Zamora is accessible from Madrid, Ávila or southern Galicia by Talgo and from Salamanca or León by bus, bus from Salamanca taking less than an hour.

It is probably the least well known of Spain's grand old cities, perhaps because of the lack of any specific mastersight, other than its cathedral. However it does not deserve to suffer from people not knowing it. The site is great and it used to be known as 'the Closed One' because it was easily defended on its hill. The steep streets down to the river, where there is a Roman bridge, are spectacular and there are some good looking art nouveau shops near its Plaza Mayor.

Its main features, however, are the cathedral [photoed with some difficulty in avoiding scaffolding at the time] and its number of small Romanesque churches, one of which is also a museum for the artefacts used during the famous Semana Sancta processions in the city.

davidx

2 July 2004