VALLADOLID
An hour from Madrid, this elegant Spanish city offers glorious art, sprawling parks and historic architecture, plus hearty dishes and great local wines
Why go? Sophisticated Valladolid offers an authentic Spanish city experience in the country’s traditional Catholic heartlands. Despite the fact that it is a name few travellers are familiar with, it has hosted some key events in European history: Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, the great unifying monarchs, were married here; Philip II – creator of the Spanish Armada – was born here; and Christopher Columbus died here. While only an hour by highspeed train from Madrid, the city’s palace-lined plazas have a timeless mystical quality to them, helped by their association with the birth of the Castilian language. The celebrations during Holy Week are among the most colourful in the country with Good Friday’s Passion Procession seeing priceless baroque statues paraded through the streets and the city’s 21 brotherhoods making proclamations from horseback.
What to do Crouching in the centre of the city, the cathedral (catedral-valladolid.com) is a mishmash of styles and remains only 45 percent complete – despite building having begun more than 500 years ago. Take the lifts and stairs to the top of the bell tower to orientate yourself. A short walk away, the ornate national sculpture museum (culturaydeporte.gob.es) is filled with 17th century statues, works by masters like Alonso Berruguete and altar pieces plundered from convents that were forced to close across the country during the 1800s. Often likened to Shakespeare because he died the same week as the Bard and produced works of equal influence, Miguel de Cervantes lived in Valladolid when the first part of Don Quixote was published. Visit his house (museocasanataldecervantes.org) with its humble wooden writing desk still in place, then retire to the Campo Grande park to reread the masterpiece. This triangular Eden luxuriates over 100,000 square metres, and has an aviary, pheasant sanctuary and dovecote dotted among its flowers and fountains. To enjoy the balmy weather (if you’re here in April), head to Playa de las Moreras, a man-made beach with unspoilt golden sands on the Pisuerga river that’s perfect for long strolls.
Where to stay There are plenty of traditional, intimate hotels to choose from here but they tend to share common features, as if imagined by the same moustached 1940s designer: dark furniture and heavy curtains, historic settings and warm, if slightly formal, hospitality. AC Hotel Palacio de Santa Ana (marriott.com) – a converted monastery perched on the banks of the Pisuerga, is an exception. Rooms are generous and contemporary, with black painted shutters and polished floorboards, plus pretty gardens and a Turkish bath. Ideally situated next to the cathedral, Hotel Boutique Atrio (hotelesvalladolid.com) is a four floor modernist house with cosy bedrooms while its more elegant older sister, Hotel Colón Plaza Boutique (hotelesvalladolid.com) overlooks the Campo Grande. Or for haute cuisine feasts, try the restaurant of Meliá Recoletos (melia.com), which also boasts sizable rooms.
Where to eat and drink Valladolid’s food scene is as drenched in history as everything else in this city. Hare à la Royale at El Trigo (restaurantetrigo.com) is as rich as one of Isabella I’s ermine trimmed cloaks while El Mercado de tu Vida (mercadodelval.com) has been selling everything from suckling pig to local sobao bread since the 1800s. The area is famous for its hearty meat dishes and La Parrilla de San Lorenzo (laparrilladesanlorenzo.es) does a mean line in kid goat served with red wines from the Ribera del Duero. Cerveceria el Trebol’s street tables are ideal for a well poured caña of beer and langoustine lunch, Señorita Malauva (vinotecamalauva.com) is a buzzy spot in which to taste local wine paired with sheep’s cheese, and Los Zagales Tapas (loszagales.com) does a creative black bread take on the classic morcilla (blood sausage).
Time running out? Combine wellness with wine at Abadía Retuerta LeDomaine (abadia-retuerta.com), a spa hotel that offers vinotherapy treatments – it’s well worth the 30 minute drive.
Trip tip A 45 minute drive from the city and deceptively humble from the outside, Mannix’s (restaurantemannix.com) wood-fired Spanish cooking is exceptional. Don’t miss the milk-fed lamb stew.