The long, arcaded Plaza de España is the social centre of Valdepeñas — the place where locals gather in the evenings, where the terrace bars do most of their business, and where the week's rhythm is most visible. It is not grand in the way that a capital-city plaza is grand, but it has the lived-in quality of a square that has been in continuous use for centuries.
The arcades along the longer sides shelter cafes and small shops from the Castilian sun. At the far end, the town hall occupies a handsome 18th-century building. The Iglesia de la Asunción closes off one corner of the square, its tower providing the only real vertical accent in an otherwise low-rise town.
Arrive around 7pm in summer and you will find the square at its best — shade returning, temperature dropping, and the whole town apparently deciding simultaneously that it is time for a glass of wine.