Salamanca, roughly translated, means sorcery. And in Salamanca, Spain, it isn’t difficult to imagine a place filled with magic and awe. The city possesses an old world charm that attracts millions of tourists all over the world every year. Its stone walls and brick roads all come together to create an image of a truly a romantic, Spanish city. In fact, the residents of Salamanca are known to speak the purest form of the Spanish language which is Castillan. People who wish to learn Spanish often make a trip to Salamanca for this purpose.
However, it isn’t only the residents who conjure up tourists for Salamanca. There are various attractions in the city that remain unique all on their own.
Plaza Mayor, for instance, casts a powerful spell over foreigners and locals as it used to play host to a number of different activities (read: bullfights and executions). However, it has since been transformed into a concert hall for many artists and is considered to be one of the best plazas in Europe.
Salamanca is also primarily a university town. One can often spot students milling around the area. As a matter of fact, the University of Salamanca is among the oldest learning institutions in Europe and has served as a haven for names such as Ignatius Loyola and Miguel de Cervantes! The campus itself serves as an attraction with its historical statues and majestic library!
“La Nueva” or the new one refers to the Romanesque cathedral founded in the 12th century. Of course, it hasn’t been new for a very long time but it has been labeled as such because of the old cathedral standing beside it.
Most of the dishes served in Salamanca are meat. Sweets such as almond cookies, marzipan and perunillas (oval or circular cinnamon-and-lemon flavoured biscuits) are also available there. Actually, the Plaza Mayor is known to have a lot of interesting eateries. Aside from restaurants, there are also a good number of bars around.
There are plenty of souvenirs to go around in Salamanca. Most of the expensive ones are in Plaza Mayor but they are all worth it. Spanish fans, dolls in the shape of bullfighters and flamenco dancers, prayer beads, crosses, t-shirts and basically anything that has frogs (a university symbol).