Castile and León

Castile and León (Spanish: Castilla y León) is a region of Central Spain, named for its many medieval castles. It's on a plateau and is bordered to the north by coastal Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia, east by Madrid and Castile-La Mancha, south by Extremadura, and west by Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro in northern Portugal. == Cities == 1 León has a fine Gothic cathedral and a wealth of cultural, historical and architectural heritage. 2 Astorga is a cathedral city on the Santiago pilgrimage route. 3 Ávila, spectacularly ringed by ancient walls, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 4 Béjar has a museum about its textile industry. 5 Bembibre is an agricultural town to the west. 6 Burgos has a Gothic cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 7 Miranda de Ebro, Industrial city with rich cultural influences. 8 Ciudad Rodrigo is a frontier town much bashed by Wellington. 9 Palencia is mostly modern but old buildings cluster round its flamboyant cathedral. 10 Ponferrada is near the UNESCO landscape of Las Médulas. 11 Salamanca has a wonderful old town centre, and many buildings are UNESCO world heritage sites. 12 Segovia is symbolised by its Roman aqueduct and crag-top citadel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 13 Soria has a clutch of Romanesque churches. 14 Valladolid is mostly modern but with many interesting old buildings. 15 Zamora is studded with Romanesque architecture. == Other destinations == === Villages === 1 Atapuerca is a village near the archaeological site of Atapuerca. 2 Belorado 3 Berlanga de Duero Is a small Castilian village with a strong historical character set in the gorge of the Escalote River and dominated by its hilltop castle in the south of Soria province. 4 Castrojeriz 5 Frómista 6 Hontanas 7 Hornillos del Camino 8 Rabé de las Calzadas 9 Sahagún 10 Santa Lucía de Gordón is a village in the central mountains. 11 Tardajos is a village on the French Way of the Camino de Santiago. 12 Villafranca Montes de Oca is a village on the French Way of the Camino de Santiago. === Others === 13 Puerto de Navacerrada and nearby Valdesqui are two skiing areas on the boundary with Madrid. 14 Laguna Negra in the Sierra Urbion is a glacial lake ringed by granite walls. Hiking trails take in two similar lakes and the source of the River Douro. 15 Hoces del Río Riaza Natural Park. An area surrounding the gorges of the Riaza River, of great geomorphological and botanical value, with a great variety and quantity of cliff-dwelling birds and birds of prey. == Understand == "Lors feras chastiaus en Espaigne / E avras joie de neient / Tant con tu iras foleiant" "Thou shalt make castles than in Spaine, / And dreame of joy / all but in vaine" "Roman de la Rose" was written in the 13th century, and translated into English by Chaucer among others. It was wildly popular, as in medieval times it was the closest they got to romantic fiction. To this day, to "build castles in Spain" is the French equivalent of "build castles in the air", to engage in idle fantasy. It was mostly for the ease of a rhyme that the story picked Spain (where the rain falls mainly on the plain) but there were real knights and even more armchair warriors who dreamed of setting themselves up here, especially in the little kingdom named for its castles. Meseta Central is an extensive plateau at around 700-1000 m altitude, boxed in by mountain ranges that force the drainage west to the Atlantic, swelling into the river Duero / Douro. It's reasonably fertile, so it was mostly for agricultural produce that the Romans moved in from 218 BC, then they heard about the gold and other valuable metals. The gold mines of Médulas funded Rome the way the Americas later funded the Spanish Empire at its zenith. The aqueduct at Segovia is the Romans' best-known work here, and they built walls around several cities, maintained in later ages. They marched away to be replaced by the Visigoths, but from around 710 AD the Moors captured all but the northern fringes of Spain. For over 200 years this region was a borderland, never beautified like the cities of Andalusia, and it became depopulated. The Christian pushback began in 722 and by 910 the Kingdom of León was established, covering the northwest quarter of Spain. Its eastern portion Castile split off in the 11th century but reunited in the 13th; this became a leading force in the Reconquista, so places as far away as Seville and the Canaries became part of it, and the union with Aragon in 1469 effectively created a single Spain. The present autonomous community of Castilla y León is a smaller entity but still the largest subnational political unit in the European Union; it's larger than Belgium. The Reconquista was not just territorial but cultural: the area was repopulated from further north, and churches and secular noble buildings sprang up everywhere. There was royal patronage as the