The historic center of Cáceres, Extremadura

I had a few days over in Extremadura recently. It’s one of the least-known areas in Spain, but it’s famous for its ham and its natural landscapes. This is Cáceres, one of the biggest cities.

plaza y iglesias en caceres extremadura

Cáceres has, supposedly, the largest monumental complex in Europe. The whole center is a lot of very old buildings with a great atmosphere. On a rainy day it’s quite spooky and mysterious, and in the sun it’s beautiful.

saint george slaying the dragon caceres

Saint George slaying the dragon. Statue under a church in the center of Cáceres.

sun and knight's helmet, noble house, caceres

Knights would indicate their status by putting a coat of arms on the front of their house. You see this in many parts of Spain, including Cantabria.

torre en caceres conjunto monumental

A very old defensive tower right off Plaza Mayor.

Cáceres and Extremadura in general was a great experience. The food was wonderful. There are a couple of good places around Plaza San Juan, I especially liked Mesón Iberico. Across Plaza San Juan, you have the NH hotel in a building that’s several centuries old, which has a great little bar where you can have some really good beer called Legado de Yuste. Spanish people really can make good beer!

Daniel
 

How did I end up in Spain? Why am I still here almost 20 years later? Excellent questions. With no good answer... Anyway, at some point I became a blogger, bestselling author and contributor to Lonely Planet. So there's that. Drop me a line, I'm happy to hear from you.