Mercado de San Miguel

An open-air market has stood on this site since the 13th century, on the square left after a church that burned down in 1790 was later demolished. The current iron-and-glass hall, designed by architect Alfonso Dube and inspired by Paris's Les Halles, opened on 13 May 1916. It declined as supermarkets spread through central Madrid, was bought by private investors in 2003, restored, and reopened in 2009 as a gourmet food hall. It now draws more than 10 million visitors a year to its tapas counters, seafood, cheese and wine stalls under the original 1916 structure.