Ávila, with about 59,000 inhabitants, is Spain's highest provincial capital, at about 1,130 metres, in Castile and León. It is called the "city of saints and stones" for its churches, convents and above all its medieval walls, which surround it completely. The old town and the churches outside the walls have been a UNESCO site since 1985.
The walls
Built from the late 11th century, after the Christian reconquest, the walls of Ávila are about 2.5 km long, with 87 towers and nine gates, including the Puerta del Alcázar and the Puerta de San Vicente. They are the most complete in Europe and much of the circuit can be walked. They are floodlit at night.
St Teresa
St Teresa of Jesus was born in Ávila in 1515. A mystic, writer and reformer of the Carmelite order, she founded the first convent of the Discalced Carmelites, San José, and is a Doctor of the Church. The Teresian sites include the convent of Santa Teresa, built on her birthplace, the monastery of the Incarnation, where she lived for almost thirty years, and the convent of San José. Her feast day, 15 October, is the city's most important festival.
What to see
- The cathedral of El Salvador, considered Spain's first Gothic cathedral, with its apse built into the walls like a bastion.
- The basilica of San Vicente, a masterpiece of the Romanesque, with the cenotaph of the martyr saints.
- The monastery of Santo Tomás, with the tomb of Prince John, son of the Catholic Monarchs, and the Kings' Cloister.
- The Cuatro Postes viewpoint, with a full view of the walls.
- Plaza del Mercado Chico and the noble palaces.
Food
Yemas de Santa Teresa, little sweets of egg yolk and sugar, chuletón de Ávila, the big veal rib steak from the Avileña breed, judiones de El Barco, large white beans, and lamb and kid.
Around Ávila and getting there
The Sierra de Gredos, with its peaks and glacial lakes, and the villages of the Tiétar valley. Ávila is linked by train and bus with Madrid, about 110 km away, in about an hour and a half, and is easy to visit on a day trip combined with Segovia.