León

Late spring and summer are the best seasons, with warm, sunny days and cool nights. Winters are cold, with frost and some snow, and autumn is wet.

Holy Week and the festival of San Juan and San Pedro in late June are the main events.

• Catedral de León is a 13th-century Gothic cathedral known for its stained glass, which covers a very large area. The light is best on a sunny day.
• Basílica de San Isidoro y Panteón Real is a Romanesque basilica with a royal burial chamber, decorated with 12th-century frescoes.
• Casa Botines is a modernist building by Antoni Gaudí from the 1890s, on the Plaza de San Marcelo.
• Convento de San Marcos is a grand Renaissance monastery, now a luxury hotel with a museum. It was a stop for pilgrims.
• MUSAC is a museum of contemporary art with a colorful glass façade.
• Iglesia de San Juan y San Pedro de Renueva is a church on the Camino de Santiago route.
• The Barrio Húmedo is the old quarter of narrow streets, bars and tapas.

• Go on a tapas crawl in the Barrio Húmedo, where many bars give a free tapa with each drink.
• Walk part of the Camino de Santiago, following the scallop shell marks through the city.

• Astorga (about 50 km, 40 minutes by car or train): a town with a Gaudí palace and a cathedral.
• Burgos (about 180 km, 2 hours by car): a city with a grand Gothic cathedral.
• Oviedo (about 120 km, 1.5 hours by car): the capital of Asturias across the mountains.
• Salamanca (about 200 km, 2 hours by car): a university city with a golden old town.

Other places in northern Spain:

• Castile: Burgos and Salamanca.
• Asturias: Oviedo is reached by a mountain road or train.

• By air: León airport has limited service. Most visitors use Asturias airport (about 110 km) or Valladolid airport (about 130 km).
• By train: High-speed trains run from Madrid and Valladolid. Regional trains link León with Oviedo and Burgos. Book on Renfe.
• By bus: Coaches run to Madrid, Oviedo, Burgos and other cities.

• On foot: The old town is compact and flat, and everything is within a 15 minute walk.
• Cycling: The city is flat, but cycling is mainly for the outskirts.

• Is a car worth it?: Not for the city. A car helps for villages and mountain areas.
• Parking: Use an underground car park near the edge of the old town.
• Restrictions: The old town is closed to most traffic.

León is known for its free tapas with a drink, a custom in the Barrio Húmedo. Try cecina (cured, smoked beef), morcilla (blood sausage) from the region, cocido leonés (a hearty chickpea stew) and botillo from the nearby Bierzo area. The local wines include Prieto Picudo and wines from Bierzo.

León is a very safe city. Winters are cold, so bring warm clothes, and sun is strong in summer at this altitude.

León began as a Roman military camp for the Seventh Legion, and the name comes from the word legio. It became the capital of the Kingdom of León in the 10th century, one of the first kingdoms of Christian Spain.

The city grew in the Middle Ages as a stop on the Camino de Santiago. The Gothic cathedral was built in the 13th and 14th centuries.

Quick practical facts for Spain at a glance: