Cáceres City Guide - Top recommendations and deals Cáceres City Guide - Top recommendations and deals

Cáceres City Guide

ULTIMATE TRAVEL GUIDE TO VISIT CACERES

Cáceres is the capital of the autonomous community of Extremadura in southwestern Spain. Cáceres, similar to Toledo or Segovia is famous because of its historic city center. The heart of the city is filled with the remains of the old medieval city and immediately transports you back in time. Cáceres’ city center is so spectacular and well-preserved in fact that it was named a UNESCO world heritage site in 1986.

Here you will find our expert guides top suggestions to plan the perfect visit to this amazing medieval jewel.

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Our Top Hotel In Cáceres

NH Collection Cáceres Palacio de Oquendo

The NH Collection Cáceres Palacio de Oquendo is housed within a 16th-century palace in the historic city center of Cáceres, is located in the historic center of Cáceres, next to the city’s ancient Roman and Arab walls.

The hotel also features a full gym and an excellent terrace right on San Juan Square. The hotel’s restaurant serves traditional Extremeño tapas and traditional Spanish cuisine and is housed within the estate’s former stables.

Cáceres’ old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and San Juan Church is just 100 m away from the hotel. The city’s bullring is 10 minutes walk away.

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More Details of this hotel Cáceres

Bedroom at NH Cáceres Palacio de Oquendo

The NH Collection Cáceres Palacio de Oquendo hotel offers 86 rooms with views of Plaza San Juan or the quiet internal courtyard. All rooms are elegantly decorated in light tones, wooden furniture, and floors.

The rooms are spacious and modern and feature air conditioning, free WIFI, 48-inch TV, a coffee machine, an electric teakettle, and a selection of pillows. The bathrooms feature a rain-effect shower and a professional hairdryer.

Restaurants and food

The Yuste tapería-restaurant on the hotel’s ground floor specializes in traditional Spanish cuisine. You will find tapas and rations, as well as more formal dishes. The restaurant offers a magnificent view of Plaza San Juan, under the vaulted ceilings characteristic of Extremadura architecture. The restaurant also has an extensive wine menu.

In this dining hall is also where the hotel serves its excellent daily buffet-style breakfast.

Location

The NH Collection Cáceres Palacio is located on the Plaza San Juan in the center of Cáceres, right next to Casa Ovando, one of the cities many historical monuments. It is also within walking distance from the cities Cathedral as well and the cities old quarter.

Atrio Hotel in Caceres

The Atrio Restaurante Hotel is located in the center of the city of Cáceres, just 200m from the cities Cathedral. The hotel features a seasonal swimming pool and a 2-Michelin-starred restaurant.

The hotel is housed within an old estate, the interior, however, is modern and sleek. The rooms are soundproof and feature free WIFI, air conditioning, heating, a mini-bar, safe, and flat-screen TV. The room’s private bathrooms feature a hairdryer, complimentary toiletries, a bathrobe, and slippers. Suites also offer a living room area.

The hotel offers room service and features a café-bar and a lush private garden.

The hotel offers 24-hour front desk service, car rental services, and an airport shuttle service for an extra fee charge.

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5 Top Reasons To Visit Cáceres

Get Lost in the Old Town

Cáceres is also known as La Ciudad Monumental or the Monumental City in English, and the city definitely lives up to this moniker. It is one of the bets preserved medieval cities in Spain and in Europe. The historic city center is pretty much untouched and as soon as you set foot in this part of town you feel like you have traveled back in time.

Since so much of the city center is ancient, the best way of experiencing is simply meandering the winding streets and getting lost. The narrow cobbled stone walk ways create a maze filled with towering Islamic arches, large Renaissance era estates, humble, family-run businesses, etc. The best way to soak in the history of Cáceres.

Golfines Palace

El Palacio de Golfines is the largest and most luxurious estate you will find in the historic city center of Cáceres. The Palace occupies several city blocks of the center of the city.

The building is a seamless mix of different architectural styles from Renaissance to Gothic, and Plateresque. The real treasures however lay inside.

The palace is home to a large collection of murals, tapestries, jewelry, and other personal belongings of the Christian Kings ( Isabel Of Castilla and Ferdinand of Aragon) and much more. Guided tours are available, but the real treat is the theatrical guided tour if you are up to it.

Bujaco Tower

Another one of the medieval treasures tucked away in the historical city center is the Bujaco Tower. The tower is imposing and overlooks the city, standing at 82-feet tall. Built in the 12th century, during the Moorish occupation of the territory, the tower has played an important role in most of the city’s historical events. Today it serves as an information center for visitors and offers the best panoramic views of the city.

Cáceres Museum

An unrivaled treasure trove of archaeological discoveries, masterpieces of the fine arts, and so much more awaits you at The A visit to Cáceres without a visit to the Cáceres Museum is at best incomplete. This wonderful museum tells the history of Cáceres and of Spain through its collection of archaeological artifacts, masterpieces of the fine arts, and much much more.

