This is the charming heart of Ceuta, with manicured tropical plantings, a square of cobblestone streets and some of the city’s finest architecture. Moving clockwise from the oblong Commandancia General , a military headquarters closed to visitors, you encounter the striking yellow Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Africa , an 18th-century Andalucian-style church; the 19th-century Palacio de Asamblea with its elegant dome and clock, a combination palace and city hall; and finally the 17th-century, twin-spired Cathedral Santa Maria de la Asuncion with its museum . The centre of the plaza contains a memorial to soldiers lost in the Spanish–Moroccan War of 1860, a conflict over the borders of Ceuta.
