Last updated September 2022
I think it is time for me to write about Salamanca more generally, to take a step back and give you a less in-depth view, and to mention some of the beautiful places you need to see that I haven’t had a chance to mention yet!
I will try to keep this post as short as possible but it is going to be difficult, there is so much to say! To not make it too long, I am going to direct you to previous posts of mine that deal with some of these sights in more detail, that way you won’t, hopefully, get an information overload reading this. It is supposed to inspire you to go after all, not make you feel overwhelmed!
- University of Salamanca (Universidad de Salamanca)
- Old and New Cathedrals (Las Catedrales Vieja y Nueva)
- Lis’ House (Casa Lis)
- The Towers of the Clerecía (Scala Coeli)
- Pontifical University (Universidad Pontificial)
- Main Square (Plaza Mayor)
- St. Stephen’s Convent (Convento de San Esteban)
- Roman Bridge and River Tormes (Puente Romano y Río Tormes)
- St. Martin’s Church (Iglesia de San Martín)
- Garden of Calixto and Melibea (Huerto Calixto y Melibea)
- Sky of Salamanca (Cielo de Salamanca)
- Shell House (Casa de las Conchas)
- Anaya Palace (Palacio de Anaya)
- Archbishop Fonseca College (Colegio Arzobispo Fonseca)
University of Salamanca
Salamanca is probably best known for its university as it is one of the oldest in all of Europe and it is the oldest in Spain. It was founded in 1218. Today it is housed in different buildings across the city but the most well known building has the famous façade (see above) and is on Calle Libreros, an old Roman road.
The façade is beautifully detailed, there is so much to see and appreciate. It is traditional to find the frog on a skull, if you find it then it is believed that you will pass your exams. Unfortunately, it took me a very long time to find it! Of course, you can read online where it is but it is more fun, and more worthy, to try to find it yourself first. Don’t be surprised to find frog and skull merchandise for sale all over the city.
It is definitely worth going inside the university building too, even just to see the beautiful library. This is one of my favourite libraries but The Long Room in Trinity College Dublin is still the favourite! Expect to read more about libraries in future posts! If you have a favourite library, please do let me know in the comments.
In addition to the library, you can also see some old lecture halls, the lower and upper cloisters, a beautiful staircase, chapel and more.
Address:
The Escuelas Mayores Building on Calle Libreros, 30, 37008 Salamanca
Website:
Old and New Cathedrals
You will see these impressive two cathedrals from all over the city but they are well worth going into also. You can buy a ticket for both for only €6. The cathedrals are, interestingly, connected which also means that it can be a little difficult to determine which one is which. After a while, I learnt that the tall tower is the old cathedral and the dome is the new cathedral.
They are gorgeous inside and out, especially the interior of the New Cathedral. They are really worth a visit. I have visited a lot of churches and cathedrals, as I am sure you have too, so it is always a very good sign when you are surprised by how much you like one.
The façade of the Ramos Gateway, of the New Cathedral, in Anaya Square (Plaza de Anaya), is famous too! You can test your ability to locate things by finding the astronaut and dragon eating an ice-cream on the façade. Similarly to the façade of the university, the façade is so intricate that this is actually quite difficult! Well, it is for me, anyway! It is common to add modern, unusual figures such as these when restoring façades in Spain. For example, in Calahorra (La Rioja) there is a mobile phone.
Address:
Plaza de Anaya, 37008, Salamanca
Website:
https://catedralsalamanca.org/
Casa Lis
This is now the third time that Casa Lis has been mentioned in a post so I am going to keep it brief, even though it deserves all this attention and more. It is a museum dedicated to Art Deco and Art Nouveau and it has an unusual collection of dolls, glass, porcelain and more. The building itself is beautiful but the collection is gorgeous too. You can read more about it in my previous post HERE.
Address:
Calle Gibraltar, 14, 37008, Salamanca
Website:
https://www.museocasalis.org/nuevaweb/
Scala Coeli
Scala Coeli are the twin towers you can see from all over the city, beside the purple dome of the Clerecía. You can climb all the way to the top of the towers for beautiful views of the city and also to admire the architecture of the towers themselves. Read more about them HERE.
Address:
Calle Compañía 5, 37008, Salamanca
Website:
http://torresdelaclerecia.com/
Pontifical University
The Pontifical University is connected to the Clerecía and Scala Coeli, you can visit all three for €6. The Pontifical University is not as old as the University of Salamanca but it is beautiful too.
You can walk into the campus and look around by yourself but it is better to go on the tour as you learn more about the architecture and history and are showed rooms that are normally closed. You buy your ticket at the entrance for Scala Coeli.
NOTE: the tour is only offered in Spanish
Address:
Calle Compañía 5, 37008, Salamanca
Plaza Mayor
It is typical for Spanish cities to have a main square (Plaza Mayor) – it is a place where people can meet, eat and drink. Salamanca’s main square is one of the most beautiful in all of Spain and it is worth visiting during the day and night. There are many restaurants and cafés here and Salamanca’s only tourist office is also here (Plaza Mayor, 32). I found their tourist office very, very useful. They have a list of all the attractions in Salamanca and they have their opening times and prices listed too. I also got a lovely free poster of the city!
St Stephen’s Convent
This is one of my absolute favourite attractions in Salamanca. The main façade is very impressive – Salamanca has a lot of beautiful facades! And like a lot of the facades in the city, this is in the Plateresque style. The interior is impressive too, the cloister is gorgeous and it has one of the nicest sets of stairs I have ever seen, called the Soto Staircase. You can also visit the choir, cloisters, a little art gallery and more. I will hopefully be writing a post on it in much more detail soon.
Address:
Plaza de los Basilios, 37008 Salamanca
Website:
https://www.conventosanesteban.es/
Roman Bridge and River Tormes
This is absolutely free and well worth visiting. The bridge itself is very impressive and walking on it and then underneath it, by the river, is a very enjoyable experience. The oldest part of the Roman Bridge is the part furthest away from the Stone Bull, the 15 arcs here are Roman. More arcs were added to the bridge at a later date, these are nearest to the Stone Bull and Casa Lis.
The Roman Bridge and Calle Libreros – the road where the University Façade is – are part of Roman Salamanca. They were part of a Roman road called La Vía de Plata that connected Seville to Mérida to Salamanca and then to Astoria. The name of the road when directly translated means “Road of Silver” but the name actually comes from an Arab term so it means “A Road Covered in Stone.”
Before crossing the bridge, you should take a moment to admire the stone bull (Toro de Piedra) that’s now on a pedestal by the bridge. You also should see the statue of Lazarillo del Tormes. This is the name of a famous piece of Spanish literature that follows the life of a young boy and his master, an old blind man. A section of the novel takes place beside the River Tormes so it is very fitting for there to be a statue here today.
St Martin’s Church
This is a lovely church, very near Plaza Mayor. Its bell-tower is an important part of the city’s skyline, and it is also home to storks. Prepare yourself for seeing storks around the city! I didn’t expect to see so many when I was here. Also expect to hear them! They can be very loud, especially when they’re feeding. As we don’t have any storks in Ireland, I didn’t mind how loud they were, I enjoyed the expience.
Entering the church itself is free but if you would like to see the impressive gateway, as photographed above, you must pay €1.50. The entrance for this part of the visit is very close to the Plaza Mayor, it is called Tesoro Escondido (hidden treasure).
Address:
Plaza del Corrillo, 37008, Salamanca
Huerto Calixto y Melibea
This is a secret garden that is on part of the old city walls. It is a lovely place to sit and relax or, if you are tight for time, to stroll through and to admire the views of the river and Roman Bridge. You can read more about it HERE.
Entrance location:
Calle Arcediano 20, 37008, Salamanca
Sky of Salamanca
This is a beautiful mural of zodiac signs and mythical figures. It is free to enter and is very peaceful as you can just sit and admire the beauty of the mural. It is well worth walking into and it is very central, located in the University of Salamanca. Unfortunately, no photographs can be taken of the mural itself.
Address:
Patio de Escuelas Menores of Salamanca University 37008, Salamanca
Shell House
Like almost everything in Salamanca, this is a truly beautiful building. It is free to enter and visiting here won’t delay you too much. It is called Shell House as it has over 300 shells. It now it houses the public library, one of three in Salamanca. I was very impressed by how literary a city Salamanca is, I will hopefully write more about its literary nature in the future!
While you are here, you should enter both the Lower and Upper Courtyards. From the Upper Courtyard there are lovely views of the twin towers of Scala Coeli. If you have the time and the curiosity then you should also enter the library, you don’t need to be a member to look around or use the toilet!
Address:
Calle Compañía 2, 37008, Salamanca
Anaya Palace
Anaya Palace is today part of the University of Salamanca, that means that you can walk in and admire the courtyard for free! This is one of my favourite courtyards in all of Salamanca, maybe even the favourite. As you may have noticed already, there are many beautiful courtyards, patios and cloisters in Salamanca! I have never been to a city with so many beautiful courtyards, I will write more on them in the future. An interesting feature of the courtyard is the VICTOR signatures that adorn the walls. It was a tradition for students to write VICTOR and their name when they finished their studies. They used different substances to do this, sometimes oil, and sometimes, less innocently, with blood from a bull. It is very unusual and a bit strange but they do look very impressive on the walls.
Keep an eye out for storks here too, there are a lot of storks throughout the city but they seem to like to nest in the tower here. They can be very loud when they are feeding!
Note: There is a very nice café close-by called Manolita Café Bar (Calle Palominos 21). It is reasonable and comfortable and somewhere I spent quite a lot of time.
Address:
Anaya Square, 37008, Salamanca
Archibishop Fonseca College
This was a university that was founded by Alonso de Fonseca, Archibishop of Santiago de Compostela and Toledo. Today is part of the University of Salamanca. The university building itself is worth admiring and it is free to walk in and to admire the courtyard. There are some beautiful staircases here too. You can also enter the chapel but you must pay €2.
Address:
Plaza de Fonseca, 4, 37008, Salamanca
Website:
https://www.usal.es/historia-colegio-arzobispo-fonseca
There are many other places that I could list but after spending three weeks in Salamanca I judge these as the best places to visit. I hope this list will inspire you to visit Salamanca one day!