Housed in a centuries-old building in the city’s historic center, the museum is one of the most underrated museums in the country.

Cánovas Park

Canova’s Park is a pleasant oasis located in the busy shopping district on Avenida de España, in the center of Cáceres. The park is a perfect place to rest a bit after a long session of sight seeing. Cánovas park features a promenade lined by lush flowering plants, trees, fountains and more.

Best Time To Visit Cáceres

Extremadura rarely gets overcrowded but southern Spain can get blisteringly hot in summer.

April in Extremadura burst out with life and temperatures are still bearable. Days exceeding 25ºc degrees are common but it’s not the norm. May is an ideal month for nature lovers and bird watchers to visit.

Weather In Cáceres

Cáceres enjoys a Mediterranean climate with hot summers and mild winters.

Best Day Trip From Cáceres

Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe

The Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe is a 14th-century Monastery located about 1 hour and a half by car from the center of downtown Cáceres. The building was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1993, so it is well worth the drive if you have the time.

The temple features a mix of several artistic and architectural styles including Gothic, Mudejar, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical.

In 1389 the construction officially was declared a monastery by Juan I of Castile. It was turned over to a community of 32 monks of the Jerónima Order from San Bartolomé de Lupiana. In 1879 the complex was declared a National Monument by Alfonso XIII and turned over to the Franciscan friars, and Pope Pius XII, in 1955, elevated the sanctuary to the status of a basilica.

Monastery of Guadalupe in Cáceres – History

The origins of the monastery church as a sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe has a close relationship with the reign of Alfonso XI.

There was a monk named Diego de Écija who chronicled the construction of the monastery and sustained that the reason the chapel or hermitage was built was the result of the appearance of the image of a shepherd of unknown name, at the dawn of the century XIV.

Centuries later, in 1743, a monk by the name of Francisco de San José identified the shepherd as Gil Cordero de Santa María, one of the first settlers of the place. On the site of the humble hermitage, a small church was built in the early 14th century. The king ordered it to be expanded in such a way that it would become a temple worthy of the devotion of the Virgin of Guadalupe, with the addition of a hospital. It took just six years to make the appropriate extensions and arrangements under the supervision of Toribio Fernández. The resulting temple was to emulate the famous Toledo Mudejar style was applied.

As a result of the victory obtained in the battle of the Salado, King Alfonso XI donated several trophies obtained in the battle and also issued a royal privilege on December 25, 1340, in which the monastery was declared royal patronage. On January 6, 1341, the Bishop of Toledo Gil Álvarez de Albornoz drew up a document establishing the secular priory of Santa María de Guadalupe and recognizing the patronage in the figure of the king and of their successors.

From a sanctuary to a monastery

Juan I had inherited the patronage of the sanctuary as it had been established since the times of Alfonso XI. While still in possession of his rights as patron, he dictated on August 15, 1389, in Sotosalbos a royal provision by which he ordered that the sanctuary be expanded and raised into a monastery ruled by regular monks.

The king also gave up all the properties related to the sanctuary that he himself had received from his predecessors. On his side, the Archbishop of Toledo Pedro Tenorio, who had jurisdiction over the territory where the sanctuary was located, granted his consent by means of a letter written in Alcalá de Henares.

When the Hieronymite monks arrived from Lupiana, they took possession of the monastery in October 1389. The Hieronymite monks were the absolute rulers for 463 years. Over the centuries the monastic complex grew and became enormous, with an area of around 22,000 square meters. Many and very important were the works and improvements made by the Hieronymites during this time.

In 1493 Columbus returned to Guadalupe in fulfillment of the promise written in his log to give thanks for the discovery of America. On July 29, 1496, the baptism of the Native Americans who were transferred to the old continent as servants took place.

Where is the Monastery of Guadalupe in Cáceres?

The monastery is located a little over an hour and a half east of the Medieval city of Cáceres, in the charming little town of Gadalupe. In the town, there are other sites worth visiting as well as numerous bars and restaurants where you can enjoy some traditional Extremeño cuisine.

La Coronación de La Virgen by El Greco.

During the height of his fame, the world-famous Spanish painter, El Greco, would be commissioned an altarpiece for the parish church of San Andrés, a commission that came from the Brotherhood of Our Lady of the Rosary. The work included architecture, a sculptural image, and three canvases, among which this Coronation stands out. El Greco also painted a more famous coronation scene that is currently located in the famous El Prado Museum of Madrid. The painter modestly received 300 ducats for his work.

A large portion of the altarpiece was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War, The design of the Coronation was reflected in the contract; thus, it was arranged that the Coronation of the Virgin was placed accompanied by various saints – among which mentioned the Saints Juanes, San Antón, San Sebastián, and Santo Domingo. The composition is inspired by an engraving by Dürer, freely interpreted by Doménikos. There are some similarities with the Burial of the Conde de Orgaz in particular its two-part structure: the lower one in a typical Quattrocento rectangle and the upper one in a rhombus, placing the Virgin as the axis of symmetry in this case.

Video of Monasterio de Guadalupe in Cáceres

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