Must-see attractions in Extremadura

  • Monastery of Yuste.

    Monasterio de Yuste

    Extremadura

    In a lovely shady setting 1.5km northwest of Cuacos de Yuste, this monastery is where Carlos I of Spain (Charles I; also known as Carlos V of Austria)…

  • Street of Granadilla.

    Granadilla

    Extremadura

    About 25km west of Hervás, the ghost village of Granadilla is a beguiling reminder of how Extremadura's villages must have looked before modernisation…

  • The Roman Theatre of Merida, UNESCO world heritage in Spain

    Teatro Romano

    Mérida

    Mérida's most spectacular Roman monument, and the only one to once again fulfil its original function – by hosting performances during the Festival…

  • Plaza Mayor

    Extremadura

    Trujillo's main square is one of Spain's most spectacular plazas, surrounded by baroque and Renaissance stone buildings sporting intricately carved…

  • The historic roman bridge Puente Romana over the Guadiana river in Merida, Spain.

    Puente Romano

    Mérida

    Don't miss the extraordinarily powerful spectacle of the Puente Romano spanning the Río Guadiana. At 792m in length with 60 granite arches, it's one of…

  • National Museum of Roman Art.

    Museo Nacional de Arte Romano

    Mérida

    Even if you visit only a handful of Mérida's sights, make sure one of them is this fabulous museum, which has a superb three-floor collection of statues,…

  • Torre de Bujaco in Caceres.

    Torre de Bujaco

    Cáceres

    As you head up the steps to the Ciudad Monumental from the Plaza Mayor, turn left to climb the 12th-century, 25m-high Torre de Bujaco, home to an…

  • Plaza de Santa Maria and statue of San Pedro de Alcantara near the Cathedral of St. Mary, Caceres, Spain.

    Plaza de Santa María

    Cáceres

    As the closest square to the Plaza Mayor, the Plaza de Santa María and the surrounding tangle of lanes provide most people's introduction to the Ciudad…

  • Palacio de los Golfines de Abajo

    Cáceres

    The sumptuous home of Cáceres' prominent Golfín family has been beautifully restored. Built piecemeal between the 14th and 20th centuries, it's crammed…

  • Museo de Cáceres

    Cáceres

    The excellent Museo de Cáceres, spread across 12 buildings in a 16th-century mansion built over an evocative 12th-century aljibe (cistern), is the only…

  • Castillo de Trujillo

    Extremadura

    Atop the town's 600m-high summit, Trujillo's castle is of 10th-century Islamic origin (note the horseshoe arch just inside the entrance) and was later…

  • Castillo de Feria

    Extremadura

    Built from a preexisting Moorish fort by the powerful local Feria house, Feria's impeccably revamped 15th-century castle enjoys spectacular panoramas in…

  • Alcazaba

    Badajoz

    Badajoz' majestic 12th-century, 8-hectare Alcazaba, the largest in Spain, lords over the city above the Plaza Alta. Guarding all is the Torre de…

  • Museo del Jamón

    Extremadura

    Occupying pride of place at the southern end of Monesterio, the excellent Museo del Jamón is arguably the best of its kind in Spain. Displays, interactive…

  • Castillo de Monfragüe

    Extremadura

    The hilltop Castillo de Monfragüe, a ruined 9th-century Islamic fort, has sweeping 360-degree views across the park, with birds swooshing by above and…

  • Mirador Salto del Gitano

    Extremadura

    Arguably the most spectacular spot in the national park is the Mirador Salto del Gitano. From this lookout point, 5km south of Villareal along the EX208,…

  • Palacio Quemado

    Extremadura

    One of the stars of Extremadura's Ribera del Guadiana wine-producing region, Palacio Quemado produces excellent reds and runs guided tours (including one…

  • Iglesia de Santa María la Mayor in Trujillo.

    Iglesia de Santa María la Mayor

    Extremadura

    This 13th-century church is a stunner. It has a mainly Gothic nave and two towers that you can climb for fabulous views across Trujillo, the castle and…

  • Facade of Plasencia Cathedral.

