Top 5 Reasons to Visit Salamanca

Salamanca is about 200km west of Madrid, in a Spanish region called “Castilla y León” (Castile and Leon).  It is small city with about 170,000 inhabitants but it is famous for its student town and its culture.  I am looking into going to Salamanca to study Spanish in April as people have told me so much about it.  I therefore decided to do my own research and find out the reasons for visiting this town.

1) University

The University of Salamanca is the third oldest in Europe, founded in 1218. Christopher Columbus studied here as well as Miguel de Cervantes. It was once on par with Oxford Uni, Paris and Bologna.  The University still draws thousands of students each year and many foreigners wanting to learn Spanish come to this town as the region has the purest Spanish.  The University building itself is very beautiful and apparently, if you can find the tiny elusive frog which is hidden in the Plateresque facade, you will be guaranteed good luck, but you have to find it all by yourself.

2) Nightlife

Like Seville, Salamanca is well known for its night life.  The city has a big student population and because of this, there is a lot going on every night of the week with Thursday to Saturday being the most popular. Due to the high percentage of students in the town, there are good deals on drinks.  Many bars have offers like the second drink for free or the  “bar de litros” that sell drinks in buckets. Plaza Mayor is apparently the place to start your night out.  The Bordadores district is where you can find cafes aand bars with live music and Gran Via is popular for foreign students.

3) Restaurants

There are lots of restaurants to choose from.  If you are staying with family or friends, there is a nice market near the Plaza Mayor.   A lot of the restaurants and bars as well, have a menu of the day or in Spanish a “menú del día,” and can cost as little as € 6.00 for two courses, a drink, dessert and bread.  Calle Van Dyck is well known for its tapas bars.  If you head over to places around the Salamanca Univeristy, you can get a good meal for a good deal. When I go to Salamanca, I will be a student and therefore will be reviewing the places to eat that give you the best value for money. Below are some that were recommended:

4) Culture and History

Salamanca was chosen as the European City of Culture along with Bruges in Belgium in 2002. Salamanca has a long history and started as a fort defending the Celtic tribe’s territory.  It was the scene of the Spanish Inquisition, the first major turning point in the fight for Europe against Napoleon and one of the top academic places of the world.  As a result, Salamanca has a vast array of Museums displaying  its history, there is the Casa Lis (Museum of Art Nouveau and Art Deco), Museo Taurino (Bull fighting Museum), Casa Museo Unamuno and the Escuelas Menores.

5) Plazo Mayor

This square built in the 18th century is meant to be the most elegant of all Spain’s squares.  It is also known as Salamanca’s “living room,” as tourists and locals spend a lot of time here. It was built by one of the Churrigueras and features arcaded walkways, iron balconies and a number of restaurants and cafes. It is also home to Salamanca’s town hall and is a tourist attraction to visit day or night. If you come at night, you will also see the “tunas”, the groups of men in old minstrel costumes serenading the public with their Spanish guitar and songs  from the University.

There is certainly a lot to see in Salamanca and I can’t wait to get over there. Once I do, I will write a review complete with photos of my trip.