CASUAL EATERIES ON AND NEAR PLAZA MAYOR
This sunny sandstone city boasts Spain’s grandest plaza, its oldest university, and a fascinating history, all swaddled in a strolling, college-town ambience. A youthful and less touristy version of Toledo, Salamanca is home to a series of monuments, a pair of buttress-sharing cathedrals from different centuries, clusters of cloisters, and several interesting museums (Art Nouveau, automobiles).
It’s also a very affordable destination, as the many students help keep prices down. Take a paseo with the local crowd down Calle de Rúa Mayor and through Plaza Mayor. The young people congregate until late in the night, chanting and cheering, talking and singing. When I asked a local woman why young men all alone on Plaza Mayor suddenly break into song, she said, “Doesn’t it happen where you live?”
Salamanca, with its art, university, and atmospheric Plaza Mayor, is worth a day and two nights. It’s also feasible as a side-trip from Madrid, especially by taking a high-speed, 1.5-hour train. By car or bus it’s 2.5 hours from Madrid. If you’re bound for Santiago de Compostela or Portugal, Salamanca is a natural stop.
Salamanca’s sights cluster in a barbell shape, with its magnificent town square on one end and the cathedrals and university at the other end. The connecting streets are lively with eateries, shops, and people.
The main TI is on Plaza Mayor (Mon-Fri 9:00-14:00 & 16:30-20:00, Sat 10:00-20:00, Sun 10:00-14:00, shorter hours off-season, Plaza Mayor 19, tel. 923-218-342).
The TI website (www.salamanca.es) is a good source of practical information; you can also check the regional TI website (www.turismocastillayleon.com) to find out about events and festivals in and around Salamanca.
Tours: The TI offers a free downloadable audioguide at www.audioguiasalamanca.es, though it’s not user friendly. You must download each of the 27 audio files separately to your mobile device before you start, or be online to listen while you walk.
Sightseeing Passes: The Salamanca Card, sold at the TI and participating sights, covers entry to the main monuments and museums. It’s worth getting if you plan to see the University of Salamanca (€10) and a few other sights (€22/24 hours, €25/48 hours, www.salamancacard.com). The TI also sells a €4 Museum Combo-Ticket that covers the Automobile History Museum and Art Nouveau Museum, saving you €4. Buy it here since it’s not offered at the sights.
From either Salamanca’s train or bus station to Plaza Mayor, it’s a 25-minute walk, an easy bus ride (€1.05, pay driver), or a €7 taxi trip. The train station has no lockers; day-trippers can store bags at the bus station (consignas; at bay level facing main building on your left).
By Train: Salamanca has two train stations: the main train station and (a bit closer to the town center) Salamanca Alamedilla station. To walk from the main train station into the center of town, exit left and walk down to the ring road, cross it at Plaza de España, then angle slightly left up Calle Azafranal. Alternatively, exit the front of the main station, cross the street, and take bus #1, which lets you off just past the Plaza del Mercado (the market), next to Plaza Mayor.
Some slower trains continue on to Salamanca Alamedilla station, which is closer to town—if you arrive here, walk down Avenida Alamedilla past a park to Plaza de España, then to Calle Azafranal. Note that you cannot depart from or buy tickets at Salamanca Alamedilla station.
By Bus: To walk into the center from the bus station, exit right and walk down Avenida Filiberto Villalobos; take a left on the ring road and the first right on Ramón y Cajal, head through Plaza de las Augustinas, and continue on Calle Prior to reach Plaza Mayor. Or take bus #4 (exit station right, catch bus on same side of the street as the station) to the city center; the closest stop is on Gran Vía, about two blocks east of Plaza Mayor (ask the driver or a fellow passenger, “¿Para Plaza Mayor?”).
By Car: Drivers will find a handy underground parking lot at Plaza Santa Eulalia (€14/day, open 24 hours daily). Two other convenient lots are Parking Plaza del Campillo and Parking Le Mans (€15/day). You can also try one of the hotels with valet parking for comparable fees.
