocking here for centuries to strut and crow. There is a constant carnival atmosphere thanks to the cacophony of duelling cafe orchestras, cooing pigeons, and constant traffic of waiters serving alfresco diners.
Now that most visitors arrive in Venice via the railway station, the magical symbolism of the waterside Piazzetta San Marco has to a great extent been lost.
The piazzetta's two columns bear emblems of the city's patron saints: the winged lion of St Mark and the figure of St Theodore. From the Campanile (bell tower), you can enjoy breathtaking views. St Mark's Square…
reviewed
-
H
Covent Garden Market
London’s first planned square is now the exclusive reserve of tourists who flock here to shop in the quaint old arcades, be entertained by buskers, pay through the nose for refreshments at outdoor cafes and bars, and watch men and women pretend to be statues.
On its western flank is St Paul’s Church. The Earl of Bedford, the man who had commissioned Inigo Jones to design the piazza, asked for the simplest possible church, basically no more than a barn. The architect responded by producing ‘the handsomest barn in England’. It has long been regarded as the actors’ church for its associations with the theatre, and contains memorials to the likes of Charlie Chaplin and…
reviewed
-
I
Trastevere
Although its traditionally proletarian nature is changing as the crumbling palazzi become gentrified, a stroll among the labyrinthine alleys of Trastevere still reaps small gems of a bygone past. Washing strung out from the apartments in best Mama-leone tradition has everyone sighing and reaching for the Kodaks.
The lovely Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere is the area's heart. It's a true Roman square - by day peopled by mothers with strollers, chatting locals and guidebook-toting tourists, by night with artisans selling their craft work, young Romans looking for a good time, and the odd homeless person looking for a bed. The streets east of the piazza is where you'll find…
reviewed
-
J
Grote Markt
As in every great Flemish city, life in Antwerp radiates out from the Grote Markt, a vast, pedestrianised, triangular market square presided over by the impressive Renaissance-style stadhuis.
The Grote Markt is lined on two sides by Renaissance-style guildhalls, most of which were reconstructed in the 19th century. The tallest and most impressive is No 7, topped by a gilded statue of St George astride a rearing horse as he spears a dragon.
The voluptuous, baroque Brabo Fountain rises from a rough pile of rocks in the centre of the Grote Markt. Crafted in 1887 by Jef Lambeaux (who lived at Grote Markt 44), it depicts the legend of Antwerp's name.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
K
Piazza del Duomo
The geographical heart of Lecce is the Piazza del Duomo, although it feels cut off from the city. It's a clever trick, intended by the architects who designed it; first they set it back down a small alley off the main corso, then they enclosed it with operatic buildings, leaving just one narrow access flanked by imposing entrance piers. In the past this could be closed by a huge oak door, although that is long gone.
It is quite ingenious, and even now as you walk into the square you experience a feeling of wonder as the drama of the piazza reveals itself to you.
reviewed
-
Podil
The funicular to the rear of St Michael's Gold-Domed Monastery and Andriyivsky uzviz both lead down to the riverside mercantile quarter of Podil. An appealing grid of streets lined with quaint lanterns and eclectic turn-of-the-20th-century buildings, it's the antidote to all those Soviet façades that dominate vul Khreshchatyk. Dating back to the earliest settlements, the area grew quickly around the port. Today it's a buzzing restaurant district.
Podil was last rebuilt in 1811 after a devastating fire and emerged largely unscathed from WWII.
reviewed
-
L
Plaza de España
Plaza de España, a rather isolated and relaxing spot with its fountains and mini-canals, faces the northeastern side of Parque de María Luisa across Avenida de Isabel la Católica. Curving round the plaza is the most grandiose of the 1929 Exposición buildings, a brick-and-tile confection featuring Seville tilework at its gaudiest, with a map and historical scene for each Spanish province - all designed by the leading Iberoamericana architect, Sevillan Aníbal González.
reviewed
-
M
St Peter's Square
From above, Piazza San Pietro looks like a giant keyhole. The square's creator, Bernini, described the double colonnade as 'the motherly arms of the church'. He'd planned for the square to gob-smack pilgrims as they emerged from the tangle of medieval streets, an effect spoilt when Mussolini bulldozed Via della Conciliazione through the area. Caligula shipped in the central obelisk from Heliopolis, and it was later used by Christian-culling Nero as a turning post at his chariot-racing circus.
