Castile & León 2023

The site of a Ducal palace, Lerma is an intermediate stop between Madrid and Burgos.  The toy museum here is a welcome diversion to the standard church/ monastery offering seen in this part of Spain.  The nearby town of Santo Domingo de Silos is home to a Benedictine monastery whose monks spun two chanting albums in the mid-90’s into the Billboard 200.

A primary city on the Camino de Santiago, Burgos is the home to Spain’s medieval legend El Cid.  Burgos’ gothic Cathedral is the final resting place for El Cid and his wife.  The cathedral is the centerpiece of Burgos’ attractions.

An early strategic point in the Reconquista, León was Spain’s Christian capital 1,100 years ago.  Since eclipsed by larger and more centrally located cities, León still retains its notoriety with several religious structures including an impressive gothic church, the Real Basilica de San Isidoro, and an amazing convent.

A stop of the Camino de Santiago, Astorga is an ancient town dating back over 2,000 years.  The Romans created what was then known as “Asturica Augusta” in 14 BC.  The town now houses a substantial cathedral with a pilgrimage museum as well as an Episcopal Palace designed by no less than Guadí.

The University of Salamanca has been in existence since 1218, making Salamanca one of the world’s oldest University towns.  In addition to the university facilities, there’s a fairly unique Museum of Art Nouveau and Art Deco. Very unusually, the standard bell tower tour in the New Cathedral includes a walk above the nave of the church: amazing!

Another roman city in Castile & Leon, Ávila is known for its medieval walls, perhaps the most complete and intact in all of Spain.  The town also has obligatory cathedral/ basilica/ convent combination found so frequently in Spanish enclaves.  At an altitude about 3,700 feet, the climate is more comfortable in summer months than it would appear on the map.

San Lorenzo Del Escorial is home to the enormous El Escorial monastery built by Philip II.  The monastery is the final resting place for most of Spain’s monarchs over the last 400 years.  The nearby Valley of the Fallen is a shrine to those who fell in the Spanish Civil War that has unfortunately become hijacked by some with a political agenda.

Simply put, the Spanish place with the tall aqueduct.  While there’s much more to Segovia than a Roman aqueduct, that’s what everyone takes pictures of (us included).  The town also boasts an amazing Alcázar, parks and a cathedral.