What is a plaza de toros ?
A bullring. As the sun will predominantly shine on one side of the ring, that section is known as the “Sol” (Sun) and seats are cheaper there. The side predominently in the shade is known as the “Sombra” (shade). During the fight there will be areas where the sun will go down and also areas where the sun may appear. These may be sold as “Sol y Sombra”, cheaper than the Sombra but more expensive than the Sol. The biggest bullring in the world is the Plaza Monumental in Mexico City. The biggest bullring in Europe is the Plaza Monumental de Las Ventas in Madrid. Spanish bullrings are categorised into first, second and third-class. The “plazas de primera” are Madrid, Seville, Barcelona, Valencia, Cordoba, Zaragoza and Bilbao. “Plazas de segunda” are mainly capitals of provinces and the rest are third- class. Although Pamplona is officially second-class, that and the Roman arena in the French city of Nimes are regarded by many aficionados as first-class in all but name.
