Plaza de Santa Ana square outdoor restaurant Madrid Spain

TkKurikawa

Plaza de Santa Ana

Top choice in Madrid


Plaza de Santa Ana is a delightful confluence of elegant architecture and irresistible energy. It presides over the upper reaches of the Barrio de las Letras and this literary personality makes its presence felt with the statues of the 17th-century writer Calderón de la Barca and Federíco García Lorca, and in the Teatro Español at the plaza’s eastern end. Apart from anything else, the plaza is the starting point for many a long Huertas night.

The square was laid out in 1810 during the controversial reign of Joseph Bonaparte (elder brother of Napoleon), giving breathing space to what had hitherto been one of Madrid’s most claustrophobic barrios. The plaza quickly became a focal point for intellectual life, and the cafes surrounding it thronged with writers, poets and artists engaging in endless tertulias (literary and philosophical discussions).

Transportation

  • metro: Sevilla, Sol, Antón Martín

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Madrid attractions

1. Calle de Cervantes 2

0.12 MILES

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547–1616), the author of Don Quijote, spent much of his adult life in Madrid and lived and died at Calle de Cervantes 2; a…

3. Bear Statue

0.18 MILES

Look out for the statue of a bear nuzzling a madroño (strawberry tree) at the eastern end of the Plaza de la Puerta del Sol; this is the official symbol…

4. Casa de Lope de Vega

0.18 MILES

Lope de Vega may be little known outside the Spanish-speaking world, but he was one of the greatest playwrights ever to write in Spanish, not to mention…

5. Casa de Correos

0.2 MILES

The main building on the Plaza de la Puerta del Sol houses the regional government of the Comunidad de Madrid. The Casa de Correos was built as the city’s…

6. Carlos III Equestrian Statue

0.2 MILES

The Plaza de la Puerta del Sol owes its present appearance in part to the Bourbon king Carlos III (r 1759–88), whose equestrian statue (complete with his…

8. Convento de las Trinitarias

0.21 MILES

When Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra died in 1616, his body was interred at the Convento de las Trinitarias, which is marked by a plaque. For centuries, no…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "spain/madrid/sol-santa-ana-huertas/attractions/plaza-de-santa-ana/a/poi-sig/1094834/1324670",
      "destination": "Madrid",
      "continent": "Europe",
      "country": "Spain",
      "city": "Madrid",
      "position": "superzone"
    }