-
The city lies by the Tormes river on a plateau and is considered to be one of the most spectacular Renaissance cities in [wiki=912d59cdf1d3f551fae21f6f0062258f]Europe[/wiki]. The buildings are constructed of sandstone mined from the nearby Villamayor quarry, and, as the sun begins to set, they glow gold, orange and pink. It is this radiant quality of the stones that has given Salamanca the nickname La Dorada, the golden city.
In 1218, Alfonso X of León (Alfonso The Wise) founded the University - one of the first in the world. In 1254, Pope Alexander IV called it "one of the four leading lights of the world".
In 2002, Salamanca was the European Capital of Culture.
-
-
By plane
Salamanca has no international airport, but they have a daily flights from [wiki=550d05ab240ec337038af814ff0de287]Barcelona[/wiki] with Air Nostrum [url=http://www.airnostrum.es/].]
Ryanair [url=http://ryanair.com[/url]]flies to Valladolid from [[Brussels[/url]], [wiki=437d461430ecc08e2d51abbcf5ce9b3c]Milan[/wiki] and [wiki=59ead8d1e124ccfb79f3ace06f43e703]London[/wiki]'s Stansted airport. Salamanca can be reached from there via a 1.5 hour bus ride.
-
By train
Trains link the town with [wiki=6314044c3803213e9fd3f3ecf8c90d65]Madrid[/wiki] and [wiki=ea71b362e3ea9969db085abfccdeb10d]Portugal[/wiki] with Renfe [http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/index.html].
-
By bus
Buses run frequently to [wiki=6314044c3803213e9fd3f3ecf8c90d65]Madrid[/wiki] with Auto-res [http://www.auto-res.net] (200 km away).
-
The city is not too big to see on foot, especially the main attractions, which are all quite close to one another. For slightly longer journeys there are taxis, and numerous bus routes - tickets are cheap, and you can buy them directly from the driver on board. Salamanca city bus 1 [http://www.gruporuiz.com/plantillas/salamanca/verlinea.php?id=1] can take you between the train station and Plaza Poeta Iglesias, which is right next to Plaza Mayor
-
Plaza Mayor - this large central square, bustling with cafés and restaurants, really is the heart of the city.
*The 12th century Old Cathedral (Catedral Vieja) and the New Cathedral (Catedral Nueva), built during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries - these two cathedrals are built next to one another.
*The University - spread throughout the centre of Salamanca. Includes the Fonseca College and Anaya Palace buildings [http://www.usal.es/webusal/en]
*The late 15th century House of Shells (La Casa de las Conchas) - a building constructed in the time of the Catholic Kings, studded with 350 sandstone shells.
*The Roman bridge over the Tormes - dating from the year 89 AD, this bridge was an important part of the Roman silver route, which ran from Mérida to Astorga.
*Convento de San Esteban - Dominican monastery with a well-set presentation of missionaries in the New World. It's not one of the most famous attractions, so there's a good chance you can marvel at this religous community on your own. Impressive church.
-
Villages around Salamanca
There are some interesting villages around Salamanca. Béjar is a town of around 16,000 inhabitants, which offers:
* Castañar bullfighter arena - The oldest bullfighting arena in Spain
* La Sierra de Béjar - A beautiful natural and unspoiled environment
* El bosque - A Renaissance gardens
* La muralla - An Arab wall
-
The fiesta of the Virgen de la Vega, which takes place from the 8th to the 21st of September.
*Watch Salamanca Football Club.
*Across the river from the Cathedral (right on the bank across from the Roman Bridge) is a man who will rent out paddle boats and canoes to you by the hour. You can paddle up and down the Tormes, for a small fee.
-
The combination of Castile-Leon's reputation for pure Spanish and Salamanca's reputation of learning, due to its venerable university, means that there are lots of language schools in the city that cater to those who wish to immerse themselves and learn Spanish in Spain.
* Universidad de Salamanca: Cursos Internacionales [http://corintio.usal.es/]
* Babylon Idiomas [url=http://www.babylon-idiomas.com/en/index.htm]]offers a wide range of different Spanish courses with qualified and experienced native teachers. Social and cultural activities as well as a dedicated student service are included in the price. The school is accredited by Instituto Cervantes and is located in the very heart of the city, close to Plaza Mayor. New courses start every Monday.
