Plaza Redonda

This guide to Plaza Redonda in Valencia starts with three battered stone arches from the medieval church of Santa Catalina wedged into a nearby wall, among them what looks like a human head, and the local rumor that a bishop's curse was sealed in with it. It traces the square's long life as a marketplace, from Muslim-era traders to the fish stalls and slaughterhouse that once stood here, through architect Salvador Escrig's decision in 1840 to seal it into a perfect circle nicknamed El Clot, the hole. Look for the women working bobbin lace on quiet mornings, and the children swapping collectible cards here on Sundays, much as their grandparents once did.