Zamora

Zamora is a city in Castile and Leon, with a population of 59,000 in 2023. The Old Town within the medieval walls has a remarkable collection of Romanesque churches.

Understand

Zamora stands on the River Douro

Zamora stands on an outcrop at 650 m altitude, at a point where the River Douro (río Duero) forces its way through a ridge to flow west into Portugal. So it's a crossing point and transport corridor, which the Romans made sure to garrison once they'd dealt with Iberoceltic resistance. Its people were Christian under the later Romans and their successors the Visigoths, then in the 710s Zamora was captured by the Umayyads. This far north was at the edge of Arab rule in Spain, and control of the city went back and forth until its definitive reconquest circa 1000 AD.

The ensuing century saw a determined effort to secure the recaptured territories for all time, culturally as well as militarily, so churches were built or re-built with as much care as the city walls were reinforced. This led to a profusion of churches all in Romanesque style, which today are the principal feature of Zamora, and most of those walls still stand. Sancho II came to besiege them in 1072 and brought along El Cid to help - he called himself Emperor of All Spain, and was irked that Zamora had been bequeathed to his sister Doña Urraca. Dolfos pretended to defect from Urraca and met Sancho outside the city gates, but assassinated him and scarpered back into the city.

Battles, conflicts and feuds were played out here in later centuries, mostly recently in the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39, but the city lost its importance in the 17th century as power and patronage gravitated to Madrid, and Spain as a whole slumped. There was mass emigration to Central and South America, with cities called Zamora founded in Mexico, Ecuador and Venezuela. There was a slow recovery from mid-19th century, with industries based on agriculture including wine production. The era of smokestack heavy industry passed by Zamora so its old centre has been preserved.

Visitor information

• Oficina Municipal de Turismo is 100 m east of the cathedral at Plaza de Arias Gonzalo 6. It's open M-Sa 09:30-14:00, 16:30-19:30, Su 10:00-14:00.
• Tourist Office of Castile and León is an online portal for the entire region.
• City municipal services are also posted online.

Get in

By plane

Madrid-Barajas (MAD ^IATA) is usually the most convenient airport, for its excellent flight connections and good onward transport.

Valladolid (VLL ^IATA) 90 km east and Salamanca (SLM  ^IATA) 90 km south have few flights.

By train

Trains from Madrid-Chamartin run every hour or two, taking just over an hour via Segovia and continuing to Ourense. These may start from Alicante, and run further to Vigo or to Santiago de Compostela and A Coruña.

From Valladolid you usually have to double back via Segovia, but one train a day is direct. This takes 90 min to Zamora and continues to Puebla de Sanabria.

1 Zamora railway station is 2 km northeast of city centre. It's a grand Plateresque building of 1864 and the facilities within are almost as antiquated.

By road

From Madrid follow A-6 north to Tordesillas then E82 west to Zamora - this highway continues to Bragança in Portugal.

A-66 is the highway north from Salamanca through Zamora to Benavente, León, Oviedo and Gijón on the coast.

By bus

Zamora bus station

Flixbus N1151 runs all the way from Mainz via Frankfurt, Strasbourg, Paris, Bordeaux and Valladolid to Zamora, continuing to Bragança, Porto and Figueira da Foz.

Monbus runs three times a day from Madrid Estación Sur and Moncloa, taking 3 hr 30 min.

La Regional Bus runs hourly from Valladolid, taking 90 min.

Zamora bus station is 100 m south of the railway station on Federico Cantero Villamil.

Get around

The city is compact, most sights are in walking distance. Town buses converge on the bus and railway station.

El tren turístico trundles around city centre May to mid Oct, W-Su 10:30 to 12:30 and 18:00 to 21:00, for a fare of €4.

Taxi firms include Taxis Zamora (+34 647 959505), Eurotaxi Oscar (+34 663 369115), and Mercedes (+34 649 649649).

