Pátzcuaro’s leafy main square – more commonly known as 'Plaza Grande' – is Mexico’s largest plaza after the Zócalo in Mexico City and the only one in the country without a church. It is framed by the 17th-century facades of old mansions that have since been converted to hotels, shops and restaurants and the Palacio Municipal (city hall). It is all watched over by a serene statue of Vasco de Quiroga, which rises from the central fountain.
The plaza's colonnaded portales (corridors) are full of food stalls, jewelry shops and folk-art sellers, and the atmosphere, particularly on the weekend when bands play and street performers entertain, is wonderful.
