I have been living in Salamanca for almost one year now. Originally, I come from Extremadura which is in the south west of Spain (400 kms from Salamanca) and although at first I found people slightly different from me, I have definitely fallen in love with this charming city! There are many things to say about Salamanca, I will try to give you a general view of the city including culture and history as well as good places to stay, eat, drink and have fun! I hope you enjoy the tour!
SALAMANCA Salamanca is situated in the Middle-west of Spain, about 200 kms west of Madrid, the capital of the country. It is the capital of a province also called Salamanca and is part of the county Castilla y Leon.
Currently, Salamanca has around 160.000 inhabitants (plus 30.000 students!) and it is known as the University City by excellence (I will explain later). Salamanca was European City of Culture in 2002.
It is not a very big city, however as it is crossed by the river Tormes one feels the city to be bigger than it actually is. Anyway, one can visit the city mainly by foot without any problem. In fact, I would recommend doing this as parking the car can be quite stressing and exhausting!
THE WEATHER I have often heard that Salamanca's main downside is its weather. Winters are cold (0-5 degrees) and summers are very warm (30-35 degrees max.). However, coming from the south I can stand the cold winters without problems and summers are perfect for me! I do not think weather is a problem for tourists as the city is perfectly conditioned for high and low temperatures alike.
THE UNIVERSITY Salamanca's university is the second oldest in Spain, founded in 1218 by Alfonso IX of Leon. Here it was published the first Spanish Grammar in 1492, and indeed many foreigners come here to learn Spanish as Salmantinos (people born in Salamanca) speak very correct Spanish (I think I am also learning Spanish here lol).
The university is divided into different Campuses located around the city. Campus "Miguel de Unamuno" holds Law, Business, Medicine, Pharmacy... and students can get there by foot (15-20 mins. from the centre) or by bus (lines 4 and 13.). Students of Humanities and Science (except Psychology and Education) attend lessons in the centre part of the town, close to the Main Square (from now on Plaza Mayor). Psychology is situated far from the centre but it takes 20 mins max. by foot, and the same for students of Education which is situated close to river Tormes.
The University oldest buildings such as Philology are worth visiting as they remain the same from the time they were built, and for me it is quite amazing to think that students back in XVII century attended lessons in the same building I study in every day : )
Curiosity: in the so-called Front of the University (see picture), there is a little frog (emblem of the uni) on top of a skull. It is very little and legend says that a student who is able to see the frog will pass all exams at the end of the term. It is fun to see all students and tourists seeking for the frog for hours without any success! Normally after a while someone finally points at where the frog is…thus, ruining the legend! (Patience is an underestimated value nowadays!!)
Many people choose Salamanca to study as it's a very prestigious university, the academic level is very high and teachers very competent. Moreover there are many libraries to study, with enough room for all students and sufficiently quiet to concentrate.
Curiosity: Every year, last Thursday of winter term, just before Christmas break, all students meet in Plaza Mayor to celebrate New Year's Eve. In Spain we traditionally eat 12 grapes in order to have luck for the following year and that night in Salamanca we celebrate the same way. At 12 o'clock all students eat their grapes or whatever they want to eat instead (m&ms, olives, etc) and then celebrate all night! It's a good way to celebrate Christmas with your student friends before everybody goes home for Christmas break. Watching the Plaza Mayor full of people celebrating New Year's Eve on, say, 21st of December is just hilarious… and much fun!!
CULTURAL SALAMANCA
Cathedrals: There is an old cathedral built in the XII century and the new one, gothic style built in the XVI century. Both are beautiful and very impressing, and it doesn't take much time to visit them. (Anaya Square. Open hours: 9.00/13.00-16.00/18.30. Entrance 3 euros for adults/ 2 euros for students and groups)
Plaza Mayor: the main square in Salamanca is in my opinion the most beautiful sight. Personally I consider it the most beautiful square in Spain, without any doubt, especially at night when it is illuminated. La Plaza Mayor is the unofficial meeting point as it is the centre of the city life. The Main Hall is situated here and many hotels and restaurants too. At night many young people cross the square constantly as they go from pub to pub.
Casa de los Conchas: Translated as "House of Shells", and situated close to Plaza Mayor, it holds the public library and is one of the most impressing buildings in town. It was built following civil gothic style and decorated with 350 shells from Santiago de Compostela. It mixes two styles that although somewhat weird, looks astounding! (c/ Compañia 2. Free entrance)
Casa Lys: Translated as "House of Lys" and situated in Gibraltar Street, this is the Art Noveau and Art Deco Museum. The building is made of metal and glass, and the roof of the first floor is made of bits of coloured glass, astounding sight from above and below! (It closes only Monday and it costs 2.10 for adults/ 1.50 for students and groups)
DA2: Domus Artium 2002 is the Modern art museum of Salamanca. There are many exhibitions around the year, some of them permanent and some others temporal. It is quite famous in the region. (Avd. De la Aldehuela. It closes on Monday. Free entrance)
There are many other places worth visiting in the old part and all of them are equally charming. I should mention here Clerecía and University Pontificia (c/ Compañia. Entrance 1.50 Euro), Museum of Salamanca to find out more about the city history (c/ Patio de escuelas 2. Entrance 1.20/ 0.60 for students), and many more palaces and convents (San Esteban, Las Dueñas, La Purísima, Santa Clara, Fonseca, Monterrey, etc)
If there is a special feature about Salamanca is that buildings keep uniformity as in the centre part of the town, all buildings use the same kind of stone so the city doesn't loose harmony. That impressed me much when I first got here and surely most people appreciate that as one feels the city has not changed for centuries. Walking the old part is like suddenly going back to XVI century, except for tourists with digital cameras lol. In fact, recent films as Los fantasmas de Goya (directed by Milos Forman and starring Natalie Portman and Javier Bardem) has been partially shot in Salamanca (last scene was shot in Casa de las Conchas).
HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS Salamanca is a tourist city, no doubt about it. Hundreds of foreigners visit the city everyday. Consequently the city is used to this constant flow of people and it is full of hotels and restaurants.
As I live here and share flat with my friends I cannot comment on the quality of Hotels in Salamanca. However, I can say that it is easy to find accommodation even if you have not booked a room in advance. Once I had to come during summer and didn't have a place to stay. I easily found a nice room for 20 euros right in the centre. When my mum came to visit me she paid 60 Euro for a double room in the centre as well. I have been asking around and I should recommend these hotels: Salamanca Plaza del Mercado Hotel (Mercado Square, four stars), Microtel Placentinos (Placentinos 9, it's close to the English department and it looks very nice), Parador de Salamanca (Teso de la Feria, 2.) These can be expensive but if you are looking for cheaper accommodation there are many cheap nice hotels and hostels, especially around La Rua (remember that name!)
As for the restaurants, there are hundreds of them. I should say that those situated in Plaza Mayor are slightly more expensive than the rest but if you visit the city for the first time it is worthy to spend that extra money. I should recommend restaurant Cervantes, there you can enjoy a delicious meal while watching Plaza Mayor from their windows, it is cheap and food is very good. Also El Patio Chico, situated in the beautiful Melendez Street close to Casa de las Conchas, they offer very good meals for 12 euros per person. Other good restaurants are: El Rincón de Sintra (Portuguese food, c/ Los Oballe 31), Paladini (Italian food, beautiful place, c/ Rua Mayor, 12), Petrus (for those meat lovers, Poniente square 7-8), Tormento (12 Euro for meal and show, c/ Espoz y Mina 30).
There is a street called Van Dyck which is full of little bars where you can enjoy a refreshing beer or wine accompanied by one PINCHO for just 1.50 Euro or even less. Pinchos are portions of food such as beef, sausages, cheese, Spanish omelette, vegetables…each bar offers its own specialties and you can eat and drink as much as you want without spending lots of money and trying many different kinds of food. I recommend you the Spanish omelette filled with jam and cheese and sauce, mmm….love it! In almost all pubs and bars in Salamanca they serve Pinchos from 11 to 15 hours and from 19 to 22 and that's great!
NIGHTLIFE So, by now you have been comfortably sleeping and have already eaten delicious Spanish food. Now it is time to have fun! Nightlife in Salamanca is mostly students-oriented but as there are hundreds of pubs and discos everyone will find his/her place. I will categorize here places by the music they play. For radio hits listeners (R&B, Spanish pop, etc) Trastevere, Torero, and Garamond bar and Garamond disco; for electro music fans Submarino (looks like a real submarine!, cool place famous all around Spain); Latin music fans will find their place in any pub in Gran Via; and for those alternative and Indies surely you will find me in one of these places: Pepper, Potemkin, El Puerto de Chus (best music in town!), Country, La Imprenta, among others. In Salamanca you can party every week day, and surely you will always find somewhere different to go!
EVENTS Salamanca offers a wide range of events from music concerts, theatre plays and films, to sports competitions, etc. Salamanca football club was once in La Liga and it has many supporters. Last year, feminine basketball team won the national championship and now they are huge!
In June and in September Salamanca celebrates its festivity and you can find many things to do, there are free concerts in Plaza Mayor (I cannot think of a better place to enjoy a concert), arts and dance, and several performances around the old part of the city. It is fun for adults and children as well. Also in June there is a Festival of arts and dance (free concerts, deejays, expositions and theatre), this will be its third year but last year it was a success so I guess they will improve the quality of the Festival as years go by. June is definitely the month I would choose to visit Salamanca as in June the weather is perfect to walk around the city, and many events are programmed then.
OVERALL I could write more about Salamanca but I guess you will find much more useful information in a proper tourist city guide. This was just an attempt to give you a general view of the city of Salamanca. Life here is quite pleasant, there is plenty of work especially in public services and hotel, restaurants, etc., and certainly this is the University City by excellence. As a student I love the city, I don't know if I would like to spend the rest of my life here, a tough decision, but I would not mind spending a couple of years in Salamanca meanwhile : ) People here are very welcoming, maybe not as friendly at first sight as people from south of Spain, but better friends and honest people in the long run (being a southerner myself that's quite an opinion : ) Sadly not many people here speak English, but that could be applied to Spaniards in general so it cannot be considered a downside of Salamanca alone.
I hope you have enjoyed this review and are now planning your next trip to Spain! Visit Salamanca first!! Thanks for reading, sadie-sara : )
* "As we said yesterday…" : Famous sentence said by Fray Luis De León, prestigious professor who used to give a lesson once every three or four years in the university of Salamanca and always started his lessons by saying: "As we said yesterday"...(surely students freaked out every time! lol)
