Salamanca, the golden city of a thousand legends
🌿 TYPE OF TRIP
History, culture and leisure.
🤔 BEST TIME TO TRAVEL TO SALAMANCA
OCTOBER: Between March and October, you can enjoy the best time to visit the city of Castile. Between March and April, you can admire the wildflowers in the countryside and witness the moving Holy Week processions. In summer, the annual festivals of Burgos, Soria, and Segovia take place; and in September and October, autumn colors burst forth, there are fewer tourists, and the weather is (generally) mild and clear.
✔ WHAT TO DO IN SALAMANCA
Illuminated at night or bathed in the evening light, Salamanca possesses a certain magic. It is a city of unique beauty, brimming with sandstone architecture adorned with Latin inscriptions in ochre, showcasing extraordinary virtuosity in the Plateresque and Renaissance styles. The monumental landmarks are numerous, and the exceptional Plaza Mayor (with its stunning nighttime illumination) is unforgettable. It is also the liveliest city in Castile, home to a large student population—both Spanish and international—that fills the streets at night and infuses the city with tremendous energy .
🌮 YOU CAN'T LEAVE SALAMANCA WITHOUT TRYING IT
Salamanca's culinary culture is second to none, boasting some truly historic dishes that you simply must try. Among the most notable are hornazo (a savory pie filled with pork loin, ham, chorizo, hard-boiled egg, and more), chamfaina (a dish of rice, lamb, onion, paprika, garlic, chili pepper, cooked lamb's blood, and cumin), limón serrano (a salad with orange, lemon, egg, spices, chorizo, and cured meats), and patatas meneás (a stew with meat, garlic, and paprika). One of its delicacies is Guijuelo ham. For dessert, some of its star offerings include Bollo Maimón (a sponge cake soaked in brandy), rosquilla de Ledesma (made with dough, flour, eggs, lard, and sugar), chochos charros (a type of almond cookie), perrunillas (a type of shortbread), and sacatrapos (a type of sweet pastry). You can pair it all with wines from the Arribes PDO and the Sierra de Salamanca Quality Wine .
👁🗨 CURIOSITIES OF SALAMANCA
There are countless legends and mysteries surrounding the frog perched on a skull on the facade of the University of Salamanca. One of them is that the frog had to be found by students who wanted to pass their exams. Tradition says that finding the frog brings good luck, and that students will pass their studies if they find it without help. That's why it's become common to see students and tourists trying to find it. However, you should know that the frog's origin was to symbolize death resulting from lust, since at that time, syphilis, recently arrived from America, was rampant.
😎 MISS WOOD'S TIP
The cathedral is one of the city's main tourist attractions. Its unique feature is that it consists of two parts: the old cathedral, dating back to the 12th century, and the new cathedral, from the 16th century. In 1992, during the building's restoration, a sculpture of an astronaut was discovered on one of its doors. Play a game and find it! If that's too easy, try finding a lynx, a bull, a smiling dragon with a three-scoop ice cream cone, a crayfish, a stork, and a hare on the north door.
5 MUST-SEE PLACES IN SALAMANCA
1. PLAZA MAYOR: Located in the heart of the historic center, the Plaza Mayor is one of the most beautiful squares in Spain. Built in the Baroque style between 1729 and 1756, the square is an imperfect quadrilateral, notable for its semicircular arches and the historic buildings that surround it. We recommend visiting the Plaza Mayor at different times of day and sitting at one of the terraces to enjoy a drink while soaking up the lively atmosphere where tourists, locals, and students mingle.
2. UNIVERSITY OF SALAMANCA: The epicenter of Salamanca's history and cultural life. It is the oldest university in Spain and the fourth oldest in Europe. It has had such illustrious rectors, professors, and students as Unamuno, Fray Luis de León, Fernando de Rojas, Saint John of the Cross, Hernán Cortés, Góngora, and Calderón de la Barca. Its greatest treasure is the library. We also recommend visiting the Unamuno House-Museum at the end of the same street.
3. THE GARDEN OF CALIXTO AND MELIBEA: This landscaped green space was the setting for the amorous encounters of the protagonists of La Celestina, the title by which Fernando de Rojas's Tragicomedy of Calisto and Melibea became popular. Besides being a source of inspiration for literary works, this well-maintained garden, located atop the old city wall, is perfect for escaping the heat and relaxing with views of the upper part of the Cathedral.
4. Casa Lis: This building, constructed in 1905, boasts a magnificent south façade formed by two glass and iron galleries, its crown jewel. Inside, you can explore the Art Nouveau and Art Deco Museum, which houses a superb collection of porcelain dolls, and a large courtyard covered by a spectacular stained-glass window.
5. House of Shells: The façade and interior of this palace showcase a blend of Gothic, Renaissance, and Mudéjar styles. One of the defining features of this stylistic fusion is the more than 300 shells adorning the façade, which give the house its name. Legend has it that the jewels of the former owners are hidden beneath one of these shells. Besides taking photos of the exterior, it's worth taking a free tour inside to admire the beautiful courtyard.
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