Places of Interest in Castilla-León -
Salamanca

Romans, Visigoths and Moors arrived before the city's heyday in the 13th century when its university, one of the oldest in Europe was founded. Salamanca is now a cosmopolitan city that still retains much of its traditions. The Plaza Mayor (Main Square) is a prime universal example of plateresque architecture and the most illustrious writers of the golden age crowned it the most beautiful city of all. The El Cielo (sky) ceiling frescos of the university symbolise the city's international standing. Salamanca is the Ciudad Dorada (gilded city), a stone campus, a pupil's outdoor blackboard and the birthplace of the most creative plateresque architecture, as can be seen on every building.

Salamanca is also graced with 2 cathedrals, 23 listed churches, 5 convents, 12 listed houses, 5 historic university colleges and 9 palaces. Both cathedrals and the Palacio de Anaya (palace) are two essential city reference points. The amazing plateresque Plaza Mayor is a major attraction for tourists.

Other buildings of a distinct nature include the Monasterio de las Dueñas (monastery), el Palacio de Monterrey (palace, privately owned), the Palacio de Fonseca, the Torre del Clavero (tower) and some extraordinary museums such as the Casa Lis, a modernist building and the only one of its kind in Spain. An impressive collection of 1600 art-nouveau and art-deco pieces are on exhibition, all of which have been generously left to the state by the antique dealer Manuel Ramos Andrade who spent his life collecting them.

Finally, the Casa de las Conchas (House of Shells), one of the city's Plateresque style emblems owes its originality to the emblematic Calle de la Compañía (street). Built towards the end of the 15th century, the Casa de las Conchas, which according to legend keeps treasure hidden under one of its shells is today home to a newly refurbished library.

Salamanca never rests, regardless of the time of year. Every day the city turns into hustle and bustle, with swarms of tourists and university students and a wide variety of bars, top-class restaurants, tapas bars, hotels, inns and guest houses. The nightlife is both attractive and unusual. The cafes and bars ooze creativity, originality, imagination and good taste. Some have a medieval touch, others prefer that of a Cistercian abbey, boat or submarine. A bar in the city centre was even bold enough to build a Plaza Mayor inside. And not forgetting the cafes with their captivating Romantic nineteenth century ambience.

In addition to visiting the old quarters of the city, room must be left in your agenda for a stroll along the banks of Río Tormes and across the puente romano (roman bridge), a legacy of the Vía de la Plata and the southern Camino de Santiago (Compostelan pilgrimage route). Salamanca is the roman Helmantica Salmantice and one of the mansions along the Roman Vía de la Plata.

A definite must in your itinerary is a visit to the Romantic Huerto de Calixto y Melibea (immortalised characters from the famous novel La Celestina by Fernando de Rojas) and the Cueva de Salamanca (cave) portrayed by Cervantes in legend form which is the story of classes taught in the crypt of the Iglesia de San Cipriano (church) by the devil whose payment was to claim the soul of one of his seven pupils. One of the pupils, the Marqués de Villena, hid in a large earthen pot to escape from the devil. However he was condemned to roam around without a shadow until the end of his days.

Two traditions must be remembered on visiting the capital of the Río Tormes. The first is the Subida al Mariquelo (climb to Mariquelo) when on December 31st of each year it is the tradition to go up the tower of the Catedral Nueva; and the second is Lunes de Aguas, the first Monday after Easter which is now celebrated by a traditional picnic with hornazo (a kind of shortcrust-pastry pie filled with pork loin and chorizo) along the banks of the Río Tormes and surrounding areas. It is worth taking note of the city's gold and silversmith trade, with its personal reference point being the filigree work and the Salamanca button.