Five reasons to visit Salamanca

Sprouting from the plains of the Castile and Leon region in Spain’s “Wild West”, Salamanca sizzles with sights and flavours to stir the senses. You could do it on a day trip from Madrid thanks to a high-speed rail link that takes just over an hour and a half (and can cost as little as $40 return if you book online in advance). But it’s worth staying longer and some tour operators have overnight stopovers in Salamanca on their Spanish itineraries. Here are five of the city’s highlights.

PLAZA MAYOR

Even more gobsmacking than its namesake in Madrid, Salamanca’s Plaza Mayor is one of Europe’s most majestic squares, and the pulsing heart of this city since the mid-18th century. Residents of all ages come to stroll or hang out at this vast public space day and night, with some sipping, eating and people-watching from the terraces of the bars and eateries framing the plaza’s arched Baroque buildings, constructed in classic Salamanca sandstone. Not for nothing is this city nicknamed La Dorada, or The Golden One. Radiant in the (regular) sunshine, Plaza Mayor takes on a different character after dark when it’s illuminated to stunning effect.

DOS CATHEDRALS

Most cities are content to have one cathedral. Not Salamanca. Joined together in the city’s UNESCO-rated historic core are the Catedral Vieja — begun in AD 1120 in Romanesque style — and the much larger Catedral Nuevo, built from the 16th century, completed with a Baroque flourish and flaunting Spain’s tallest bell tower, which dominates the city skyline (scale the breath-stealing stairs for wonderful panoramas). The new cathedral was deemed necessary because the existing one wasn’t big enough to cope with Salamanca’s growing, mass-going population. It was, in large part, due to the University of Salamanca, which had developed into one of Europe’s leading centres of learning since its foundation by King Alfonso IX in AD 1218.

SCHOLARLY HERITAGE

Storied university buildings pepper the lanes of Salamanca’s old town and you can take guided tours that share the history and show off the ancient colleges, courtyards, cloisters, chapels and gardens. This is still a lively university city with almost 30,000 students from across Spain and dozens of other countries swelling Salamanca’s 150,000 population. When they’re not in lectures, don’t be surprised to see (and hear them) drinking, snacking and socialising in bar-lined areas of the city like Calle Obispo Jarrin, just off the Plaza Mayor, or in the Van Dyck district north of downtown.

TASTEBUD PLEASERS

From alfresco restaurants to tavern cellars, the city has bountiful possibilities for a nice lunch or dinner, including tapas. Produce sourced from the farms of the Salamanca province feature on menus, with popular dishes like rabo de toro estofado al vino tinto (oxtail stewed in red wine) and cochinillo (roasted suckling pig). Cured hams like cana de lomo and pata negra hang in Salamanca’s Mercado Central, which is just north of Plaza Mayor and ideal if you’re looking for picnic or takeaway ingredients. Stalls bulging with fruit, vegetables, fish, seafood, cheeses and pickles may pique your interest. The market has medieval roots, but its current home was erected in the early 1900s. Another striking building from this era is Casa Lis, a mansion located south of the cathedrals and housing the Art Nouveau and Art Deco Museum. Exhibited below a ravishing stained glass ceiling are over 2500 pieces of decorative art from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including porcelain, gold, jewellery and a Faberge egg.

OVER THE BRIDGE

It was almost 2400 years ago that Celtic tribes settled by the Tormes, a river that snakes to the south of Salamanca’s historic centre. Numerous bridges have crossed the island-speckled waters in the intervening millennia, notably the sturdy stone, 26-arch Puente Romano de Salamanca, originally built in the 1st century AD, after the Romans arrived, but restored several times. Walk or pedal across the bridge and you’ll reach a waterfront area with lawns, playgrounds, sports facilities and paths that attract cyclists, pedestrians and joggers. You can take postcard-pretty snaps of Salamanca from here and keep an eye out for moorhens, warblers, kingfishers, reed buntings and other birdlife that nest and fish by the river.

+ Steve McKenna was a guest of Collette. They have not influenced or seen this story. fact file + There’s an overnight stay in Salamanca on Collette’s 15-day small-group Flavours of Portugal and Spain tour. It’s available throughout the year, starting with three nights in Lisbon, and finishing in San Sebastian, also visiting the Douro and Rioja wine regions. Tours from $6299 per person. See gocollette.com/en-AU + For more information on visiting Salamanca and Spain, see salamanca.es see spain.info