Book Ahead for Easter and September: During Easter week, bullfighting events, and the first half of September (Salamanca’s Feria patron-saint celebration), hotels fill up and room prices increase.
Bike Rental and Tours: Juanjo and Javi from Bikecicletas Salamanca offer bike rentals as well as several guided and unguided bike tours—see their website for details (half-day rental-€8, full-day rental-€15, guided tours-€16, all prices with this book, includes helmet, lock, lights, reflective vest; reserve at least a day in advance, Calle Traviesa 18, around the corner from university facade; tel. 923-216-940, mobile 699-210-939, www.alquilerbicisalamanca.com, info@alquilerbicisalamanca.com).
Travel Agency: Viajes Salamanca books flights, trains, and some buses, including buses to Coimbra, Portugal, and a late-night train to Lisbon (Plaza Mayor 24, tel. 923-211-414).
Local Guide: Ines Criado Velasco, a good English-speaking guide, is happy to tailor a town walk to your interests (€95/3 hours on weekdays, €105/3 hours on weekends and holidays, €150/5 hours for groups of 1-30, mobile 609-557-528, inescriado@yahoo.es).
Tourist Tram: The small tram you might see waiting at the New Cathedral does 20-minute loops through town with Spanish narration (€4.75, departs every 30 minutes, daily 11:00-14:00 & 16:00-19:00, no lunch break July-Aug, mobile 649-625-703).
Built from 1729 to 1755, this ultimate Spanish plaza is a good place to enjoy a cup of coffee (try the venerable Art Nouveau-style Café Novelty, described later) and watch the world go by.
The Town Hall, with the clock, grandly overlooks the square. The Arco del Toro (built into the eastern wall) leads to the covered market. While most European squares honor a king or saint, this golden-toned square—ringed by famous Castilians—is for all the people. The square niches above the colonnade surrounding the plaza depict writers (Miguel de Cervantes), heroes and conquistadors (Christopher Columbus and Hernán Cortés), as well as numerous kings and dictators (Francisco Franco).
Plaza Mayor has long been Salamanca’s community living room. The most important place in town, it seems to be continually hosting some kind of party. Imagine the excitement of the days (until 1893) when bullfights were held in the square. Now old-timers gather here each day, remembering an earlier time when the girls would promenade clockwise around the colonnade while the boys cruised counterclockwise, looking for the perfect queso (cheese), as they’d call a cute dish. Perhaps the best time of all for people-watching is Sunday after Mass (13:00-15:00), when the grandmothers gather here in their Sunday best.
Salamanca’s cool-on-a-hot-day cathedral is a two-fer. When constructing a spacious new cathedral (built 1513-1733), Church fathers put it right next to the town’s 12-century Romanesque church. The “New” Cathedral, a towering mix of Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque, actually shares buttresses with its older partner.
Cost and Hours: Cathedrals, cloister, and museum—€4.75, includes audioguide, free Sun 15:00-17:00 (but museum closed during free hours); open daily 10:00-20:00, Oct-March until 18:00, last entry 45 minutes before closing; tower—€3.75, free Sun 10:00-12:00, open daily 10:00-20:00, Jan-Feb until 18:00; last entry one hour before closing.
Information: Cathedral tel. 923-217-476, tower tel. 923-226-701, www.catedralsalamanca.org.
Visiting the Cathedrals: To get to the old, you have to walk through the new.
New Cathedral (Catedral Nueva): Before entering the New Cathedral, check out its ornate front door (west portal on Rúa Mayor). The facade is decorated Plateresque, with masonry so intricate it looks like silverwork (plata). It’s Spain’s version of Flamboyant Gothic. At the side door (around the corner to the left as you face the main entrance), look for the astronaut added by a capricious restorer in 1993. This caused an outrage in town, but now locals shrug their shoulders and say, “He’s the person closest to God.” I’ll give you a chance to find him on your own. Otherwise, look at the end of this listing for help.
