Plaza Santa Ana
Sooner or later you’re bound to pause for a drink on Plaza Santa Ana. It has been a center for entertainment and nightlife since the Corral del Príncipe, one of Spain’s first theaters, began packing in the crowds in 1583. The successor to the Corral, the 19th-century Teatro Español, still operates on the east side of the square and two of Spain’s greatest dramatists—Pedro Calderón de la Barca and Federico García Lorca—are honored with statues. Lorca, murdered during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39), faces the theater holding a dove of peace. The other side of the square is dominated by the Modernist façade of the Reina Victoria hotel, once a favorite with bullfighters (superstitious Manolete always booked room 406), now a trendy spot with an in-demand roof terrace. At press time, the center of the square, usually filled with café tables on warm evenings, was undergoing a complete remodeling, including the controversial felling of some of its trees. Until it reopens, drinkers can enjoy the vintage interiors of the square’s two famous beer halls, Cervecería Santa Ana and Cervecería Alemana, one of Hemingway’s favorites.
Sooner or later you’re bound to pause for a drink on Plaza Santa Ana. It has been a center for entertainment and nightlife since the Corral del Príncipe, one of Spain’s first theaters, began packing in the crowds in 1583. The successor to the Corral, the 19th-century Teatro Español, still operates on the east side of the square and two of Spain’s greatest dramatists—Pedro Calderón de la Barca and Federico García Lorca—are honored with statues. Lorca, murdered during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39), faces the theater holding a dove of peace. The other side of the square is dominated by the Modernist façade of the Reina Victoria hotel, once a favorite with bullfighters (superstitious Manolete always booked room 406), now a trendy spot with an in-demand roof terrace. At press time, the center of the square, usually filled with café tables on warm evenings, was undergoing a complete remodeling, including the controversial felling of some of its trees. Until it reopens, drinkers can enjoy the vintage interiors of the square’s two famous beer halls, Cervecería Santa Ana and Cervecería Alemana, one of Hemingway’s favorites.
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