Locate
Salamanca is the place where the first Castilian grammar saw the light.
Its historic quarter, together with the college of Arzobispo Fonseca, the convent of Las Claras, the house-convent of Santa Teresa and the churches of San Marcos, Sancti-Spiritus, San Juan Barbalos and San Cristóbal, have been awarded the World Heritage designation by the UNESCO.
The best place to start is the beautiful Baroque Plaza Mayor square in the old part of town. On leaving the square you'll see the spectacular Clerecía building, and opposite, the original façade of the Casa de las Conchas house, where the grilles are an excellent example of Gothic wrought-iron work. The University awaits close by, with a Plateresque façade that is just a foretaste of its splendid interior. In the Rectory you'll find the Unamuno House-Museum, dedicated to one of its most illustrious rectors: the writer Miguel de Unamuno.
If you cross Plaza de Anaya square you'll come to the site of the New and Old Cathedrals, featuring various architectural styles. Other monuments worth visiting include the convents of Las Dueñas and Las Úrsulas, the palaces of Anaya and La Salina, the Colegio Mayor Fonseca and the churches of San Martín and San Esteban.
