Experience the best of Burgos

Burgos stands on the high plateau of Castile and León, on the River Arlanzón. Its cathedral, begun in 1221 and a World Heritage site, is one of the great Gothic buildings of Spain, a forest of spires with an ornate golden staircase, and the tomb of El Cid, the medieval warrior, and his wife Jimena lies beneath the crossing. The Arco de Santa María, a gate on the riverside, and the tree-lined Paseo del Espolón lead into the old town.

The Cistercian convent of Las Huelgas Reales and the Carthusian monastery of Miraflores, with royal tombs, lie on the edge of town, and the city is a major stop on the Camino de Santiago. About fifteen kilometres to the east, the Sierra de Atapuerca holds caves with some of the oldest human remains in Europe, and the Museum of Human Evolution in Burgos explains the finds. The monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos, known for Gregorian chant, and the old town of Lerma lie further south.

Morcilla de Burgos, a blood sausage with rice, roast suckling lamb cooked in a wood oven, and fresh white cheese are the local foods, with wines from the Ribera del Duero in the south of the province. Winters are cold at this altitude.