Salamanca regularly has art exhibits, as well as a plentiful array of well established museums.

The Museo Art Nouveauy Art Deco has the best display of art and pieces from the 19th and 20th century. These pieces are not only paintings, but also ceramics, stained glass and jewellery. The Museo de Salamanca displays fine arts, the Museo de la Historia de la Ciudad elaborates history, and other museums are: Convento y Museo de las Ursulas, Museo del Convento de San Esteban, Museo Taurino, and Museo Catedralicio.

The Convento de Santa Clara has splendid architecture, and also houses mural and religious paintings from the 13th to the 16th century.

The Casa de las Conchas, House of Shells, has windows with grills and protruding scallop shells. The previous owner was a member of the Order of Santiago, and the scallop shells symbolises the Saint James pilgrimage, Camino de Santiago. The mansion is from the 16th century.

Placio de Monterrey has magnificent Plateresque architecture on the upper deck, and was a private palace of Renaissance design. Only one quarter of what was originally intended to be built by the owner was actually completed, and if it had been, this palace would be the largest private owned one in Spain. It is worth a visit to appreciate it’s beauty.

Torre del Clavero, is a tower in octagonal shape that once belonged to a 15th century mansion that has since been demolished.

The Casa de las Muertas is called the House of the Dead, and is decorated with tiny skulls. The house is from the 16th century and the design was chosen by the owner in honour of his uncle an archbishop.

The Casa-Museo de Unamuno is a museum in honour of the university professor Miguel de Unamuno. He was also a philosopher.

The Centro Internacional de Arte is an art gallery that always has a new exhibit on show for you to enjoy. The artists are usually international, and the art works stretches the spheres of paintings, sculptures, and sketches. The gallery houses works from Picasso, Caceres, Saura, Ilzarbe and Alberti, to name a few.

The Teatro Juan del Enzina is part of the Universidad de Salamanca and is where you can see your shows; cultural, theatrical, dance and music.

The Feria Municipal del Libro is at the Plaza Mayor and organizes free activities and events for the public. It is common to be able to listen to classical and jazz music, see a movie or watch a puppet show.

Salamanca, a university city, gives you a feeling similar to Oxford and other great university cities. The city, Salamanca knows how to put on a good festival and has plenty of restaurants, tapas bars, inns and cafes to keep to you entertained, and well fed.

Much of the Salamanca’s nightlife is centred around Plaza Mayor and the old city. Weekdays can be quieter than the weekends, due to the students staying in and studying. You can also try the areas around the Plaza Julian, Calle Clavel and Arco del Toro for tapas bars and restaurants.

Salamanca is famous for it’s hearty foods typical of the inland Castile region. The cuisine centres around the plentiful and varied agricultural products. The cochinollo (suckling pig) and roasted goat will delight you and the chorizo sausages, other cured meats, and cheeses to be had in tapas bars can be sufficiently filling when paired with the customary wine, beer or sherry.

The Castilian cuisine uses wood fired ovens to cook the foods and the taste this cooking style gives food will have you coming back to this region over and over again. The suckling pig, cordero asado (roasted lamb), jabali (wild boar), roasted partridge, sausage and beans, and salmon will make you think of medieval times and food from the golden ages. The inns will serve you food just perfect for the cooler climate in clay bowls. The sopa castellana, a hearty vegetable soup with hams and eggs is a typical example. The humble cod is made into a kings meal with flavours from kidney beans and other unusual accompanying ingredients.

Don’t also miss Salamanca’s version of the humble meat pie called the hornazo. It is worth sampling in a variety of locations as the fillings can vary in content but generally consist of a meat and potato.

No meal in Salamanca is complete without a bottle of superb Castilian red wine. The Valladolid area, around the River Duerro produces very popular, reasonably priced wines, but the region is also responsible for Vega Sicilia, Spain’s most expensive wine. Don’t leave Salamanca without enjoying more than one bottle.

While in a restaurant, expect to see the tunas. This group of musicians will serenade you with beautiful, romantic songs. Dressed in beautiful black velvet suits, with capes and ruffled collared shirts you will feel transported back to a time where the simple pleasures in life were important. They will also entertain you with their sometime comical performances. The tunas work for tips only, and if you enjoy their performance be sure to reward them.

Places are widely available to enjoy Latin dancing, and Latino music.

You have always wanted to learn Spanish and never quite got around to it. Or you want to brush up on your high school Spanish. Or your clients are mostly Spanish speaking and knowing some Spanish would go a long way with them. There isn’t a better way to learn Spanish then in Salamanca. Here you will be immersed in the purest form of Castilian Spanish and the city is set up with the language schools to accommodate all your needs. Spain is a country with four official languages.

Ever wondered how many people speak Spanish? Or, for how many people Spanish is their first language? Or what are the most common business languages? You may be surprised to learn that 500 million people world wide speak Spanish, for 350 million people Spanish is their first language, and after English, that Spanish is the most common business language.

In the United States of America, 12.5% of the population are Hispanic and Latino culture is having an enormous influence on all spheres of our world. It is forecasted that in the future that the majority of the United States population will be of Hispanic heritage. This being the case, the demand for Spanish entertainment materials is increasing and the popularity of Latino artists is a world wide phenomena. It is a well known fact that after the Bible, the second most translated book is Don Quijote de la Mancha written by the author Miguel de Cervantes, but it may not be known that at one point in time a Picasso painting achieved the highest sale price in the art world.

There are plenty of language schools in Salamanca and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages is a commonly used framework. The language courses are structured into modules for beginners, advanced beginners, intermediate, advanced and expert. You will receive a certificate of attendance and performance on completing one of the language modules. The aim of the modules is to increase the student’s confidence in speaking the language with native Spanish speakers, to be competent in grammar, to be able to read and write, and to appreciate the history and culture of the Spanish language.

Learning Spanish in Salamanca is the ideal way to mix the formal part of the learning of a language, with the practical of practicing speaking and interacting in Spanish in real life situations.

There are a variety of accommodations available to suit each student’s particular and differing needs. You can home stay with a Salamanca family and engage with them in their daily life. You can choose to board with full meals or take care of your own, but closer interaction with your host family will be definitely provide an excellent opportunity for practicing the language in a friendly environment outside of the class room. Or you can choose to share a flat with other students also studying at your language school. The Spanish language school that you select can help you with all your accommodation and acclimatisation needs in your endeavour to improve your Spanish.