Plaza Gertrudis Bocanegra, often called Plaza Chica, is the more workaday of Pátzcuaro's two main squares. Buses, market errands, shoe-shine stands, and snack vendors give it a busier edge than elegant Plaza Vasco de Quiroga.
It is named for a local independence heroine executed by royalist forces in 1817. Drop by for the market atmosphere and for cheap food around the square, then continue uphill toward the basilica.