Inside, fancy stone trim is everywhere, and the dome decoration is particularly wonderful. Occasionally the music is live, not recorded. The coro, or choir, blocks up half of the church (normal for Spanish Gothic), but its wood carving is sumptuous; look up to see the recently restored, elaborate organ.
• Head into the Old Cathedral (the entrance is through the San Lorenzo Chapel near the ticket counter in the New Cathedral).
Old Cathedral (Catedral Vieja): Sit in a front pew to study the altarpiece’s 53 scenes from the lives of Mary and Jesus (by the Italian Florentino, 1445) surrounding a precious 12th-century statue of the Virgin of the Valley. High above, notice the dramatic Last Judgment fresco of Jesus sending condemned souls into the literal jaws of hell.
Enter the cloister (off the right transept) and explore the chapels, notable for their unusual tombs, ornate altarpieces, and ceilings with leering faces. In the Capilla de Santa Barbara (second on the left as you enter), you can sit as students once did for their tests. During these final exams, a stern circle of professors formed around the students at the tomb of a Salamanca bishop. (The university originated in the cathedral school, with a group of teacher-priests who met in this room.)
As you continue through the cloister, you’ll find the chapterhouse (salas capitulares) and museum (museo). Displayed within the four rooms on your left are 15th- and 16th-century Castilian paintings, and several sculptures including a 13th-century Virgin that opens to show scenes of Mary’s life. Next is the Capilla de Santa Catalina, which was used as the university’s library until 1610. The room is lined with tombs and paintings from the 15th to 17th century. The Capilla de Anaya, farthest from the cloister entrance, has a gorgeously carved 16th-century alabaster tomb (look for the dog and lion making peace—or negotiating who gets to eat the worried-looking rabbit—at the foot of the tomb) and a wooden 16th-century Mudejar organ. (Mudejar is the Romanesque-Islamic Moorish design style made in Spain after the Christian conquest.)
Tower: For a fantastic view of the upper floors and terraces of both cathedrals, and a look at the inside passages with small exhibits about the cathedrals’ history and architecture, visit the tower (marked Jerónimos). It was sealed after Lisbon’s 1755 earthquake to create structural support, and not opened again until 2002. (To climb the tower, exit the cathedral to the left to find a separate entrance around the corner.)
Finally, go find that astronaut I mentioned earlier: He’s just a little guy, about the size of a Ken-does-Mars doll, entwined in the stone trim to the left of the New Cathedral side door, roughly 10 feet up. If you like that, check out the dragon (an arm’s length below). Historians debate whether he’s eating an ice-cream cone or singing karaoke.
The University of Salamanca, the oldest in Spain (est. 1218), was one of Europe’s leading centers of learning for 400 years. Columbus came here for travel tips. Today, though no longer so prestigious, it’s laden with history and popular with Americans, who enjoy its excellent summer program. The old lecture halls around the cloister, where many of Spain’s Golden Age heroes studied, are open to the public.
Cost and Hours: Lecture halls—€10, Mon-Sat 10:00-20:00, Oct-March until 19:00, July-Sept closed midday (14:00-16:00), Sun 10:00-13:00 year-round, audioguide-€2; museum—free, Tue-Sat 9:30-13:30 & 16:00-18:30, Sun 10:00-14:00, closed Mon; tel. 923-294-400, ext. 1150, www.usal.es.
Visiting the University: Enter the university from Calle Libreros. The ornately decorated grand entrance is a great example of Spain’s Plateresque style. The people studying the facade aren’t art fans. They’re trying to find a tiny frog on a skull that students looked to for good luck.
But forget the frog. Follow the facade’s symbolic meaning. It was made in three sections by Charles V. The bottom celebrates the Catholic Monarchs. Ferdinand and Isabel saw that the university had no buildings befitting its prestige, and they granted the money for this building. The Greek script says something like, “From the monarchs, this university. From the university, this tribute as a thanks.”
