When Fernando and Isabel married in Valladolid in 1469, the city stood at the helm of Spanish politics, finance, and culture. Explorers such as Fernão Magelhães (Ferdinand Magellan) came here to discuss navigation plans; Miguel de Cervantes, the mind behind Don Quixote, lived here; and in 1506, Christopher Columbus died here. Today, the administrative capital of Castilla y León has a reputation of class, sophistication, and architectural diversity. Wandering through cobblestone streets past outdoor cafes, fountains, statues, and plazas, visitors to Spain’s original capital find that the heart of Spain’s majesty is just as evident in its current incarnation as a lively but laid-back town.
The bus and train stations are on the southern edge of town, near the Parque del Campo Grande. To get from the bus station to the tourist office (15min.), leave the bus station through the left exit as you get off the bus. Turn right onto C. San José and take the first left on Po. del Arco de Ladrillo. Keep right onto C. Ladrillo at the rotary and follow it until Po. de Los Filipinos. Turn right and walk along the park until Pl. de Colón. Turn left onto Av. Acera de Recoletos, with the park on your left, and continue to the tourist office. From the front entrance of the train station (10min.), walk up the street perpendicular to the station, C. Estación del Norte, and follow it to Pl. de Colón. Follow the rotary to the right; Av. Acera de Recoletos will be the third street on the right. The tourist office is at the top of Av. Acera de Recoletos on your left. From the tourist office, continue up Av. Acera de Recoletos until you reach Pl. de Zorilla. C. Santiago, the main pedestrian street, is the second to the right. Pl. Mayor is straight up C. Santiago from the tourist office.
Cheap lodgings and pensiones pack the streets off Av de Recoletos near the train station, the area by the cathedral, and behind Pl. Mayor at Pl. del Val.
Terraced restaurants and cafes lie between Pl. Mayor and Pl. del Val and near the cathedral. The castellano restaurants around Pl. Martí y Monsó, off Pl. Mayor, boast local specialties like lechazo (roast lamb) and roast quail. Mercado del Val, in Pl. del Val, has fresh fruit and vegetables and lots of fish and meat. (Open M-Sa 9am-3:30pm.) For a supermarket, head to Carrefour on C. Santiago, 13. (☎983 35 92 11. Open M-Sa 9:30am-9:30pm.)
Valladolid is surrounded by churches, bridges, and pastures. Although the city’s main sights revolve around the art, religion, and culture of centuries past, these attractions make a graceful counterpoint of medieval and modern.
Casa De Cervantes. The windmill-chasing, barmaid-wooing idealist Don Quixote may have been a fictional character, but his presence is almost tangible in the Valladolid house where Cervantes penned his groundbreaking Don Quixote from 1603 to 1606. Home to the author’s vast library, the home offers tours of the writer’s living and working spaces, embellished with beautiful woodwork on the low ceilings. (C. Rastro. From Pl. de Zorrilla, walk up C. Miguel Iscar; C. Rastro is 2 blocks up on the right. ☎983 30 88 10. Open Tu-Sa 9:30am-3pm, Su 10am-3pm. €2.40, students with ID €1.20, under 18 and over 65 free. Su free.)
Museo Nacional De Escultura. This vast museum boasts a fascinating chronological collection of Spanish sculpture, from a Gothic pietà of the 16th century to more recent Baroque works. It features the works of Renaissance and Baroque masters Alonso Berruguente, Juan de Juni, and Gregorio Fernández. Due to construction on the original museum building, the Colegio de San Gregorio, the museum is currently located in the Palacio de Villena. (Palacio de Villena, C. Cadenas de San Gregorio, 1-3. ☎983 25 03 75; www.mne.es. Open Tu-S Mar 20-Sept 30 10am-2pm and 4-9pm; Oct 1-Mar 19 10am-2pm and 4-6pm; Su throughout the year 10am-2pm. €2.40, students €1.20, under 18 and over 65 free. Sa afternoon and Su free.)
Museo Patio Herreriano. Housed in a former convent, the stone arches and prim gardens of Valladolid’s contemporary art museum give no hint of the riotous art that rules inside. The museum is home to works by renowned Spanish artists like Salvador Dalí, Antoni Tàpies, Joan Miró, and Eduardo Chillida in its permanent collection, and hosts rotating exhibitions of contemporary work. (C. Jorge Guillén, 6. ☎983 36 27 71; www.museopatioherreriano.org. Open Tu-F 11am-8pm, Sa 10am-8pm, Su 10am-3pm. €3, students €2, €1 on Wednesdays.)
