Ciudad Rodrigo

Ciudad Rodrigo stands above the Agueda river on the old road between Castile and Portugal, which made it a frontier fortress repeatedly: the twelfth-century walls were reinforced through the medieval period and again in the eighteenth century with bastions, and they can be walked almost entirely, about two kilometres of circuit. The cathedral, begun in the twelfth century, has a Romanesque portal of the Virgin and a set of choir stalls carved by Rodrigo Aleman with scenes that range from biblical to bawdy. Enrique II built the castle keep in 1372 and it is now a parador. Marks left by artillery during the Peninsular War sieges are still visible on the walls, and the town holds a carnival with bull events each February.

What you actually see

• The wall circuit - about two kilometres walkable around the town.
• The cathedral portal - a Romanesque doorway of the Virgin.
• The Aleman choir stalls - carved scenes both sacred and irreverent.
• The castle keep - a 1372 tower now operating as a parador.

When to go

April to June and September to November; the February carnival is the town's biggest event and fills it. Summer on the plain is hot and winter cold. The cathedral keeps a midday closure.

Honest expectations

The town is small and quiet outside carnival, with limited eating options. The wall walk has no railings in sections. Public transport connections are infrequent.

Nearby

La Alberca and the Sierra de Francia lie east; the Portuguese border is twenty-five kilometres west.