The immodest middle section celebrates the grandson of Ferdinand and Isabel, Charles V. He appears with his queen, as well as the Habsburg double-headed eagle and the complex coat of arms of the mighty Habsburg Empire. Since this is a Renaissance structure, it features Greek and Roman figures in the shells. And, as a statement of educational independence from medieval Church control, the top shows the pope flanked by Hercules and Venus.
To enter the university’s old lecture halls, buy a ticket (cash-only at machine), or validate your Salamanca Card at the information counter. Pick up a free English-language leaflet and follow it by going left (clockwise) around the courtyard. The lecture halls are well-described with informative panels in English.
In the Hall of Fray Luis de León, the narrow wooden-beam tables and benches—whittled down by centuries of studious doodling—are originals. Professors spoke from the Church-threatening cátedra (pulpit). It was here that freethinking brother Luis de León returned, after the Inquisition jailed and tortured him for five years; he had challenged the Church’s control of the word of God by translating part of the Bible into Castilian. He started his first post-imprisonment lecture with, “As we were saying...” Such courageous men of truth believed the forces of the Inquisition were not even worth acknowledging.
The altarpiece in the chapel on the opposite side of the courtyard depicts professors swearing to Mary’s virginity. (How did they know?) Climb upstairs for a peek into the oldest library in Spain. Outside the library, look into the courtyard at the American sequoia, brought here 150 years ago and standing all alone. Notice also the big nests in the bell tower. Storks stop here from February through August on their annual journey from Morocco to northern Europe. There are hundreds of these stork nests in Salamanca.
Leave the university through the shop, which is right across from the cathedrals’ entrance. To visit the Museum of the University, with Fernando Gallego’s fanciful 15th-century Sky of Salamanca ceiling mural, walk back around to the university building’s facade; you’ll see the statue of Fray Luis de León. Directly behind him is the museum entrance and, to the left, a peaceful courtyard.
Can’t forget about the frog? It’s on the right pillar of the facade, nearly halfway up, on the leftmost of three skulls.
For a bird’s-eye view of the city and a panorama of the Old and New cathedrals, climb the Clerecía Towers of the Ministry of San Marcos. Enter the sight across from Casa de las Conchas, and head up the Scala Coeli. (You don’t have to visit the museum within this building to climb the tower.) The last stretch to the towers is the original bell-tower staircase, which has been restored.
Cost and Hours: €3.75, daily 10:00-20:00, Dec-Feb until 18:00, last entry 45 minutes before closing, Calle Compañia 5, tel. 923-277-174, www.torresdelaclerecia.com.
Located in Casa Lis, this museum—with its beautifully displayed collection of stained glass, vases, furniture, jewelry, cancan statuettes, and toy dolls—is a refreshing change of pace. Nowhere else in Spain will you enjoy an Art Nouveau collection in a building from the same era. Find the stunning sculptures of Josephine Baker and Carmen Miranda, along with lots of pieces by René Lalique. The museum is a donation of a private collection. The English brochure contains a translation of the Spanish text posted in each room of the collection. After your visit, sit with a reasonably priced coffee and contemplate the stained-glass facade from the interior of the museum’s beautiful Art Nouveau café (where you can nibble and sip even if you don’t visit the museum). When you exit, turn left and go down toward the river area, then go to the left again in order to see the stained glass of the beautiful main facade.
Cost and Hours: €4, free Thu 11:00-14:00; open April-mid-Oct Tue-Fri 11:00-14:00 & 16:00-20:00, Sat-Sun 11:00-20:00, shorter hours off-season, closed Mon except possibly in Aug; between the cathedrals and the river at Calle Gibraltar 14, tel. 923-121-425, www.museocasalis.org.
This museum has three floors showcasing about 100 vehicles in chronological order from 1899 to the present. There’s no English information, but at least you’ll know the make, model, and year of each automobile. Find the 1899 Catalan three-wheeled car that was shown at the World’s Fair in Paris, a 1930 fire truck, a big black 1970 Caddie used for shuttling heads of state (including Franco), and Formula 1 race cars driven by Fernando Alonso (2009) and Michael Schumacher (1995).