reviewed
-
N
Praça do Comércio
Marquês de Pombal’s grandest design, this is a square to out-pomp them all: a whirl of 18th-century lemon-meringue edifices and arcades with vistas across the Tejo. The biggest crowd-puller is Verissimo da Costa’s Arco da Vitória, a mighty triumphal arch crowned with bigwigs including explorer Vasco da Gama, which leads onto Rua Augusta.
reviewed
-
O
Red Square
Immediately outside the Kremlin’s northeastern wall is the celebrated Red Square, the 400m by 150m area of cobbles that is at the very heart of Moscow. Commanding the square from the southern end is St Basil’s Cathedral. This panorama never fails to send the heart aflutter, especially at night.
reviewed
-
P
Piazza Maggiore
Flanked by the world's fifth-largest basilica and a series of impressive Renaissance palazzi, Piazza Maggiore is the city's principal focus and an obvious starting point for sightseeing. A lively pedestrian hub through which you'll find yourself passing several times, it was laid out in the 13th century.
reviewed
-
Q
Piazza Trieste e Trento
Cocktail-sipping poseurs and packs of flirting teens make this an essential city pitstop. Grab a lemon granita from the hole-in-the-wall acquaiolo (drink stall) and take in the famous locals, which include the Palazzo Reale, Teatro San Carlo and legendary Caffè Gambrinus.
reviewed
-
Piazza Castello
Turin's central square shelters a wealth of museums, theatres and cafés. Essentially baroque, the grand piazza was laid out from the 14th century to serve as the seat of dynastic power for the House of Savoy.
reviewed
-
R
Plaza Bib-Rambla
The large, popular Plaza Bib-Rambla has restaurants, flower stalls and a central fountain with statues of giants. This square was the scene of jousting, bullfights and Inquisition burnings.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
Piaţa Cetăţii
The quiet, miniscule Piaţa Cetăţii is the heart of old Sighişoara. It was here that markets, craft fairs, public executions, impalings and witch trials were held.
reviewed
-
S
Fontana di Nettuno
In the centre of Piazza del Duomo is the Fontana di Nettuno, a splashing 18th-century fountain dedicated to the trident-wielding Neptune.
reviewed
-
Rialto
Rivoalto (later contracted to Rialto), the highest spot in the collection of islets that formed the nucleus of the lagoon city, was one of the areas of first settlement - although the more active part was initially on the San Marco side of the bridge. The San Polo side slowly gained the ascendance and became the centre of trade and banking for the Republic. This is where dosh traded hands, voyages were bankrolled, insurance was arranged and news (or gossip) was exchanged.
The area continues to buzz with the activity of the daily produce and fish markets - why break the habit of 700 years? The Fabbriche Vecchie (Old Buildings), along the Ruga degli Orefici, were created by…
reviewed
-
T
Grand Place Guildhalls
The splendour of the Grand Place is due largely to the antique frame of Grand Place guildhalls. Each merchant guild erected its own building, which is named (no street numbers back then) and adorned with gilded statues and elaborate symbols related to its trade. When the guildhalls were obliterated in the 1695 bombardment, the guilds rallied and rebuilt their headquarters using stone (rather than partial timber as before) for the façades and adding fanciful baroque touches to the gables.
Some of the highlights:
Maison du Roi (King's House- Opposite the Hôtel de Ville, this dark, brooding building was never home to royalty, despite the name. These days it houses the Musée…
reviewed
-
U
Town Hall
Poznań's Renaissance Town Hall, topped with a 61m-high tower, instantly captures your attention. Its graceful form replaced the 13th-century Gothic town hall, which was consumed by fire in the early 16th century, along with much of the town. It was designed by Italian architect Giovanni Battista Quadro and constructed from 1550 to 1560; only the tower is a later addition, built in the 1780s after its predecessor collapsed.
The crowned eagle on top of the spire, with an impressive wingspan of 2m, adds some Polish symbolism.The main eastern façade is embellished with a three-storey arcade. Above it is a painted frieze depicting kings of the Jagiellonian dynasty, and a…
reviewed