Ninety seconds on Cáceres Old Town
Thirty towers from the Islamic period still stand in Cáceres, and inside its walls you walk lanes of noble palaces with no visible modern building.
The Torre de Bujaco, on the edge of the Plaza Mayor, is the largest of the Moorish towers. The Almohads built it on a base of Roman stone blocks, so look at the bottom courses before you look up at the battlements, about 25 metres above the square.
At the Arco de la Estrella, the main gate, look up at the small niche above the arch. Its image of the Virgen de la Estrella gives the gate its name.
On the Plaza de Santa María, the Palacio de los Golfines de Abajo shows plain stone walls to the square. Stand back from the walls to see the carved decoration along the top of the Golfines facade.
The Torre de las Cigüeñas is the one tower in the old town that kept its original height. It now houses the military command of Cáceres, so you see it from the lane. Local reports from the late 2010s say storks no longer nest inside the walled town, so do not plan a visit around them.
Inside the co-cathedral, the altarpiece of the Assumption is carved in cedar and pine and left unpainted. At the Palacio de Carvajal, an old round tower stands over the garden, with frescoes in the former chapel at its base.
Plaza Mayor is where the visit starts. Pick up a town map at the tourist office on the square, since signs are patchy in Spanish and thinner in English. Then climb the Torre de Bujaco (ticketed) for a view over the old town and the line of wall you are about to walk inside.
Take the steps up through the Arco de la Estrella into the walled town and follow the lanes to the Plaza de Santa María. The co-cathedral there has an audio guide in Spanish, English, French, German and Portuguese, and its bell tower gives the best view of the old town.
The Palacio de los Golfines de Abajo, across the same square, is seen only on a guided tour with a timed ticket. Arrive early: entry is refused once a tour is five minutes in.
Finish at the Palacio de Carvajal, where the rectangular cloister has arcades on columns. Walk through to the garden behind it, known for its fig tree.
Accredited official guides run guided walks every day from their own offices on the Plaza Mayor, so book one there. On a budget, a free walking tour of Cáceres is the alternative.
In some seasons the city council has also run free guided walks of about two hours for groups of 10 to 60. Ask at the tourist office on the Plaza Mayor whether one is on.
The co-cathedral offers private visits by day, through the sacristy museum, the choir and the tower rooms, and by night, into areas the day visit does not reach.
Two palaces in the old town carry the Golfines name. The one with the guided tour is de Abajo, the lower one near the co-cathedral, so check the name on your ticket before you set off.
In summer, walk the narrow lanes between the palaces of the Ciudad Monumental, where the walls give shade. Go up to the walls at sunset, when the light catches the rooftops.
Come back after dark or on a rainy day as well, when the old town is at its most atmospheric.
On the second weekend of May the WOMAD festival brings up to 70,000 spectators into the old town, so book a room early or pick another weekend.
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