Cost and Hours: €4, Tue-Sun 10:00-14:00 & 17:00-20:00, closed Mon, Plaza del Mercado Viejo, by the river and across the street from Casa Lis, tel. 923-260-293, www.museoautomocion.com.
Dedicated to St. Stephen (Esteban) the martyr, this complex contains a restored cloister, tombs, museum, sacristy, and church.
Cost and Hours: €3, church open daily 10:00-14:00 & 16:00-20:00, until 19:00 in winter, last entry 45 minutes before closing, museum closed all day Mon and Tue mornings, tel. 923-215-000.
Visiting the Church: The visitors’ entrance is to the right of the church entrance (which is closed except during services).
Before you enter, notice the Plateresque facade and its bas-relief of the stoning of St. Stephen. The Crucifixion above is by Italian Renaissance artist Benvenuto Cellini. As you enter the building, look at the large poster explaining the facade’s many characters.
After buying your ticket, walk around the cloister while heading toward the opposite corner, then enter a hall where signs indicate ways to the church (iglesia), sacristy (sacristía), choir (coro), and museum (museo). Head to the church first. Once inside, follow the free English pamphlet.
The nave is overwhelmed by a 100-foot, 4,000-piece wood altarpiece by José Benito Churriguera (1665-1725) that replaced the original Gothic one in 1693. You’ll see St. Dominic on the left, St. Francis on the right, and a grand monstrance holding the Communion wafers in the middle, all below a painting of St. Stephen being stoned. This is a textbook example of the intricately detailed Churrigueresque style that influenced many South American mission buildings. Quietly ponder the dusty, gold-plated cottage cheese, as tourists shake their heads and say “too much” in their mother tongues.
Go up the architecturally unique staircase, built without any interior support; you’ll notice that when you walk, you definitely lean inward. Make a loop around the upper level of the cloister, enjoying the calm, then visit the museum with its illustrated 14th- to 16th-century Bibles and choir books. Notice also how the curved ivory Filipino saints all look like they’re carved out of an elephant’s tusk. And don’t miss the fascinating “chocolate box reliquaries” on the wall in the back (on the right) from the 16th and 17th centuries. Survey whose bones are collected between all the inlaid ivory and precious woods. Before leaving, take a quick look at the collection of 19th- to 20th-century pharmacy-related pieces.
Exit the museum and step into the balcony choir loft for a fine overview of the nave. The big, spinnable book holder in the middle of the room held giant music books—large enough for all to chant from in an age when there weren’t enough books for everyone. Amen.
Located next door to the Church of San Esteban, the much simpler convento is a joy. It consists of a double-decker cloister with a small museum of religious art. Check out the stone meanies exuberantly decorating the capitals on the cloister’s upper deck. No English information is displayed, but an English booklet is available for €2. The nuns sell sweets daily except Sunday (€5 for a small box of their specialty, amarguillos—almonds, egg whites, and sugar; no assortments possible even though their display box raises hopes).
Cost and Hours: €2, variable hours but generally Mon-Sat 10:30-12:45 & 16:30-18:45, off-season until 17:30, closed Sun year-round, tel. 923-215-442.
Historians enjoy the low-slung Roman Bridge (Puente Romano), much of it original, spanning the Río Tormes. The ibérico (ancient pre-Roman) faceless bull blindly guards the entrance to the bridge; you’ll find this symbol of Salamanca on every city coat of arms in town.
Traditionally, Salamanca’s poorer students earned money to fund their education by singing in the streets. This 15th- to 18th-century tradition survives today, as musical groups of students (representing the various faculties)—dressed in the traditional black capes and leggings—sing and strum mandolins and guitars. They serenade the public in the bars on and around Plaza Mayor. The name tuna, which has nothing to do with fish, refers to a vagabond student lifestyle and later was applied to the music these students sing. They’re out only on summer weeknights (singing for tips from 22:00 until after midnight), because they make more serious money performing for weddings on weekends.