See

• 1 Zamora Cathedral, Plaza La Catedral, ☏ +34 980 530644. Daily 10:00-16:00, 17:00-19:00. Romanesque cathedral consecrated in 1174. Highlights include the distinctive dome tower (a city icon), the Bishop's door, the choir stalls, high altar and chapels. The cloister (added in the 17th century) has a museum with Flemish tapestries depicting the Trojan wars. It's included in the cathedral ticket, along with Museo Diocesano within Iglesia de Santo Tomé. Adult €6, child €4. (updated Dec 2024)

Zamora Castle

• Museum of Baltasar Lobo, Plaza la Catedral (just north of cathedral), ☏ +34 980 509016. Tu-Su 10:00-14:00, 16:00-18:30. Lobo (1910-1993) was a sculptor, born in Cerecinos de Campos 50 km north of Zamora. He mostly worked in Paris, being influenced by Brâncuși and Arp, and is best known for his depictions of mother and child. He's buried in Paris Montparnasse. Free. (updated Dec 2024)
• 2 Zamora Castle, Alcañices 1, ☏ +34 980 533694. Tu-Su 10:30-14:00, 17:00-20:00. Facing the cathedral, this bastion was built around the 10th century, probably over Roman foundations. Free. (updated Dec 2024)
• City walls are best seen at their west end around the castle and cathedral, where Bishop's Gate is a portal to the riverbank. They extend one km east both along the riverbank and inland along C Vega. The circuit makes an agreeable walk.
• Olivares meaning "olive groves" was a hamlet just outside the walls. Its Iglesia de San Claudio was built in 1176.
• 3 Las Aceñas de Olivares are 10th century watermills, powered by the River Douro with a weir to raise its level. Within is a small museum about their industries, open Tu-Su 10:00-14:00, 16:00-18:30.

Baltasar Lobo sculpture in the castle

• Puente de los Poetas is a graceful sweeping curve downstream, as seen from Olivares riverbank. Completed in 2013 to relieve the weight of traffic on Puente de Piedra, it's bland at road level but has city views.
• 4 Iglesia de Santiago el Viejo, off Trascastillo, ☏ +34 980 534533. F Sa 10:30-13:30, 17:00-19:00, Su 10:30-13:30. Delightful little church outside the city walls, built maybe 1100 and dedicated to St James the Elder (or Apostle). It's also known as Santiago de los Caballeros - "of the knights" - because of the poetic legend that El Cid was knighted here: Afuera, afuera, Rodrigo, el soberbio castellano, acordásete debría de aquel buen tiempo pasado cuando fuiste caballero en el altar de Santiago, yadda yadda yah . . . As he'd died before the church was built he must have turned up as a corpse in shining armour, as he'd already done at Valencia. (updated Dec 2024)
• 5 Iglesia de San Pedro y San Ildefonso, ☏ +34 61 821 9005. Tu-Sa 10:00-14:00, 17:00-19:00, Su 10:00-14:00. A 7th century Visigoth church dedicated to St Peter was replaced in the 13th century. During the work they turned up relics claimed to be those of San Ildefonso (607-667), hence the dual dedication. He was actually still safely buried in Toledo, but they didn't care to enquire as churches needed holy relics to pull in the crowds and donations. This church was Romanesque but with various alterations down the years. (updated Dec 2024)
• Plaza Fray Diego de Deza is a tranquil triangle just south of San Pedro y San Ildefonso. It's named for Bishop Diego (1443-1523) who became a senior judge of the Spanish Inquisition, a worthy successor to Torquemada but sacked after his reign of terror caused a revolt in Córdoba. The convent on its south side is a closed order, no visits.
• Iglesia de Santa María Magdalena was built circa 1200 and has an ornate south facade. It's 100 m northeast of San Pedro y San Ildefonso on Rúa los Francos.
• 6 Zamora Museum (Cordón Palace), Plaza Santa Lucía 2, ☏ +34 980 516150. Tu-Sa 10:00-14:00, 16:00-19:00, Su 10:00-14:00. This exhibits archaeology and fine arts, with a small section on the history of the city. (updated Dec 2024)