court and capital moved about, until those settled in Madrid and Spain fell on hard times. Later industry and development was limited so this has left a wealth of old cities and sights such as cathedrals, many recognised as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Climate reflects the altitude, with long cold winters averaging 3 - 6 °C in January, and short hot dry summers (19 - 22 °C). May-June and September are good times to visit and avoid the crowds. Talk: Spanish (in its standard Castilian form) is the working language. Staff in the hospitality sector may know other major European languages, but you should make an effort. Visitor info: Portal de Turismo is the regional online site, and there are physical tourist offices in the major cities. == Get in == === By plane === Madrid Barajas Airport (MAD IATA) is usually the best airport for reaching this region, for its wide range of flights and good onward transport. Several buses for Castile and Leon start from this airport. Castile-León itself has only small airports, at Valladolid (VLL IATA), León (LEN IATA), Salamanca (SLM IATA) and Burgos (RGS IATA). Typically these link to Spanish holiday islands such as Mallorca or the Canaries. Some have flights from Barcelona (with connections across Europe), but not from Madrid which is too close to fly. === By train === High-speed trains fan out from Madrid Chamartín to all the main cities, continuing to Ourense, Vigo and Portugal. Slower trains start from Madrid Principio Pio, eg to Ávila. One daily train is direct from Barcelona via Zaragoza to Burgos and Valladolid. From France the shortest route is via Hendaye and Irun. From there trains run to Burgos, Palencia, Valladolid or León. === By bus === Alsa is the main inter-city bus line, plying from Madrid Estación Sur ("south station") and stopping at Moncloa interchange in the northwest suburbs. Some buses start from Madrid Airport. == Get around == Trains and buses link the main towns. Their stations are mostly within a 30 min walk of the sights of interest, but one exception is Segovia: the high speed frequent train stops at Guiomar 5 km south, while the central old station only has a couple of slow trains a day. You need your own wheels for outlying sights such as the mining landscape of Las Médulas. See below for the long-distance pilgrimage trails to Santiago. == See == The gothic cathedral of Burgos. Segovia is best known for its aqueduct and old town; La Granja is a palace 11 km out. Ávila within its city walls. Salamanca old town. Las Médulas, where the Romans mined gold. Siega Verde 20 km northwest of Ciudad Rodrigo has rock carvings over 10,000 years old. Small picturesque villages: too many to mention, but La Alberca in the hills south of Salamanca is a good example. == Do == Camino de Santiago: the city of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia is named for St James the Apostle (or "Elder") and has been a pilgrimage destination since medieval times. There are pilgrimage hiking trails from several cathedral cities across Europe, converging on Castile and León as they near Santiago. The main trail is from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port on the French border, with stop-offs in this region at Villafranca Montes de Oca, Belorado, San Juan de Ortega, Atapuerca, Burgos, Tardajos, Rabé de las Calzadas, Hornillos del Camino, Hontanas, Castrojeriz, Itero del Castro, Frómista, Ledigos, Sahagún, Bercianos del Real Camino, Mansilla de las Mulas, León, San Martín del Camino, Ponferrada, Villafranca del Bierzo, Trabadelo, Vega de Valcarce, thence into Galicia. Via de la Plata is older, a Roman trade route joining from Andalusia via Salamanca, and another trail from Madrid and Valladolid joins near León. Skiing is low altitude in the ridges around the Meseta. The season is short, so it's best for wobbly novices. == Eat == Every part of the pig is eagerly consumed here. Veggies may struggle in the smaller places; Salamanca as a university town offers more choice. The common problem for northern visitors is that, as elsewhere in Spain, restaurants seldom open before 19:30, and don't dish up your order for another hour. You end up gorging on tapas then don't have an appetite for a full dinner. == Drink == Bars: lots and lots. Wine: Castile and León has a dozen wine-growing regions distinguished as DOP, denominaciones de origen protegidas. These mostly produce red from the Tempranillo grape. == Stay safe == Beware traffic, safeguard valuables and swerve clear of drunks and lowlife, same as anywhere else. == Go next == Galicia northwest has magnificent Santiago de Compostela and the rugged Finisterre coastline. Asturias north has a fine regional capital at Oviedo. Madrid the capital of Spain is a buzzing city needing several days to explore. In Castile-La Mancha the highlight is Toledo. Extremadura has several fine cities, the best is Badajoz. Northern Portugal flanks the river Douro, and Porto is a must-see.