A few interesting historical facts

How to get to Plasencia

Plasencia is located half way between Madrid and Lisboa. It also sits at the midpoint of many important roads running through western Spain. It’s 2hr40 by road from Madrid and 3hr10 by train.

We drove to Plasencia from Parque Monfragüe on excellent roads with truly breathtaking views.

Drive

🚗 Driving between cities in Spain is a delight – the roads are excellent and there is generally not too much traffic.

→ Read the full MexicoCassie guide to driving in Spain

→ Check car rental prices and availability now

📲 If you’re coming to Spain from outside of the EU you’ll need to consider your SIM options before you arrive, especially if you are planning on driving – read the full MexicoCassie review of using an eSIM in Spain to figure out if an eSIM is a good option for you.

🅿️ I recommend, as I do with all Spanish cities, figuring out where you want to park before you set off. This is a good option in Plasencia – it’s safe, good sized spaces and not far from the old city.

Public Transport

​What is there to do in Plasencia

As is the norm with visiting Spanish towns, you’ll want to head to the casco histórico, the old city, as this is where the ‘action’ is (but remember that there is no action, this is an adorably small and quiet town).

Visit the hybrid cathedral

The cathedral of Plasencia is actually two cathedrals, hence the idea of a twofer or a hybrid building. Here you’ll find  the catedral vieja and the catedral nueva coexisting peacefully just like they’d have you think Jews, Muslims and Christians did in the middle ages 🤣 (why can’t I ever leave the sarcasm behind?).

The old cathedral was built in between the 13th and 15th centuries in the Romanesque/Gothic style but was never finished. And at the end of the 15th century, they kind of began again, building the ‘new’ cathedral in the late gothic/renaissance style. The old cathedral is basically a museum today and the new cathedral is the active religious building. 

💶 €8 p/p to enter. This is one of the few cathedrals I’ve paid to enter (along with Segovia, Jaen, Sevilla, and Málaga). 

Was it worth it? I can’t answer that. 🤣 I don’t like giving money to religious institutions but it was ok. 

As we wandered around here we spotted red writing daubed on the walls of the cathedral, and idly speculated what it might be and why it was there. Surprisingly (or not), my daughter was the one who knew that it was bulls’ blood and that it was a medieval tradition of university graduates to write their names on the cathedral (something you’ll see as you visit cathedrals around Spain: we recently spotted it in Sevilla too).

Plaza Mayor

Ayuntamiento & Abuelo Mayorga

You wouldn’t normally expect me to mention a town hall in a small town as something to notice, but I do recommend that you look up and check out the dude hanging on to the tower for dear life! This is Abuelo Mayorga. He’s a weird and wonderful part of the town’s clock: his right arm moves to strike the bells on the hour.

Some say he’s been here in some form or other since the 13th century but I found specific mention only back into to the 18th century. If there was an abuelo in the 13th century, he will have been made of wood, and therefore, has not survived. 

In 1743, an abuelo was installed as part of the clock and remained until it was toppled and smashed in 1811 by the French during the War of Independence. 

The current abuelo was installed in the 1970s and is apparently the sixth.

Wander the old streets

Walking the streets of the old city of Plasencia is a delight. It’s quiet, shaded and there are some truly beautiful old buildings to admire.

Rúa Zapataría & Jewish Quarter

As you walk down Rúa Zapataría and other nearby roads, notice the small plaques on the floor that commemorate where Jewish families lived and worked before they were expelled from Spain during the late 15th century.

City Walls

The old city is mostly enclosed within the city walls. Work began on the city walls from the moment of its founding in 1178. Originally there were four defensive towers, and six gates. Today, there are two towers and four gates to check out.

You can walk along the walls plus there is a small museum in the Torre Lucia

Torre Lucía – the walls and this tower are nicely lit at night – the centro de Interpretación medieval is located here.

The ruinas de Torre de San Miguel are still visible as you explore.

Puerta del Sol – this gateway into the town was rebuilt in 1573 and it conserves on it the Catholic Kings’ shield and inscription from 1488.

Puerta de Trujillo (also called Puerta de la Salud – photo above) also still has an inscription from 1488 visible.

Puerta de Berzocana – an inscription from 1571 is still visible here, reading “año de 1571. Seindo corregidor el dotor Zarate se reedificio esta puerta de los proprios de la ciudad“.

Puerta de Coria – this gate was rebuilt at the end of the 16th century with a bigger arch. It was closed during the Carlista Wars and then reopened again in 1848.

➕ Museo Etnográfico Textil Pérez Enciso de Plasencia – this is a free and highly rated museum that I wish I’d visited when I was in town (we had a slight medical issue that meant we weren’t able to get here). The displays relate to not only clothing but also the life of the town, with tools and household items on display.

Parque de los Pinos & Parque de la Coronación

This is two co-joined parks that are a pleasant place to stroll or play (there’s a playground that my kids enjoyed).

Aqueduct – the remains of the 16th century stone aqueduct are here so even if you choose here over Segovia to avoid crowds you’ll still see some water carrying technology!

Nearby activities

Towns

Nature adventures