Aceñas de Olivares

• Iglesia de San Cipriano just north of the museum is no longer in use as a church, but hosts concerts.
• 7 Puente de Piedra ("stone bridge") was built in the 13th century and is the traditional pilgrimage route into the city on Camino de Santiago. But it was widened in the 20th century to carry traffic so its carriageway is bland, and its multiple arches are best admired from the side, eg from Av Vigo on north bank. The River Douro besieges it in spate and it's closed for repair until Feb 2025.
• Las Aceñas de Cabañales are watermills similar to those of Olivares, on the south riverbank near Puente de Piedra. They're closed in 2024.
• 8 Iglesia de San Juan, Plaza Mayor, ☏ +34 980 531521. M-Sa 10:00-14:00, 17:00-20:00, Su 10:00-14:00. The 12th century Romanesque Church of John the Baptist (San Juan Bautista) is also referred to as San Juan de Puerta Nueva, as it was near a gate in the city walls. (updated Dec 2024)
• Plaza Mayor is the pleasant main square outside Iglesia de San Juan. Narrow cobbled streets lead off.
• Ethnographic Museum of Castilla y León, Sacramento 3 (100 m west of Plaza Mayor), ☏ +34 980 531708. Tu-Sa 10:00-14:00, 17:00-20:00, Su 10:00-14:00. Huge collection over 3 floors of regional culture and heritage. Scant English signage. Adult €3. (updated Dec 2024)
• Plaza Viriato just south of the Ethnographic Museum is named for the fellow who united Iberian tribes against the Romans in the 2nd century BC, successfully combining regular warfare (bellum) with guerilla tactics (latrocinium). The Romans responded with treachery, which trumped both.
• Iglesia de Santa María la Nueva is 50 m north of the Ethnographic Museum. It was built just in time to be burned down in the La Trucha rebellion of 1158, then rebuilt hence la nueva.

Modernista houses on Plaza de Sagasta

• Plaza de Sagasta 100 m east of Plaza Mayor has colourful buildings in modernista style, a pleasant contrast.
• 9 Palacio de los Momos is just a facade unless you're in trouble. It was built in 1495 for the town mayor but later fell into ruin. It was restored in the 20th century as an inn, then converted into a courthouse which it remains. Only the facade is original, decorated with various figures including clowns' masks, hence momos. It's at San Torcuato 7, northeast of Plaza Mayor.
• 10 Iglesia de Santo Tomé (Diocesan Museum), Plaza Santo Tomás 14, ☏ +34 980 531933. M-Sa 10:00-14:00, 17:00-20:00, Su 10:00-14:00. Early Romanesque little church now housing the Diocesan Museum. Same ticket as cathedral. (updated Dec 2024)
• 11 Rei Alfonso Henriques Foundation promotes cultural links between Spain and Portugal, hosting concerts and similar events. It's in a medieval Franciscan convent, so you can admire the exterior if you're passing along Av del Nazareno de San Frontis on the south riverbank.

Palacio de los Momos

• 12 Valorio Forest starts 500 m north of the castle along Av de la Frontera. West side of the avenue is Iglesia del Espíritu Santo, built in 1211.

Further out

• 13 San Pedro de la Nave was built around 700 AD, a rare example of a Visigothic church. It was moved here in 1930-32 when the Ricobayo dam flooded the Esta valley. It's 23 km west of the city and open Tu-Su 10:30-13:00, 17:00-18:30, hosting services four times a year.
• 14 Castrotorafe Castle is 28 km north. Built circa 1300, only three walls remain, tumbledown so you can't enter.
• 15 Moreruela Abbey, Granja de Moreruela (35 km north of city), ☏ +34 679 792890. W-Su 11:00-17:00. Extensive ruins of an 11th century Cistercian abbey. Free. (updated Dec 2024)
• 16 Lagunas de Villafáfila is a wetland wildlife reserve in brackish lagoons 50 km north of the city.

