Cáceres

A World Heritage old town bristling with medieval towers and a Game of Thrones filming location, with Trujillo's historic centre, Mérida's Roman theatre and Monfragüe National Park nearby.

Cáceres lies in the autonomous community of Extremadura in western Spain and is the capital of the province of the same name, about 300 km from Madrid and 320 km from Lisbon. Inside its walls, the medieval old town preserves a wealth of 15th–16th-century noble palaces, towers and churches with almost no modern buildings to break the spell. It was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1986 and served as a filming location for Season 7 of Game of Thrones. Start at the Plaza Mayor and enter the old town through the Arco de la Estrella, linking up the Co-Cathedral of Santa María, the towers of the Church of San Francisco Javier, the Arab cistern at the Museum of Cáceres and the old Jewish quarter; on the west side of town is the Helga de Alvear Museum of Contemporary Art. There are plenty of day trips: the granite boulders of Los Barruecos on the western outskirts, Trujillo – hometown of the conquistadors – to the east, the Roman city of Mérida to the south, Monfragüe National Park for vulture-watching to the north, and the Roman bridge at Alcántara. Getting there: trains and buses from Madrid take about 3.5–4 hours; a car is the easiest way to reach the surrounding sights. The best weather is Mar–May and Sep–Nov; in Jul–Aug afternoons often top 40°C. Allow 2–3 days: one for the old town and one or two for the surroundings. Local specialities include Iberian ham, Torta del Casar cheese and pimentón (smoked paprika).

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