* Don Quijote [url=http://www.donquijote.org/en/learn-spanish-in-spain/salamanca[/url]]Spanish school in Salamanca is a great school where you can take 4-6 hours of courses a day. All courses including beginner courses are taught entirely in Spanish.
* Linguaschools Salamanca [http://www.linguasalamanca.com/[/url] is a great and friendly Spanish school, located in the very centre of Salamanca a minute walk from the popular Plaza Mayor. Spanish is taught in small classes.
-
-
Shopping is a large part of life in Salamanca. Traditional family owned stores mix with many national and international retailers throughout the city. Calle Toro, which begins at the northwest corner of the Plaza Mayor, in particular has many options for shoppers.
The city also boasts a mall (centro commercial) which offers variety of stores and restaurants. However a car, bus or taxi ride is needed to access it.
Most stores open around 10AM, close for two or three hours during lunch time (2PM) and remain open until 9 PM. Almost all stores, including grocery stores, are closed on Sundays. There are a few convenience stores, known as 24 hour stores, which never close.
-
Lunch is Spain's big meal of the day, and Salamanca abides by that rule religiously. This means that restaurants will have their best food and their biggest portions anywhere from 1PM-3PM.
Dinner usually happens from 8PM-11PM, and isn't really a meal as such.
In spite of the many restaurants open at dinner time (with a full menu), one of the traditional Spanish habits is to eat tapas with friends over a glass of wine, which consists of regional appetizers served at bars, restaurants, and cafeterías. In Salamanca there's no definitive guide to tapa-ing, instead, try to stroll around the center of the town and try different places and, who knows, meet new friends.
Locals gather slightly north of city center for their nightly tapas on a street named Van Dyck. The tapas here are generally of a higher quality and a lower price of those found near the plaza. Almost every street out from the center will have at least one small bar, and many of them will serve tapas. The price difference between having or not a tapa with your drink is negligible (around 2€ for each beer/wine+tapa, 20-30 cts less only the beer) so go on a try them!
Popular tapas are any sort of roasted pork parts: ribs (costilla), sausage (chorizo), ham (jamon), bacon (panceta) or face (jeta). Try the "pincho moruno", a brochette of pork pieces marinated in paprika and garlic. A local speciality (if you find it appealing) is "chanfaina" a spicy rice dish with liver and/or blood that is served in many bars as a tapa on Sundays.
In the summer most restaurants set tables outside for both lunch and dinner. Be forewarned that with the privilege of sitting outside you often get charged a euro or two extra per person.
Salamanca is atop the small portion of Spain where you can purchase jamón iberico (Iberian ham). This cured pork leg is very rich, a little more expensive (depending on the type of food the pig has fed on) and in the opinion of most Salamancans the most delicious thing there is to eat.
Vegetarians will have to work a little bit to find food. Tortilla de patata is always a safe bet (a frittata-type thing with potato and egg) but it can get old after a while. Meat (especially pork) finds its way into a majority of dishes here. When you're asking waiters if a dish does not have meat (carne), make sure you specify that you don't want chicken (pollo) or fish (pescado) either.
* One minute from the Plaza Mayor. You will find authentic Mediterranean food served in a unique atmosphere.
-
You can drink a Cerveza in Plaza Del Mercado in San Justo. In spring students drink Botellones in the streets (San Roman).
Try one of the following bars: (all located very close to Plaza Mayor) Camelot, Puerto de Chus, Submarino, Moderno, Cum-Laude and El Sol
Chupiteria Daniel's, Paniagua, Potemkin, Plutos, Capitan Haddock, La Posada de las Almas, Niebla, and many more bars are excellent for a very late night out!
-
-
Budget
Hostal Fonda Feli, Calle Libreros, 58 Tel.:0034923216010. In the very centre of the old city. 50 meters of the old university and in the shadow of the two cathedrals. Clean rooms, excellent hospitality.
*Pension Los Angeles, Plaza Mayor 10, Tel.:0034923218166. Always dreamed about sleeping at the Plaza Mayor of Salamanca? One can not sleep more centrally, as this is really the heart of the city. Beware: This hotel is very gritty and dirty, and the bathrooms are all shared. You'll have to swap your comfort for a decent view.
*Albergue Juvenil, C/Escoto 13-15 Tel.:0034923269141. Near the San Esteban convent. . Nice youth hostel to find some travel mates. Bad common room, but there's already a nice atmosphere in the dormitory. Check-in: 24h Check-out: 12:00. Price dormitory: €13,90
-
Mid-range
Hotel Artheus, P Carmelitas, 67, http://www.hotelartheuscarmelitas.com/]. Great 4 star hotel, with decent prices (albeit, like most Spanish hotels, breakfast is not included). It is pretty well located as well.