Do

San Pedro de la Nave

• Theatre: Teatro Principal is on San Vicente, 100 m north of Plaza Mayor.

Teatro Ramos Carrión is by the Parador, 100 m south of the Ethnographic Museum.

• Cinema: Multicines Zamora is 1.5 km northeast of the centre at Av de Víctor Gallego 20.
• Football: Zamora CF play soccer in Primera Federación, the third tier. Their Estadio Ruta de la Plata (capacity 7800) is 1 km south of the river on C de Salamanca.
• Auditorio Ruta de la Plata is an open-air auditorium near the football stadium.
• Pelambres Beach is on the south riverbank opposite the cathedral. Beware the current, children could be whisked away towards Portugal.
• Parque de los Tres Arboles is east end of town on the north riverbank, beneath the N-630 main road bridge. A footbridge links the park to Isla de las Pallas, the only one of Zamora's six large river islands that you can routinely access. The island further out is a snooty private sports club. The other four are just scrub, often inundated when the river is high.
• Golf Valderrey is a 6000 m course 4 km northwest of the city, at the far end of Bosque de Valorio.
• Vía de la Plata (or Ruta) is an ancient trade and pilgrimage route from the south, from Seville through Mérida, Cáceres, Salamanca and Zamora to Astorga. There it joins the main route from the French border to Santiago de Compostela. Plata means silver but it was never a silver trading route - it's a mishearing of Arabic balat, a cobbled road.

Buy

Moreruela Abbey

Supermarkets are dotted around the east edge of town. The most central is Suma, 100 m east of Plaza Mayor at Plaza Maestro Haedo 11. It's open M-Sa 09:30-21:30.

Main shopping areas are on Tres Cruces, Santa Clara and San Torcuato. The biggest mall is Centro Comercial Valderaduey 1 km north, open M-Sa.

Aperos y Viandas is a deli grocery and souvenir store at Rúa los Notarios 2, just north of the Church of San Pedro y San Ildefonso.

Mercadillo the flea market is held Tuesday 07:30-14:00 on C Llamas, 500 m east of the railway station.

Eat

• Local dishes are bacalao a la tranca (cod), el pulpo a la sanabresa (octopus), dos y pingada (two fried eggs with fried ham, usually served at Easter) and presas de ternera (veal). Desserts include rebojo Zamorano (a tasty though hard bun), and las natillas almendradas (Spanish-style custard with almonds).

Budget

Holy Week in 1970

• Set menus are offered at many bars and are better value and quality than fast-food chains. They may be a three-course meal or a plato combinado of fish or meat, served with salad or french fries.
• Tapas are served in many places, and De Tapas por Zamora is a contest. Participating bars create an appetizer or tapa especially for this contest, sold at a loss-leader price.
• 1 Jarama, Villalpando 14 (within hotel), ☏ +34 980 513227. Daily 12:30-16:30, 21:00-00:00. Busy place serving trad food. (updated Dec 2024)
• 2 Bar Lobo, Plaza Maestro. Tu-Su 10:30-16:30, 19:00-00:00. Buzzing bar famous for their barbecued pinchos. (updated Dec 2024)
• Dolfos, Santa Clara 26 (block south of Bar Lobo), ☏ +34 980 031511. Daily M-Sa 08:30-21:00. Good value cafe, mind your step on the stairs. (updated Dec 2024)
• 3 Gofers, Santa Teresa 20, ☏ +34 980 513932. Daily 13:30-16:00. Inexpensive self-service cafe for trad food. (updated Dec 2024)
• Telepizza is a national chain. The Zamora branch is at Amargura 8 near Marina Park, open daily 13:00-00:00. Dine in, take away or order for delivery on +34 980 514400. Dominos Pizza have opened in competition across the street at No 8.