Salamanca, a student town, has plenty of good eating and sleeping values. Most of my listings are on or within a three-minute walk of Plaza Mayor (NH Puerta de la Catedral and Microtel Placentinos are a little farther—see map on here). Directions are given from Plaza Mayor, assuming you are facing the building with the clock (for instance, 3 o’clock is 90 degrees to your right as you face the clock). The city is noisy on the weekends, so if you’re a light sleeper, ask for an interior room.
$$$ NH Puerta de la Catedral is a fancy business-class hotel on a quiet pedestrian street around the corner from the cathedral entrance. It’s worth the extra euros for a room with a great view of the cathedral (air-con, elevator, pay parking, Plaza de Juan XXIII 5, tel. 923-280-829, www.nh-hotels.com, nhpuertadelacatedral@nh-hotels.com).
$$ Hotel Room Mate Vega, across the street from the covered market, has wannabe-hip business-class rooms in a good location (room upgrade with Salamanca Card, air-con, elevator, pay parking; 2 blocks off Plaza Mayor, exit Plaza Mayor at 3 o’clock, Plaza del Mercado 16; tel. 923-272-250, www.room-matehotels.com, vega@room-matehotels.com).
$$ Sercotel Las Torres is a chain hotel with 53 modern, spacious rooms (several with see-through bathroom doors) and all the amenities. It’s nothing special...except that it’s located right on Plaza Mayor (some view rooms, air-con, elevator, exit Plaza Mayor at 11 o’clock to find hotel entry just off square at Calle Concejo 4, tel. 902-141-515, www.sercotelhoteles.com, reservas@sercotel.es).
$$ Microtel Placentinos is quaint and intimate with nine rustic rooms buried deep in the streets near the university buildings (breakfast included, air-con, elevator, Calle Placentinos 9, tel. 923-281-531, www.microtelplacentinos.com, reservas@microtelplacentinos.com).
$$ Hotel Rua’s 19 basic rooms have little character, but are clean and a good value. It’s on a small street a few blocks from Plaza Mayor (air-con, elevator, Calle Sánchez Barbero 11 on Plaza Isla de la Rúa, www.hotelrua.com, reservas@hotelrua.com).
$ Hostal Plaza Mayor, with 19 nicely decorated but small rooms, has a good location practically on Plaza Mayor—but with no views (air-con, most rooms served by elevator, pay parking, Plaza del Corrillo 20, tel. 923-262-020, www.hostalplazamayor.es, hostalplazamayor@hotmail.com).
$ Hostería Casa Vallejo is a welcoming, family-run place, with 12 rustic and renovated rooms a block away from Plaza Mayor. The attached, recommended tapas bar/restaurant serves up tasty deals (air-con, elevator, closed second and third weeks of July, San Juan de la Cruz 3, tel. 923-280-421, www.hosteriacasavallejo.com, info@hosteriacasavallejo.com, Amparo and Jesús).
$ Hostería Sara, between Plaza Mayor and the cathedrals, offers tidy rooms with simple decor and handy minifridges (a handful have kitchenettes). Ask for the upper floors for quieter rooms with double-paned windows (air-con, elevator; Meléndez 11, tel. 923-281-140, www.hostalsara.org, info@hostalsara.org).
¢ Hostal Los Angeles rents 19 simple but cared-for rooms, four of which overlook the square. Stand on the balcony and inhale the essence of Spain. View rooms are popular and more expensive—when you reserve, request “Con vista, por favor” (cheaper rooms and family room with shared bath, Plaza Mayor 10, about 3 o’clock, tel. 923-218-166, mobile 606-757-396, www.pensionlosangeles.com, info@pensionlosangeles.com, David).
¢ Hostal Escala Luna is family-run and has 22 clean, bright, quiet, cheap, and cozy rooms (laundry service; 2 blocks off Plaza Mayor—exit the square at about 7 o’clock, toward cathedral at Meléndez 13, first floor; tel. 923-218-749, www.hostalescalalunasalamanca.com, info@escalaluna.com).