Catedral Metropolitana. Designed by Juan de Herrera, creator of El Escorial , this grand cathedral is an excellent example of Herrera’s desornamentado style of plain masonry. The extensive Museo Diocesano, in the Gothic addition, houses the remains of the original 11th- to 13th-century structure as well as Herrera’s model of the basilica. (C. Arribas, 1. From Pl. Mayor, walk up C. Ferrari. After 2 blocks, veer left onto Bajada de la Libertad. At Pl. de la Libertad, turn right. ☎983 30 43 62. Open Tu-F 10am-1:30pm and 4:30-7pm, Sa-Su 10am-2pm. Mass Su and festivals 10:45am, noon, 1:30, 6pm. Museum €2.50. Cathedral free.)
Lively cafes and bars are spread throughout the city. Students fill the countless bars on C. Paraíso, near the cathedral. From Pl. de la Universidad at the cathedral, turn left onto C. Duque de Lerma, then right onto C. Marqués del Duero; C. Paraíso will be on the right. To reach Pl. San Miguel from Pl. Mayor, walk up Pl. Corrillo, turn left onto C. Val; after the plaza, continue onto C. Zapico, and at Pl. los Arces, turn left onto C. San Antonio de Padua, which brings you to Pl. San Miguel. The area around Pl. Martí y Monsó, just off Pl. Mayor, hosts the most central nightlife.
La Regional V.S.A. runs buses to Medina del Campo from Valladolid (45min.-1hr., M-F 4 per day 9:15am-8:15pm, €3). Buses back to Valladolid leave from the bus stop at the Pl. de San Agustín (M-F 8 per day 7am-7pm, Sa 4 per day 8am-7:30pm; €3.30, round-trip €5.50). Tickets and information are available at the neighboring Bar Punto Rojo (☎983 80 12 98). Open daily 6am-midnight.
Medina del Campo’s greatest claim to fame is its association with the illustrious Queen Isabel; the town houses her majesty’s summer getaway, and Isabel signed her will and died in Medina del Campo. At its peak, the town was famous for banking and the sheep industry, drawing tens of thousands of visitors every year and serving as the country’s gateway for art imports. The Palacio Real Testamentario, on the corner of the Pl. Mayor, has exhibits on the queen’s childhood, reign, and final days, along with copies of her signed will. (☎983 81 00 63; www.palaciorealtestamentario.com. Open M-Sa May-Sept. 10am-1:30pm and 5-8pm; Oct.-Feb. 10am-1:30pm and 4-7pm. €2, seniors and under 26 €1.80. English audio tours €1.80.) Medina del Campo’s most impressive sight is the 15th-century brick Castillo de la Mota on a hilltop overlooking the town. To get there, exit Pl. Mayor from the corner opposite the tourist office on C. Maldonado. Turn left at the intersection, cross the bridge over the dry riverbed, walk beneath the highway (access on C. Claudio Moyano), exit on the second stairwell to your right before the tunnel ends, and go uphill onto Av. del Castillo. Queen Isabel and her daughter, Juana la Loca, once lived in the castle; it has also served as an arsenal and prison. Today, tourists come to see the chapel of Santa María del Castillo and a mural-sized world map from 1500. Only the ground floor is open to visitors, but the Castillo is worth the hike. (☎983 80 10 24. Open M-Sa 11am-2pm and 4-7pm, Su 11am-2pm. Free.) To get to Pl. Mayor from the bus stop, walk past the bar El Punto Rojo on your right and continue up the street. At the intersection, turn left onto C. de Gamaza and continue straight until you reach the Plaza; the tourist office, Pl. Mayor 48, is to your right. (☎983 81 13 57; www.ayto-medinadelcampo.es. Open M 8am-3pm, Tu-F 8am-3pm and 4-7pm, Sa 10am-2pm and 4-7pm, Su 10am-2pm.)
 |
 |
 |
 |
For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
Facebook
Twitter
You Tube
Foursquare
Newsletter
RSS Feed
Overview