salamanca, casco historico

Beautiful old university town, large enough to get a good walk and see the campuses, and then settle in for some tapas and good wine or craft beers in one of the many tavernas.

You can walk for hours, if not days, around the old part of Salamanca. Around every corner you will discover beautiful buildings. If a door is open, peer inside as you can often find wonderful courtyards and interiors.

Salamanca's Old Town is a magical trip back into history. The city has Gothic architecture with an underlying Renaissance tendency. You have the impression you are in Florence only without its many museums. Some streets take you back into the 12thc or 15thc century. Go visit the Roman bridge, walk down calle Compañía, Meléndez, la Rua, San Pablo, Serranos, Libreros, go see the Facade of the Old University, el Patio de Escuelas, and you will fall forever in love with this city. Take a walk during the daytime and at night. In the yellowish light of classical lampposts you will feel a dream come true. On foggy nights, the atmosphere is even more magical,

nice walk through churches and other historical buildings…it is like you walk in the past..loved it...

Salamanca is an easy town to explore on foot. There is beauty wherever you look. The side streets are quaint and there are photo ops everywhere you turn. You are surrounded by beautifully preserved historical sights everywhere you go. The University is fun to visit and talking to the students and hearing about the capes they are wearing is fascinating.Had lunch and a flamenco show at the Alameda Palace Hotel. The setup of the room was difficult to negotiate but the food was very good.

Excellent for a walk through history! I went here on an organized trip back in 2005 when in Spain.It is really nice to walk through the Old Salamanca Historic city ... one of Spain's most historic sites particularly because of the ancient university.

Hugely impressive architecture, museums and cathedrals. Salamanca's ancient city centre is rich in history and culture offering visitors an unforgettable experience. Truly one of Spain's most beautiful and interesting cities.

Lovely city, small enough to get around easily, lots of parking. Just wandering around is fun. The Casa Lis is an entertaining museum, if you like Art Deco. I don´t, but it was lovely anyway.

Salamanca is amazing for its old town, full of historic and beautiful carved sandstone buildings. Beware of opening and closing times as from 1 - 4:30 most stores, museums and places you may want to visit are closed. Plan your days with this in mind and be aware that the Tourist Office also closes, has incomplete information and does not update the museum hours for season changes. There are a lot of smaller churches and convents that you may want to visit but they are only accessible at certain times and you have to get invitations for entry on a certain day at the Monumento at a certain time. It is rather frustrating. Brochures may give you photos of churches but leave out the address. The maps are terribly tiny lettered so you need a magnifying glass to figure out where things are. Yet life seems to be exacting as to what you do at what times. Tapas are served before 1:00pm so you can have a meal earlier than the lunch that starts only after 1:00pm. There is plenty to see just walking around so you don't have to waste time during the long siesta. If you want to shop, El Corte Ingles is open, for instance, but the shops in the old center will be mostly closed. Dinner is at 8PM. Theater productions start late, some at 10PM. In general the food was salty and more fatty than I prefer. If you like ham, there are excellent hams and good wine. The traditional fish is cod. Banks in the old town have ATM's where you can get Euros and only a few cambios for changing currency. They charge a lot to change currency and you must have your passport. Shops take your credit card without an ID but with a pin code. People were friendly and helpful. Pedestrian crossings are clear, drivers respect pedestrians, the sidewalks are flat and easy to walk on and amazingly clean. Buses run on time, are modern with easy to understand routes and friendly drivers. It is unfortunate that there is graffiti on some buildings, even historic ones. Salamanca is really a treasure and you need at least 3 days to see it.

Salamanca is one of the most beautiful cities we have been to. This is our second visit and there is always something new to see. It will not be our last visit either. It is well worth a stop over if your traveling through this side of Spain.

Salamanca is a beautiful city with many Renaissance buildings all built from the same stone and some lovely squares and gardens. The Plaza Mayor is particularly impressive. If staying outside the old town it is a steep walk up into the town but well worth the effort.

Salamanca was one of the first universities in europe and one of the greatest- youhave to visit the libraries - the class rooms - the church- spent a large time in the cathedral and the museumThen go to the plaza mayor and enjoy a drink - don't forget a nice lunch or dinner in the old taverns -and why not buying a jamon de bellota - a great time indeed

Salamanca has many great buildings and restaurants. The city has many things to see and not stuffed with thousands of tourists. Other cities are close that are worth seeing. People are friendly and worth a day or two to visit and take in the historical sites and University. :)

Visited Salamanca as part of an organised coach trip, beautiful journey from Segovia. On entering Salamanca I was surprised that the new city buildings were very well built trying to blend in with the old historic city. Clean and well organised roads, lovely old bridges. On entering the old gates to the historic Plaza Mayor you see a plaza to more than equal Madrid, stunning architecture with lovely bars etc and old gates leading in & out. We visited the "2" Cathedrals old & new which were brilliant and I will do a specific write up on them. The surrounding pathways and old buildings were a photo dream!!! listening to spanish guitar buskers in the background. So mush to see sadly we only had 4 hrs but will revisit. Visit the market, not so grand as Valencia's but still impressive meat, fish & veg stalls. Credit to the local authorities who maintain Salamanca, not often that you can say nice things about local councils but they do a magnificent job of making Salamanca a really enjoyable place to visit, we be back!!

The historic quarter of Salamanca is beautifully restored, nice and neat. Really impressive urban history.