Must-see attractions in Castilla y León

  • Burgos Cathedral - Spain

    Catedral

    Burgos

    This Unesco World Heritage–listed cathedral, once a former modest Romanesque church, is a masterpiece. Work began on a grander scale in 1221; remarkably,…

  • Cathedral of San Antolin in Palencia, Spain.

    Catedral

    Castilla y León

    The sober exterior of this vast house of worship (one of the largest in Castilla) belies the extraordinary riches within – it's widely known as 'La Bella…

  • The Alcazar

    Alcázar

    Segovia

    Rapunzel towers, turrets topped with slate witches' hats and a deep moat at its base make the Alcázar a prototypical fairy-tale castle – so much so that…

  • Interior of the Villa Romana La Olmeda.

    Villa Romana La Olmeda

    Castilla y León

    Villa Romana La Olmeda contains some of the most beautiful remnants of a Roman villa anywhere on the Iberian Peninsula. The villa was built around the 1st…

  • Las Médulas Gold Mines

    Castilla y León

    The ancient Roman goldmines at Las Médulas, about 20km southwest of Ponferrada, once served as the main source of gold for the entire Roman Empire – the…

  • The hermitage of San Saturio, on the banks of the Douro River in Soria, Spain.

    Ermita de San Saturio

    Castilla y León

    A lovely 2.3km riverside walk south from the Monasterio de San Juan de Duero will take you past the 13th-century church of the former Knights Templar, the…

  • Museum of Human Evolution in Burgos, Spain.

    Museo de la Evolución Humana

    Burgos

    This exceptional museum just across the river from the old quarter is a marvellously told story of human evolution. The basement exhibitions on Atapuerca …

  • Catedral

    León

    León's 13th-century cathedral, with its soaring towers, flying buttresses and breathtaking interior, is the city's spiritual heart. Whether spotlit by…

  • Cathedral of Santa Maria in Ciudad Rodrigo.

    Catedral de Santa María

    Castilla y León

    This elegant, weathered sandstone cathedral, begun in 1165, towers over the historic centre. Of particular interest are the Puerta de las Cadenas, with…

  • Museo de Arte Contemporáneo in Leon, Spain.

    Museo de Arte Contemporáneo

    León

    León's showpiece Museo de Arte Contemporáneo has been acclaimed for the 37 shades of coloured glass that adorn the facade; they were gleaned from the…

  • Salamanca, Spain

    Plaza Mayor

    Salamanca

    Built between 1729 and 1755, Salamanca's exceptional grand square is widely considered to be Spain's most beautiful central plaza. It's particularly…

  • The church of San Martin de Tours in Fromista, Castile and León, Spain.

    Iglesia de San Martín

    Castilla y León

    Dating from 1066 and restored in the early 20th century, this beautifully proportioned church is one of the loveliest Romanesque churches in rural Spain,…

  • Coca Castle.

    Coca Castle

    Castilla y León

    A typically dusty, inward-looking Castilian village 50km northwest of Segovia, Coca is presided over by a stunning, all-brick 15th-century castle, a…

  • Church of Santa María la Blanca, Villalcázar de Sirga, Palencia, Spain.

    Iglesia de Santa María La Blanca

    Castilla y León

    This extraordinary fortress-church, an important landmark along the Camino de Santiago, rises up from the Castilian plains between Frómista and Carrión de…

  • Monastery of San Juan de Duero in Soria.

    Monasterio de San Juan de Duero

    Castilla y León

    The most striking of Soria's sights, this wonderfully evocative and partially ruined cloister boasts exposed and gracefully interlaced arches, which…

  • The house of Christopher Columbus in Valladolid, Spain.

    Casa-Museo de Colón

    Valladolid

    The Casa-Museo de Colón is a superb museum spread over four floors. It has interactive exhibits, as well as wonderful old maps that take you on a journey…

  • Los Cuatro Postes monument in Ávila.

    Los Cuatro Postes

    Ávila

    Northwest of the city, on the road to Salamanca, Los Cuatro Postes provides the best views of Ávila's walls. It also marks the place where Santa Teresa…

  • Plaza Mayor in Medinaceli, an ancient and historic town in the province of Soria, in Castile and Leon, Spain.

    Plaza Mayor

    Castilla y León

    The partly colonnaded Plaza Mayor is a lovely centrepiece to the village and one of Castilla y León's prettiest village squares. The oldest remaining…

  • View from Ciudad Rodrigo walls.

