SALAMANCA is a landlocked city in western Spain. It means magic in Spanish. And indeed, it is a magical city. To get in Salamanca, there are daily flights coming in from Madrid and Barcelona. And there are likewise buses coming in from Madrid and Barcelona as well, including those ones coming in from Portugal. As you know, Portugal is bound with Spain and they all belong to the same Iberian Peninsula. As signatories of the Schengen agreement, Spain and Portugal do not install border outposts along their boundaries and travelers are free to cross to each other’s country. So one can easily get inside Salamanca using his or her own car from anywhere in mainland Europe such as France, Italy and Germany. All these countries are also signatories of the Schengen agreement.
The city of Salamanca is a plateau and is considered one of the Renaissance cities in Europe. For this, Salamanca as a whole is instituted by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. As winter is approaching, many visitors from Britain are slowly going to Salamanca. There are lots of visitors during summer but undeniably, there are a few who want to go back here during winter even though the temperature is as cold as their home country and may likely go down a little more than -3 degrees Celsius. That’s one thing why winter is savored by tourists here. They want to stroll around the nice spots of the city without the rowdy crowds of summer. Think of something like a second honeymoon if you may.
And it’s nice to be out here in Salamanca to celebrate Christmas. After all, most companies in Great Britain and all of the United Kingdom give Christmas breaks to all their employees. It’s nice to bring one’s family here in Salamanca, lodge at some three- or two-star hotel and be present at every mass during the nine dawns preceding Christmas Eve. The folks here are highly religious and they can surely appreciate a foreign family diligently going to mass. That’s it if you’re Catholic though. But if you’re not, then merely marvel at the cathedral and other smaller churches here and it’s some sort of spirituality already. Speaking of churches, theirs in Salamanca is designed as Gothic. This was duly part of the Catholic’s desire to convert the natives into Christianity back then and to do that, they have to incorporate designs in the physical structure of the church which reflects the dominant culture among the locals. When the churches were overrun by the Moors, they were converted into mosques and integrated with Islamic designs in the interiors. These were then retained when the Christians reconquered Salamanca back.
Another plus factor when you’re out here during winter is that hotels and motels here are not fully booked. You don’t need to have that hassle going in and reserving for motel suites at a month’s advance. All the motels here are nicely kept, even the smallest ones. They all abide by the European Union standard.
If you don’t have much knowledge about the city of Salamanca, then reading this article and going to Salamanca is the better solution in knowing Salamanca more. There are much of panoramic sceneries to see and discover about Salamanca, and it is more exciting and adventurous if you visit Salamanca yourself. Anyways, Salamanca is the place which is part of the Spanish region knowingly “Castilla y Leon” (Castile and Leon). With only 170, 000 population, still the city of Salamanca emerge and become popular because of its interesting contributions of arts and culture plus adding with the presence of their students. Salamanca is greatly famous of the sanctuary of many students coming from the different country in the world and in fact, the city of Salamanca laid the oldest university throughout Europe which is founded since 1218.
Since the city of Salamanca is in the inner part of the country it is hard for every tourist to land with it. However, because of the innovative way of reaching the place through the Valladolid airport that offers Air France and Ryanair; recently Salamanca could easily be reach with only one hour from the airport. The city of Salamanca has a huge collection and full of façade with its historical sceneries; and it is the main reason why the place is rushed by tourists worldwide annually. And in fact, the city of Salamanca is one of the most captivating and beautiful cities within the cities of Spain. It is also in Salamanca which is very popular city of students wanting to learn Spanish language.
Aside from its vast collection of historical heritage, there are more views to discover and go about Salamanca. If you are already here in the place don’t waste time of going to the city of Bejar. With only 14, 000 folks living and abound with mountains and landscapes knowingly called as “Sierra de Bejar” is mostly the meeting arena of the nature lovers. The façade it has is actually one reason why the place smells good with the tourists. While you were in Bejar, you cannot miss to visit its “Palacio Ducal” or the palace of the Dukes of the city. Since Bejar also offers many monuments to visit and discover you will surely love the idea of landing the place. In lined with those panoramic sceneries is the oldest bullfighting ring in Spain ventured since 1711.
Aside from the beautiful places to discover and enjoy about Salamanca, there are also things you can do and of course also enjoy while you were still staying in the city. Since the city has a medium size, it has a big capital with bounty of leisure amenities; and it has partly calm and lively areas. You can wander with its huge and peaceful streets which has remarks from its historical past. Or perhaps you can enjoy mingling with the Salamanca folks with its lively and vibrant walks of life. Despite its medium size and quite historical façade; the city of Salamanca presence something like cafes, terraces and discos and more which you will love the most. And in fact, nightlife in Salamanca is one of the assets of the city. There are more to delve and discover about Salamanca, and it will be more benefiting if you will discover it too.
SALAMANCA has well been discussed in the preceding articles. Let’s now focus on the various tourist spots in Salamanca.
To any sane tourist, his or her best weapon is food and water. Without food and water, one cannot survive traveling of course. And in traveling to such places as Salamanca, one can say that food is not a problem. Since Salamanca has its own share of prolific agricultural produce, it definitely abounds of restaurants featuring menus whose ingredients are harvested literally around the corner. Wheat fields abound in Salamanca.
The term Salamanca itself means magic and one can surely find magic everywhere in the province. Let’s deviate from food for a moment and focus on the magic of Salamanca itself. Take for instance the infrastructure around the place. The province of Salamanca which is part of the autonomous community of Castile-Leon has lots of brick roads characteristic of old Europe. Even its center – Plaza Mayor – has a haunting vibe to it as it used to be the coliseum of executions in olden times. Today it is now a tourist attraction and gone were the horrors that used to be associated with the place. Nearby Plaza Mayor, one can find lots of sidewalk vendors displaying native-made trinkets and other fabulous homemade accessories which can be flaunted as novelty items or souvenirs when one returns to his country of origin. Nearby Plaza Mayor too, one will find other simple architectural masterpieces of Salamanca like the Catholic cathedral. This is something interesting to behold and ponder because a place of worship is established just a stone’s throw away from where executions used to be held. But that was Spain during the olden times when both the civil government and the Church are one. Today, rock and pop concerts featuring Spanish performers and recording artists are likewise featured in Plaza Mayor. There is an urban legend that states those concert crews see floating “white ladies” and other ghost-like sceneries inside the backstage of Plaza Mayor. True or not, this has increased tourism to some extent in Salamanca.
Now, let’s go back to the food. Most food served in Salamanca consists of meat such as roasted suckling pig. Called lechon de leche for its crispy flavor, roasted suckling pig tastes yummier than a roasted adult pig because of its relatively soft and crispier meat. But there are varieties of pork too such as chorizo or spicy sausage, ham and bacon. Sometimes chorizo is mixed with fried eggs and bread crumbs. That is really a hearty meal good for people on the go so tourists are advised to jog around Plaza Mayor a few hours after that hearty meal to work off the calories. Breakfast is served a little late though at about 9:30 a.m. so by 11 a.m., you have to start jogging. The next meal will have to wait as lunch is served at 3:00 p.m. while dinner will be tendered at 9:00 p.m. Salamanca may not be as hip as Ibiza but there do exist parties after dinner.
