Salamanca

Salamanca is Spain's most beautiful university city — a place of golden sandstone architecture, medieval plazas and a student energy that has made it the country's most popular destination for language learning for centuries. The University of Salamanca, founded in 1218, is the oldest in Spain and one of the oldest in Europe, and the city's extraordinary concentration of architectural masterpieces was built to reflect that academic prestige. The Plaza Mayor, built between 1729 and 1755, is widely considered the most beautiful main square in Spain — a four-sided Baroque composition of uniform arcades and balconies that is dazzling in golden afternoon light. The Old Cathedral and New Cathedral are connected — the 12th-century Romanesque old cathedral (remarkable for its painted ceilings) sits adjacent to the Gothic new cathedral begun in 1513, and the towers of both can be climbed via the Ieronimus tourist route. The University facade (Plateresque ornament of extraordinary intricacy) and the Casa de las Conchas (covered in stone scallop shells) are other key monuments. Salamanca's student population of over 30,000 ensures lively bars, cafés and cultural events. The food scene reflects Castilian tradition: cochinillo asado (roast suckling pig), judías del Barco (white beans), hornazo (meat pastry) and excellent Ribera del Duero and Toro wines. The surrounding Castilian countryside, the medieval walled city of Ciudad Rodrigo and the Arribes del Duero canyon are excellent day trips.