Leon at night

Not unlike Burgos, León comes to life at night. The streets throng with people of all ages dressed in their finery, including a wedding party.

There are lots of trendy bars and restaurants a stone’s throw from the cathedral, with all sorts of foody delights. Having eaten a decent lunch, I opted for a bar specialising in a variety of tortilla (more like Spanish omelettes with potatoes) and of course beer (and every conceivable drink). The glass of beer was probably only a third of a litre but beer and a small slice of warm tortilla was less than €2.50.

In reading up about the city’s history, it turns out that this place has nothing to do with lions, despite what the name might suggest. León is in fact derived from the city’s Roman name “Castra Legionis”, because it was a Roman garrison town founded initially in the first century BC by the Legio IV Victrix, who were involved in the final conquest of Hispania by the Romans. About a hundred years later the Legio VII Gemina settled a permanent base camp here on AD 74, from which the city developed. The legion remained based here until the late 4th century.Read more