Local specialties include serrano ham, which is in just about everything (see sidebar on here), roast suckling pig (called tostón around here), and sopa de ajo, the local garlic soup. Patatas meneadas (potatoes with Spanish paprika and bacon) is a simple but tasty local tapa. If you always wanted seconds at Communion, buy a bag of the local specialty called obleas—flat wafers similar to giant Communion hosts.
Plenty of good, inexpensive restaurants are located between Plaza Mayor and Gran Vía, and as you leave Plaza Mayor toward Calle de Rúa Mayor. You’ll also find lots of tapas places along and around Calle de Rúa Mayor, but they are often overrun with students. Restaurants generally serve lunch from 13:30 to 16:00 and dinner from about 20:30 until very late (remember, Spaniards don’t start dinner until about 21:00). Tapas bars and cafés may be open all day, though they serve simpler food off-hours.
Drinks ordered at a bar usually come with a free pincho, a taste of one of the larger portions of tapas. Sometimes you can even choose between several options. For the price of three drinks, you can make a light meal of pinchos while standing or sitting at the bar. Try the recommended Cervantes Bar or one of the places outside the old town.
$$$$ Restaurante Casa Vallejo, open since 1941, is known for its grilled meats, traditional dishes, and good wine. You’ll spend about €35-40 for a satisfying meal (Tue-Sat 13:30-16:00 & 21:00-23:00, Sun 13:30-16:00, closed Mon, restaurant is inside the recommended Hostería Casa Vallejo at San Juan de la Cruz 3, tel. 923-280-421).
$$$ Restaurante Isidro is a thriving Salamancan favorite—a straightforward, hardworking eatery where Alberto offers a good assortment of fish and specialty meat dishes with quick and friendly service (€12 fixed-price meal, €25 à la carte dinners, big portions, good roasts, Tue-Sat 13:00-15:30 & 20:00-23:30, Sun 13:00-16:00, closed Mon, Pozo Amarillo 19, about a block north of covered market near Plaza Mayor, tel. 923-262-848).
$$$ Vida & Comida serves a fusion of traditional and creative cuisine. It combines sit-down tablecloth ambience with an informal fun menu of small plates (Tue-Sat 14:00-16:00 & 21:00-24:00, Sun 14:00-16:00, closed Mon, Plaza Santa Eulalia 11, tel. 923-281-36).
$$ El Vinodiario is tucked away on a delightful square in the streets near the Church of San Esteban and Convento de las Dueñas. Their wine selection includes their own vintages, and tapas and meals are proudly made with local ingredients (daily 10:00-17:00 & 20:00-24:00, Plaza Basilios 1, for location see map on here, tel. 923-614-925).
Here you can enjoy a meal sitting on the finest square in Spain and savor some of Europe’s best people-watching. The bars, with little tables spilling onto the square, serve raciones and €2 glasses of wine. A ración de embutidos y quesos (a mixed plate of hams, sausages, and cheese), a ración of patatas bravas (chunks of potatoes with a slightly spicy tomato sauce), and two glasses of wine make up a nice dinner for two for about €25—one of the best eating values in all of Europe. For dessert, stroll with an ice-cream cone from Café Novelty.
$$ Cervantes Bar is more of a restaurant, with a wide selection of meals, €10 salads, and sandwiches. They also have an indoor section with tables that overlook Plaza Mayor from one floor up; it’s a popular student hangout. Don’t forget to ask for your pincho, a snack that comes with your drink, if you’re standing at the bar (daily 8:00-late, tel. 923-217-213).
$$ Café Novelty is Plaza Mayor’s Art Nouveau café. Dating from 1905, it’s the oldest café in Salamanca—and has some customers who look like they’ve been there since it opened. It’s filled with character and literary memories. The metal sculpture depicts a famous local writer, Torrente Ballester. Their ice cream sweetens a stroll around the plaza (daily 8:00-24:00, tel. 923-214-956).
$$ Bambú’s interior is a fresh, modern change from all the traditional woody bars, but with similarly delicious pinchos. It is just off Plaza Mayor, near the TI. Look for a black-and-white sign, then go downstairs to the bar or sit-down restaurant, which serves grilled meats, several salads, and varied raciones (daily, Calle Prior 4, tel. 923-260-092).
