Plaza Alta

Plaza Alta is the heart of Algeciras's old town, a pleasant square tiled in traditional Sevillian azulejo ceramics with orange trees providing shade and a fountain at the centre. The square is lined with cafes and small businesses, and it functions as the main social gathering point for the city — people sit here at all hours, watching the world pass and ignoring the tourists who photograph the tilework.

The Church of Our Lady of la Palma stands on the southwestern corner of the square, dating from the 18th century but rebuilt several times. The Chapel of Our Lady of Europe, also on the plaza, is a small chapel with a history going back to the founding of the modern city. The square is a five-minute walk uphill from the port.

things to do sight
A story
The 1906 Algeciras Conference — one of the key diplomatic crises that preceded World War I — was held at the Hotel Reina Cristina nearby, and the plaza was at the centre of the international attention that briefly descended on this remote Andalusian port city. The competing imperial powers of Europe negotiated Morocco's future here while Algeciras's residents went about their daily lives in the same plaza they do today. The conference failed to prevent the war it was meant to prevent.