Mid-range

• Restaurante Capitol, Plaza Santa Eulalia 12 (block south of Plaza Mayor), ☏ +34 980 534306. Su Tu-Th 12:00-17:00, F Sa 12:00-17:00, 20:30-23:00. Central place serving filling no-nonsense fare. (updated Dec 2024)
• 4 La Baraka, Sotelo 1, ☏ +34 980 530997. Su Tu-Th 11:00-17:00, F Sa 12:00-17:00, 20:30-00:00. Friendly place tucked away off San Torcuato. (updated Dec 2024)
• 5 Asador Casa Mariano, Av Portugal 28, ☏ +34 980 534487. Su M W 13:00-16:00, Th-Sa 13:00-16:00, 21:00-23:00. Good reviews for this trad steakhouse. (updated Dec 2024)
• 6 La Marina Sancho2, Plaza de la Marina Española, ☏ +34 980 526054. Su-F 10:00-16:30, Sa 11:00-16:30, 21:30-23:30. High standards for cuisine and service. (updated Dec 2024)
• 7 Casa Cipri, Calle Juan II 3, ☏ +34 980 515871. M-Sa 11:30-17:30, 20:00-00:00. Quality trad food, wide menu selection with allergies and special diets well catered for. (updated Dec 2024)

Drink

• Tap water is safe to drink but "hard" - high in minerals, so you may prefer bottled water.
• Wine: Zamora is close to the DOP regions of Tierra del Vino de Zamora, Toro and Tierra de León, with plenty more across Castile and León. Production is mostly red wine from the tempranillo grape.
• Bars and cafes abound. The three main areas are Plaza Mayor, Calle de los Herreros south off the plaza, and the triangle east formed by San Torcuato, Santa Clara and Plaza del Maestro.

Sleep

Parador de Zamora

• Parador de Zamora, Plaza Viriato 5, ☏ +34 980 514497. Closed for refurbishment until May 2026. It's within the 15th century Palacio de los Condes de Alba y Aliste. (updated Dec 2024)
• 1 Hotel NH Palacio del Duero, Plaza Horta 1, ☏ +34 980 508262. Central hotel with large rooms and good restaurant, built over a 15th century convent. B&B double €100. (updated Dec 2024)
• 2 Hotel Zenit Dos Infantas, Cortinas San Miguel 3, ☏ +34 980 509898. Convenient hotel with 68 rooms near the main shopping street, usually clean. B&B double €100. (updated Dec 2024)
• Trefacio is a cheaper alternative at Alfonso de Castro 7, 100 m west of Zenit Dos Infantas.
• 3 Hotel AC Zamora, Av del Príncipe de Asturias 43, ☏ +34 980 557940. Now part of Marriott chain, this is a comfy place in the University district with 75 rooms and fitness centre. But you'd think an AC hotel would have better a/c? Double (room only) €80. (updated Dec 2024)
• 4 Hotel Alda Mercado, Plaza Mercado 20, ☏ +34 980 980069. Convenient chain hotel in an Art Deco building near the market. B&B double €90. (updated Dec 2024)
• Hostería Real Zamora, Av de Vigo 2, ☏ +34 980 045031. Atmospheric budget place near the museum. (updated Dec 2024)
• 5 Valbusenda Resort, C de Toro a Peleagonzalo (21 km east of city), ☏ +34 980 699573. Great reviews for this bodega hotel and spa in Toro wine district. B&B double €200. (updated Dec 2024)

Stay safe

Zamora is a safe city. Beware traffic, safeguard valuables and avoid obvious drunks and low-life, same as anywhere else.

Connect

As of Dec 2024, Zamora has 5G from all Spanish carriers, with a variable signal on its approach roads.

Go next

• León north has a well-preserved old centre.
• Valladolid east has several museums and old churches.
• Salamanca south has a famous cathedral and university.
• Bragança west in Portugal is best known for its castle.