    Catedral de Plasencia

    Extremadura

    Plasencia’s magnificent cathedral is two-in-one. The 16th-century Catedral Nueva is a Gothic-Renaissance blend with a handsome plateresque facade, a…

  • Plaza Grande in Zafra, Spain.

    Plaza Grande

    Extremadura

    The Plaza Grande and the adjoining Plaza Chica are both beautifully arcaded and ideal for soaking up Zafra life. The southwestern end of Plaza Grande,…

  • Castillo de Luna

    Extremadura

    Looming large above little Alburquerque is the intact Castillo de Luna. The centrepiece of a frontier defence system of forts, the castle occupies the…

  • Palacio de la Conquista

    Extremadura

    On the south side of Plaza Mayor, carved images of conquistador Pizarro and his lover Inés Yupanqui (sister of the Inca emperor Atahualpa) adorn the…

  • Templo de Diana

    Mérida

    The soaring columns here are one of Mérida's most dramatic, incongruous sights, surrounded as they are by the buildings of a modern Spanish city…

  • Yacimiento Romano de Cáparra

    Extremadura

    Unearthed in 1929, the fascinating, substantial remains of the once-splendid Roman city of Cáparra mostly date to around the 1st century. Initially…

  • Concatedral de Santa María

    Cáceres

    This 15th-century Gothic cathedral creates an impressive opening scene for the Ciudad Monumental. Inside, you'll find a magnificent carved 16th-century…

  • Iglesia de Santiago

    Extremadura

    Alongside the grand Puerta de Santiago, just inside the walled town, stands the Iglesia de Santiago, Trujillo's oldest church, founded in the 13th century…

  • Museo Pérez Comendador-Leroux

    Extremadura

    Within an impressive 18th-century mansion, the Museo Pérez Com­endador-Leroux houses works by Hervás-born, 20th-century sculptor Enrique Pérez Comendador…

  • Puente Romano

    Extremadura

    On the northwest side of Alcántara, a magnificent 2nd-century Roman bridge – 204m long, 61m high, with six arches and much reinforced over the centuries –…

  • Conventual de San Benito

    Extremadura

    What a surprise this is out in the Extremadura backblocks! Built in the 16th century to house the Orden de Alcántara, an order of Reconquista knights –…

  • Casa del Mitreo

    Mérida

    Beside Mérida's Plaza de Toros, the Casa del Mitreo is a late-1st- or 2nd-century Roman house with a well-preserved fresco and several intricate mosaics…

  • Alcazaba

    Mérida

    This large Islamic fort was built in the mid-9th century on a site already occupied by the Romans and Visigoths, probably becoming the first ever alcazaba…

  • Centro de Visitantes Los Descubridores

    Extremadura

    This museum inhabits the 17th-century Iglesia de la Preciosa Sangre de Cristo with a high-tech display on Spain's conquest of the Americas and the larger…

  • Catedral de Santa María de la Asunción

    Extremadura

    Coria's primarily Gothic cathedral has intricate plateresque decoration around its main, north portal. It occupies a well-used sacred site: there was a…

  • Convento de Santa Clara

    Extremadura

    Off Zafra's main shopping street, this imposing 15th-century Mudéjar convent is a working convent with cloistered nuns. Visitors can, however, explore the…

  • Plaza Mayor

    Extremadura

    Plasencia life flows through the lively, arcaded Plaza Mayor: meeting place of 10 streets, home to plenty of bar-restaurants and scene of a Tuesday…

  • Museo de la Coria

    Extremadura

    Adjacent to the Puerta de la Coria, one of seven arched entrances to the old town, this 15th-century monastery houses a moderately interesting museum…

  • Casa-Museo de Pizarro

    Extremadura

    High in the upper old town (and signposted from the Puerta de Santiago), this small museum occupies a 15th-century home believed to have belonged to the…

  • Bodegas Ruíz Torres

    Extremadura

    Around 6km south of Guadalupe, close to the Puerta Llano, this well-regarded winery produces whites, reds and cavas (sparkling wine), and occupies a…

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