The Carrer Major and the surrounding lanes form the medieval heart of Puigcerdà. Stone arcades, wooden shutters, and small shops selling local cheeses, sausages and Pyrenean knives line the narrow streets. The arcades are the practical response to a climate that swings between hard sun and hard snow.
Plaça Cabrinetty, the central square, is a porticoed marketplace dating back to the town's founding by Alfonso I in 1178. Cafés put out tables in summer; in winter the cobbles slick over and the cafés move indoors. It is small enough to wander around in twenty minutes and worth doing slowly.