Salamanca · ES
Salamanca: Golden City Highlights
Through the golden sandstone city of Spain's oldest university, from the perfect Plaza Mayor to the cathedral and the Roman bridge.
What's the walk about?
Welcome to Salamanca, the golden city, one of the most beautiful and harmonious in all of Spain. Built almost entirely from a warm, honey-coloured sandstone that glows amber in the evening sun, it is above all a university city, home to the oldest university in the country and one of the oldest in the world, so that its ancient streets are forever young, filled with students from across the globe. On this gentle loop through the World Heritage old town we take in the perfect Plaza Mayor, a palace covered in shells, the famous university with its hidden frog, two cathedrals in one, grand convents, and the Roman bridge with its classic view. Let the golden stone work its magic.
What you'll see
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1
Plaza Mayor
Square
Widely regarded as the most beautiful main square in Spain, a perfectly enclosed Baroque masterpiece of golden sandstone, ringed by arcades and medallions of famous Spaniards.
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2
Casa de las Conchas
Historic House
A beautiful late-Gothic palace whose golden facade is studded with over three hundred carved stone scallop shells, the emblem of the Order of Santiago, now a public library.
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3
La Clerecía
Church
The grand Baroque church and college of the Jesuits, its twin towers dominating the skyline, with a climb up the Scala Coeli tower for the finest views over the golden city.
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4
Universidad de Salamanca
University
The oldest university in Spain and one of the oldest in the world, famous for its dazzlingly intricate Plateresque facade, on which visitors hunt for a tiny carved frog said to bring luck.
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5
Catedral de Salamanca
Cathedral
A remarkable double cathedral, where a soaring late-Gothic and Baroque New Cathedral stands joined to the older Romanesque Old Cathedral, famous for a modern carving of an astronaut hidden in its stone.
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6
Convento de San Esteban
Monastery
A grand Dominican monastery whose church facade is like a vast carved altarpiece in stone, famous as the place where the scholars who championed Columbus's voyage lived and studied.
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7
Convento de las Dueñas
Convent
A Dominican convent famous for its unusual irregular cloister, whose carved stone capitals swarm with bizarre and grotesque figures of monsters, demons and screaming faces.
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8
Casa Lis
Museum
A dazzling Art Nouveau mansion built against the old city walls, its courtyard a canopy of brilliant stained glass, now a museum of Art Nouveau and Art Deco treasures.
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9
Huerto de Calixto y Melibea
Garden
A romantic walled garden perched on the old city ramparts, named after the tragic lovers of a famous medieval Spanish classic, with lovely views over the river and up to the cathedral.
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10
Puente Romano
Bridge
The ancient Roman bridge across the river Tormes, part of the great Silver Route, offering the classic, postcard view back up to the golden cathedral and old city.
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