Salamanca is home to the third oldest university in the world, one of the Top 10 cathedrals in the country, and one of the most beautiful plazas in Spain. Thanks to its famous sandstone buildings it´s also known as “La Dorada¨ or Golden City.

This is the northwest region of Castilla y León​​ just two and a half hours from Madrid by train and six hours drive from home in Andalucia. So what shouldn´t you miss on your visit to this vibrant city of Salamanca?

There´s plenty of choice with its culture, art, history, architecture and institutions, so what to see in the one precious day in the beautiful city of Salamanca. This is what we chose to see, a real mix as husband wanted to see the Car Museum and my first choice the Art Deco Museum.

Salamanca Car Museum

Opened in 2002 this was Spain´s first car museum. It has some wonderful old creations, over one hundred of them, right from the beginning of motoring and thousands of other artefacts. Lots of fabulous pre-war cars, early racing cars and motor bikes. An ecletic collection that I enjoyed almost as much as him. See the round windscreen on the first car below?

Art Deco Museo- Casa Lis

Opposite the car museum is the fabulous Casa Lis, an Art Deco mansion built in 1905 on the city wall by the architect Joaquín Vargas Aguirre for the industrialist Miguel de Lis. It is now home to the Museo de Art Nouveau y Art Dèco and has an enormous windows made of stained glass on the south façade, facing the river.

Casa Lis has over 2,500 pieces to admire, porcelain figures, statues, paintings, ivory pieces, furniture and jewelry, and even a Fabergé egg. Visitors can also see paintings by 19th-century Catalonian artists and local painters from Salamanca.

The museum has a café in the room where the stained-glass window is, a stunning spot to rest awhile as the rainbow light shines through.

Plaza Mayor

Once a venue for bullfights, Plaza Mayor an enormous 18th century arched plaza is now a busy hub of bars and restaurants, a great place for a beer or coffee. Stop to admire the Baroque architecture adorned with stone carved medallions of many famous historical figures sitting between the arches. For a little people watching while feet resting it´s not a bad choice either.

Clerecia 

Leave through the Corrillo and go along Calle Meléndez, you will soon reach the Clerecía Church or El Colegio Real de la Compañía de Jesús, an imposing building commissioned by Queen Margaret of Austria who was the wife of Philip III. Its construction began in 1617, six years after her death. This landmark is now the headquarters of Salamanca Pontificia University.

House of Shells

The Casa de las Conchas, one on my list, is a huge mansion from the time of the Catholic Kings. A mish mash of late Gothic, Mudejar and Renaissance styles. There are more than 300 shells in rows on the exterior walls, no one is sure why, although there are a few legends.

One story says that the Maldonado family belonged to the Order of Santiago and the shell being the symbol of the Camino de Santiago is the reason, the other says that the decorations were a symbol of love from Don Rodrigo to his wife Juana, whose family symbol was a shell. The outside is what most people want to see but step into the courtyard also to see its well and typical Mudejar columns and gargoyles.

Another legend has it that under one of the shells there is a gold coin, while another version is that the family kept treasure behind one of the shells and whoever finds it can keep it. A further story says that the Jesuits offered a gold coin for each one the shells on the façade because they wanted to buy it and demolish it to make room for the construction of the Clerecía.

Salamanca University – Spain´s Oxford

Its UNESCO World Heritage status was granted in 1988 for its monuments as well as having the oldest university in Spain. The university was founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX making it, historically-wise more or less equivalent to Cambridge or Oxford. It´s also the third oldest in the world that has been in continuous use.

Miguel de Cervantes of Don Quixote fame studied here, and it was the first Spanish university to offer language courses to foreign students, something that continues today, making it a very lively, cosmopolitan city.

Spot the Frog at Salamanca University 

The famous frog, a symbol of the city, is hidden in the stonework above the university’s main entrance called La Puerta de Salamanca. It takes some spotting.

There´s a superstition that when students arrive for the very first time they have to find the frog. If they find the tiny frog within intricately carved stonework they are sure to have great academic career.

Salamanca also has other curious stone carvings there’s a gargoyle eating an ice cream and an astronaut on the New Cathedral if you fancy another challenge, both are carved onto its centuries-old intricate facade, but obviously not original.

Roman Bridge 

Walk along the river to the 176-metre-long pedestrian Roman Bridge with its 26 round arches that cross the widest part of the River Tormes. Once part of the Roman Silver Road that linked Merida and Astorga, it’s now a rather impressive way to enter and leave Salamanca.

We stayed at the wonderful (want to return) Hacienda Zorita Wine Hotel and Spa just ten minutes drive from the city.

All photos are mine.