Plaza de Cristo Rey is the arcaded main square of Cantavieja, lined with stone columns and overlooked by the Baroque parish church. It functions as the social centre of village life — market days, festival events, and the daily ritual of coffee and conversation all happen here. The porticoed walkway was a practical response to the highland climate: it provides shade in summer and shelter in winter, and almost every building of substance in the village has access through it.
The square's most interesting aspect is invisible until you find your way to the village's edges. Several of the buildings on the outer ring of the old town are built right to the rim of the rocky spur, with facades of normal Aragonese stone masonry giving way, on the outside, to sheer cliff. The best way to see this is to walk the path below the village — the Ruta del Contorno — which takes about 45 minutes and shows the full drama of the site. The ayuntamiento (town hall) and the TIC tourist information office are both on the square and can provide a map for the circular walk.