*NH Palacio de Castellanos, San Pablo, 58-64, +34.92.3261818 [url=http://www.nh-hotels.com/nh/en/hotels/spain/salamanca/nh-palacio-de-castellanos.html?action=search].]In a privileged location next to the 'Plaza del Concilio de Trento', in the heart of Salamanca's monumental and historic district, the NH Palacio de Castellanos is an exceptional hotel with excellent services and installations. There is one other NH Hotel in Salamanca[http://www.nh-hotels.com/nh/en/hotels/spain/salamanca.html?action=search&event=1&stype=1&country=ES&city=1370&hotel=0&stext=&nrooms=1&nadults=2&nchilds=0&webrate=1&fini=&fout=&searchEngine=1[/url].
-
Splurge
Book early - that's very early - if you are planning on staying in Salamanca during Easter (Semana Santa) or during the fiesta of the Virgen de la Vega.
* Beautiful
* Views of the Monumental Quarter.
* This should be in the Budget section. Not a splurge at all.
-
-
Salamanca is considered to be one of the safest cities in Spain. Violent crime is for the most part unheard of. As with the rest of Spain, you should be aware of pickpockets, but they are less common in Salamanca than in the bigger cities.
-
While the streets are filled with international tourists and students from countries around the world most locals do not speak English. It is not uncommon to find even the hotel staff in Salamanca only able to speak Spanish to you. With that said, the locals are used to people butchering their language and are willing be patient with you.
Salamancans (Salmantinos in Spanish) are very schedule oriented. They wake up, work, eat, shop and sleep at around the same time every day. Almost all stores close at exactly 2PM for a few hours so the staff can lunch. This can be hard for outsiders to adjust to but it's something you have to deal with for however long you are in town.
-
[wiki=44e5f141c3c60a5768f3787d196926b2]de:Salamanca[/wiki]
[wiki=1588d84dba39de085d4186b003aa5d58]es:Salamanca[/wiki]
[wiki=dd29706816efb6f83f6077ef4cd3c2a1]fr:Salamanque[/wiki]
[wiki=b2153b79386cc9d606aa4ac6400bc14f]it:Salamanca[/wiki]
[wiki=9f7a7eee5889acd3018cf9241813e3b4]ja:サラマンカ[/wiki]
[wiki=31e70a4d92cca99c367a45f411973255]nl:Salamanca[/wiki]
[wiki=1c411a62fd91642e102008f439cf007a]pl:Salamanka[/wiki]
[wiki=ea26279d1a55dd2250a5522bb11385d9]pt:Salamanca[/wiki]
[[WikiPedia:Salamanca]]
[wiki=7f72fc727c298a86958e3a9645db9bce]Dmoz:Europe/Spain/Autonomous_Communities/Castile_and_Leon/Salamanca/[/wiki]
Seleccionar Destino
Afghanistan
Aland Islands
Albania
Algeria
American Samoa
Andorra
Angola
Anguilla
Antarctica
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bonaire
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Bouvet Island
Brazil
British Indian Ocean Territory
Brunei
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Christmas Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Colombia
Comoros
Congo
Congo, Democratic Republic (ex. Zaire)
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Croatia
Cuba
Curacao
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
East Timor
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
France, Metropolitan
French Guiana
French Polynesia
French Southern Territories
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guam
Guatemala
Guernsey
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Heard and Mc Donald Islands
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Isle Of Man
Israel
Italy
Ivory Coast
Jamaica
Japan
Jersey Island
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Martinique
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mayotte
Mexico
Micronesia
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Montserrat
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Niue
Norfolk Island
North Korea
Northern Mariana Islands
Norway
Oman
Other Countries
Pakistan
Palau
Palestinian Territory
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Pitcairn
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Reunion
Romania
Russia
Rwanda
Saint Barthelemy
Saint Helena
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Martin
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Sint Maarten
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
South Korea
South Sudan
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Syrian Arab Republic
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tokelau
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Turks and Caicos Islands
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
United States Minor Outlying Islands
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Vatican City State (Holy See)
Venezuela
Vietnam
Virgin Islands, British
Virgin Islands, U.S.
Wallis and Futuna Islands
Western Sahara
Yemen
Yugoslavia
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Spanish