Tourist attractions Salamanca

The heart of Salamanca life, the Plaza Mayor is surrounded by myriad cafés, restaurants and shops, and provides the perfect setting for a drink or a stroll. Built by Philip V between 1729 and 1755 to thank the city for its loyalty during the War of..

This small square leading off the old Calle Libreros is surrounded by typical monuments in the Salamancan Plateresque style. It is home to the university, founded in 1218 and which boasted 7 683 students in 1568 (30 000 in 2007), a record for the tim..

The convent was founded in 1419 to accommodate the sisters of the Dominican order. Renaissance in style, the cloisters , remodelled in the 16C to enable the expansion of the complex, are octagonal in shape and arranged on two floors. The capitals, p..

The cathedral’s construction lasted more than two centuries, which explains its variety of styles (Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque). The west front is divided by four large arches that correspond to the interior plan of the church. The north doorw..

The builders of the New Cathedral luckily respected the Old Cathedral that stands by its side. It seems like a good example of a romanesque cathedral, and the lantern tower , with two levels of windows, is one of the most beautiful of its kind. The ..

Built around 1490, the façade of the House of Shells is decorated with over 300 scallop shells . The presence of this motif is explained by the fact that Don Rodrigo Arias Maldonado was a knight of the Order of St James. Admire the patio , a jewel ..

Built in 1539 for the third Count of Monterrey, the palace was designed along the lines of Spain’s great royal castles by two of 16C Salamanca’s greatest architects: Rodrigo Gil de Hontañon et Martìn de Santiago. The varied decorative and ornamental ..

The first stone was laid here on 29 June 1524. The pinnacles on the side buttresses are Gothic, while the imposing façade is a remarkable example of the Plateresque style. The tour starts in the Kings’ cloisters , decorated with medallions in whic..

Notice the cloister and the busts of the prophets in the medallions as well as the great staircase (1540).

The Bullfighting Museum is the creation of an aficianado who welcomes visitors in person. An entire room commemorates leading local bullfighter Julio Robles (died 5 January 2001 of a perforated intestine). Elsewhere, heroes of the Capea de Salamanc..

This romanesque church has preserved a portal with jagged archivolts in the style of Zamora.

From this charming square you can study the houses of the noble families who were once rivals as well as the San Benito church , the pantheon of the Maldonado which was rebuilt in 1490.

The Church built in the 16C contains the tomb of Alonso de Fonseca attributed to Diego de Siloé. The Museum has some fragments of a retable by Jean of Burgundy, one of which shows St Ursula and her Virgins.

The courtyard of this Renaissance Palace brings together multi-linear Salamanca arches at the end and an encorbelled gallery sustained by two Atlases with naked and tortured bodies to the right and all along the left wall, there is a series of arcade..

The church is very large, has a star vault over the gallery and a large retable by José Churriguera that shines with its opulent sculptures and gold.

You will admire the canvases by Ribera including the famous Immaculate Conception above the main altar.

In the Chapel of Talavera , with its Médujar cupola on sculpted ribs, the old mozarabe rite was performed. The Anaya Chapel , meanwhile, contains the remarkable tomb of Diego de Anaya, made out of alabaster and surrounded by a marvellously crafte..

The museum covers 20 centuries from the Romans to modern abstract painting. Among its collections are fragments of a 14C alabaster sarcophagus and a Llanto por Cristo Muerto (Bewailing of Christ) by Luis Morales. Upstairs are 18C wooden chairs ..

Built from 1617 onwards, this Jesuit college is impressively large. Note the baroque towers that was completed in 1755 by Andrés Garcia de Quinones. Next to the church stands the baroque cloister.

Today the educational offices, the hospital for poor students was built in 1533. The portal, with its two basked cove arhes, is still gothic. The upper part is surrounded by an alfiz , and has two Spanish coats of arms from before 1492 and a trefoil..