The beautiful covered mercado (market) on Plaza Mercado has fresh fruits and veggies, as well as a bar to enjoy a morning coffee in the middle of the shopping action (Mon 8:00-19:00, Tue-Sat 8:00-14:30, closed Sun, on east side of Plaza Mayor).
Supermarkets: A small El Árbol grocery, two blocks west of Plaza Mayor at Iscar Peyra 13, has just the basics (Mon-Sat 9:30-21:30, closed Sun). For variety, the big Carrefour Market supermarket is your best bet, but it’s a six-block walk north of Plaza Mayor on Calle del Toro (Mon-Sat 10:00-22:00, closed Sun, across from Plaza San Juan de Sahagún and its church—see map on here).
Sandwiches: The Pans & Company fast-food sandwich chain is always easy, with a branch on Calle Prior across from Burger King (daily 10:30-24:00).
Locals and students head just a bit outside the old town to hit the tapa/pincho scene along a main artery called Calle Van Dyck. It’s about a 20-minute walk or a short taxi ride from the edge of the old town, but it’s worth the effort as there are several cheap and tasty options. You’ll spend, on average, €2.50 for a caña (small beer), which comes with a small tapa. To get there on foot, go to the end of Calle del Toro, cross the main drag (Avenida de Mirat), and go up Calle Maria Auxiliadora; after crossing the wide Avenida de Portugal, take the third left onto Calle Van Dyck (see map on here).
Start at the neighborhood classic, which has been around for more than 40 years—$$ Cafe Bar Chinitas at #18—where Victorio, Manoli, and their son Javi serve up a delicious selection of 45 tapas (closed Mon, also closed Sun June-July and all of Aug, tel. 923-229-471). Or try the Galician seafood eatery $$ Casa Chicho, farther down the street at #34 (or enter around corner at Alfonso de Castro 15). You can either dine in their pincho bar or sit down in the restaurant for grilled fish and seafood raciones galore (closed for Wed and Thu lunch, Sun dinner, and all day Mon-Tue, tel. 923-123-775). There are many other options on the streets around Van Dyck.
From Salamanca by Train to: Madrid Chamartín (7/day, 1.5-3 hours), Ávila (8/day, 1-1.5 hours), Barcelona (8/day, 6-7.5 hours, change in Madrid from Chamartín station to Atocha station via Metro or cercanías train; also possible 1/day with change in Valladolid, 8.5 hours), Santiago (1/day except none Saturday, 7.5 hours, transfer in Madrid), Burgos (7/day, 2.5-5 hours, transfer in Valladolid or Ávila), Lisbon, Portugal (1/day, 7.5 hours, departs Salamanca station at about 1:00 in the morning; catch a taxi to the train station, ask your hotel to arrange taxi in advance, stops in Coimbra, Portugal). Train info: Toll tel. 902-320-320, www.renfe.com.
By Bus to: Madrid (hourly express, 2.5-3 hours, arrives at Madrid’s Estación Sur or airport terminals T1 or T4, Avanza bus), Segovia (2/day, 3 hours, Auto-Res bus), Ávila (4/day, 1.5 hours, Auto-Res bus), Santiago (1/day plus 1 night bus, 7.5 hours, Alsa bus), Barcelona (2/day with transfer in Burgos, 11 hours, Alsa bus), Burgos (3/day, 3-4 hours, Alsa bus), Coimbra, Portugal (1/day, departs at 12:45, 5 hours; same bus continues to Lisbon in about 9.5 hours total, Alsa bus). Bus info: Alsa (tel. 902-422-242, www.alsa.es), Avanza and Auto-Res (tel. 902-020-052, www.avanzabus.com); also try www.movelia.es for multiple company listings.