    Murallas

    Castilla y León

    There are numerous stairs leading up onto the crumbling ramparts of the city walls that encircle the old town and which were built between the 12th and…

  • Catedral del Salvador

    Ávila

    Ávila's 12th-century cathedral is both a house of worship and an ingenious fortress: its stout granite apse forms the central bulwark in the historic city…

  • Catedral

    Segovia

    Started in 1525 on the site of a former chapel, Segovia's cathedral is a powerful expression of Gothic architecture that took almost 200 years to complete…

  • Catedral Nueva

    Salamanca

    The tower of this late-Gothic cathedral lords over the city centre, its compelling Churrigueresque (an ornate style of baroque architecture) dome visible…

  • Murallas

    Ávila

    Ávila's splendid 12th-century walls stretch for 2.5km atop the remains of earlier Roman and Muslim battlements and rank among the world's best-preserved…

  • Acueducto

    Segovia

    Segovia's most recognisable symbol is El Acueducto (Roman Aqueduct), an 894m-long engineering wonder that looks like an enormous comb plunged into Segovia…

  • Catedral Vieja

    Salamanca

    The Catedral Nueva's largely Romanesque predecessor, the Catedral Vieja is adorned with an exquisite 15th-century altarpiece, one of the finest outside…

  • Real Colegiata de San Isidoro

    León

    Attached to the Real Basílica de San Isidoro, the stunning Panteón Real houses royal sarcophagi, which rest with quiet dignity beneath a canopy of some of…

  • Museo Nacional de Escultura

    Valladolid

    Spain's premier showcase of polychrome wood sculpture is housed in the former Colegio de San Gregorio (1496), a flamboyant Isabelline Gothic–style…

  • Colegiata de San Cosme y Damián

    Castilla y León

    This evocative 15th-century Gothic church is home to Spain's oldest still-functioning church organ, and has a gloriously ostentatious altar, fronted by…

  • Monasterio de San Pedro de Arlanza

    Castilla y León

    These haunting ruins on a rise above the Río Arlanza show traces of both Gothic and Romanesque elements but the sense of elegant abandonment is what…

  • Pagos del Rey

    Castilla y León

    This fine, state-of-the-art wine museum is a welcome addition to Castilla y León's world of wine tourism, offering a fascinating insight into the Toro…

  • Salamanca university

    Universidad Civil

    Salamanca

    Founded initially as the Estudio General in 1218, the university reached the peak of its renown in the 15th and 16th centuries. The visual feast of the…

  • Monastery of Santa María la Real de Huerta.

    Santa María de la Huerta

    Castilla y León

    This wonderful Cistercian monastery 27km northeast of Medinaceli was founded in 1162, expropriated in 1835, then restored to the order in 1930; 20…

  • St Thomas Royal Monastery, Avila, Spain.

    Monasterio de Santo Tomás

    Ávila

    Commissioned by the Reyes Católicos (Catholic Monarchs), Fernando and Isabel, and completed in 1492, this monastery is an exquisite example of Isabelline…

  • Façade of San Esteban Convent in Salamanca.

    Convento de San Esteban

    Salamanca

    Just down the hill from the cathedral, the lordly Dominican Convento de San Esteban's church has an extraordinary altar-like facade, with the stoning of…

  • View of facade and entrance to the Chocolate museum in the city of Astorga, housed in a historic building in the old part of town.

    Museo del Chocolate

    Castilla y León

    Proof that Astorga does not exist solely for the virtuous souls of the Camino comes in the form of this quirky private museum. Chocolate ruled Astorga's…

  • Monastery of San Miguel de Escalada in Leon, Spain.

    Monasterio de San Miguel de Escalada

    Castilla y León

    Rising from Castilla's northern plains, this beautifully simple treasure was built in the 9th century by refugee monks from Córdoba atop the remains of a…

  • Facade of Casa Botines in Leon, Spain.

    Museo Gaudí

    León

    Antoni Gaudí's contribution to León's skyline is the castle-like, neo-Gothic Casa Botines (1893), though the zany architect of Barcelona fame seems to…

  • Casa Lis at night - Art Nouveau and Art Deco Museum - Salamanca, Spain.

    Museo de Art Nouveau y Art Decó

    Salamanca

    Utterly unlike any other Salamanca museum, this stunning collection of sculpture, paintings and art deco and art nouveau pieces inhabits a beautiful,…

  • Episcopal Palace of Astorga by architect Antoni Gaudi.

    Palacio de Gaudí

    Castilla y León

    Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí left his mark on Astorga in the fairy-tale turrets and frilly facade of this palacio. Built in the 19th century, it now…

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