Trier, Hauptmarkt (Main Market)

The Hauptmarkt (Main Market), one of Germany’s most beautiful town squares, is located a few blocks from the Porta Nigra on Simeonstrasse, the pedestrian shopping street. Trier’s Market Cross was erected in 958 AD on a granite pedestal dating from Roman times, and the Market Fountain, created in the year 1595, incorporates statues that symbolize justice, fortitude, temperance, and prudence.

Germany’s oldest pharmacy, Löwenapotheke (Lion’s Pharmacy) was founded here in the 1600s, and a town-house nearby, built in the 1700s, is the birthplace of Karl Marx.

Among the several sidewalk cafes in the Hauptmarkt, one can be recognized by the ever-popular Golden Arches — familiar food and drink, and there are clean restrooms on the second floor.