Plaza Mayor (main square) is the heart of this World Heritage Site city and a meeting place for locals.
Plaza Mayor is perhaps the most beautiful in all of Spain. It boasts 88 half-moon arches adorned with medallions of illustrious figures in Spanish history. In the east wing are the Spanish kings, from Alfonso IX to Carlos III. In the Ayuntamiento (City Hall) wing ...
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Leaving Plaza Mayor by way of Plaza del Corrillo and going down Calle Meléndez, you'll come to the impressive facade of the Universidad Pontificia of Salamanca, which abuts the church named Iglesia de la Clerecía. A private Catholic university, Universidad Pontificia emerged as a complement to the Universidad de Salamanca in the 19th century when the liberal ...
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Without a doubt one of the most representative buildings of Salamanca architecture, Gothic-style with Renaissance and Mudejar elements, it stands out for its facade adorned with large scallop shells, the emblem of the Order of Santiago to which its original owner belonged. Also noteworthy are the grilles of its lower windows, a beautiful example of Spanish Gothic ...
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Brief description: Considered the oldest university in Spain and one of the four oldest in the world (13th century). Among its student body were the discovers of the "new" American continent, and its professors played an important role in the discovery of and the policies applied in the New World. Don't miss the large window of the Law Faculty, as far up as Calle ...
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Directly in front of the facade of the University, you'll find Calle de las Escuelas Menores (small colleges), the schools of which were originally dedicated to pre-university education. In the centre is the statue of Fray Luis de León. Note the walls filled with graffiti that reads Vítor or Víctor. It is said that university students painted it using bull's blood to ...
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Brief description: The original cathedral of Salamanca. Romanesque in style, the new cathedral was annexed to it at the end of the 15th century due to the demographic increase of the city and the belief, at the time, that it was "small, dark and low". The interior features the altarpiece of the main altar, the Patio Chico (small yard) and the cloister, though, to be ...
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The New Cathedral was built between the 16th and 18th centuries in basically two styles: late Gothic and Baroque. Originally the plan was to raze the old church, but in the end it was kept open for worship while the new one was being built. When construction work was completed, it was decided to leave the old church standing.
While the facade of the Cathedral is its ...
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Brief description: Modern small palace built in 1905 over a stretch of the old wall of the city. Today it houses the Art Nouveau and Art Decó Museum. It's worth going inside, not so much for the artwork as for the beautiful manner in which the house is decorated.
Cost: 4€; students and seniors 2€. Thursday mornings free.
Length of visit: 30 ...
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Go down Calle San Gregorio until you come to the Roman Bridge. The bridge formed part of the old Roman Silver Route in the first century. Of all its arches, 15 are original (the ones closest to the city). First you'll see the Iberian boar, the symbol of the city and part of its heraldic coat of arms since the 12th century (though today it appears to be nothing more than ...
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Going up Calle San Pablo, you'll come to the square called Concilio de Trento. There you can admire the spectacular convent Convento de San Estaban and the more discreet one Convento de las Dueñas. You can visit both, though we prefer viewing the exterior of the former (it costs 3€ to enter) and visiting the cloister of the latter (2€), a maximum expression of ...
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If you walk up Calle de Juan de la Fuente towards Calle de San Pablo, you'll come to the square Plaza de Colón. Behind it, on the right, is the Torre del Clavero (Clavero Tower), even prettier when lit up at night.
Going up Calle de San Pablo until it ends, you'll find Palacio de la Salina (Salina Palace) on the left, a Renaissance building from the 16th century that ...
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From Plaza Mayor we strongly recommend walking all the way up Calle Toro, the most popular street in the city and brimming with people and shops (7 minutes). Then, turning right onto Avenida de Mirat and continuing until Plaza España, you'll come to Birdland, a nice alternative establishment with two levels with a Moorish decor and good views of Alamedilla Park (coffee ...
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Take Calle Zamora down to Plaza Mayor (5 minutes) and then leave the square on Calle Prior, continuing on this street until Plaza de Monterrey. Here you'll find Monterrey Palace, the occasional residence of the Duke and Duchess of Alba, which is noteworthy for its two towers and three chimneys.
On the left is the church Iglesia de la Purísima, and a little further ...
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