Salamanca, Spain

Salamanca is an ancient university town north-west of Madrid and was first conquered by the Carthaginians in the 3rd century B.C. From there it was a Roman settlement before being ruled by the Moors until the 11th century. The university, one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest in the entire Hispanic world, reached its high point during Salamanca's golden age. The city's historic centre has important Romanesque, Gothic, Moorish, Renaissance and Baroque monuments. The Plaza Mayor, with its galleries and arcades, is incredibly impressive.

Fun fact, when Christopher Columbus was lobbying the King and Queen of Spain for a chance to find the West Indies via a Western route, he traveled to the University of Salamanca to gain favor from a council of Geographers.

We had the treat of spending 3 days here enjoying the small town in Spain. Interestingly, we observed the population was notably older than what you'd expect from "college town." While we saw a lot of young people (many of whom seemed to be English speaking foreign students), we saw a lot of 70+ roaming the streets.

So far, it was probably our favorite city in Spain. While there were many tourists, the streets were so much wider than Toledo, and didn't have Toledo's "Ren fair" vibe. It felt a bit sleepy still and there was plenty of architecture to admire and good food to sample.Read more