6 underrated Spanish cities

The likes of Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga and Seville may attract the tourist attention, but Spain has several great cities in reserve, including…

Toledo

The home of Spain’s still-powerful Catholic church, but once home to a thriving mixed Christian, Muslim and Jewish community, Toledo wears its heritage proudly.

The old city is crammed onto a hilltop in the middle of a particularly scenic loop in the River Tejo, and packs an awful lot in. Mosques, synagogues, shops selling locally made swords, monasteries, churches, Roman baths and art museums are squeezed into the warren of narrow streets.

The Cathedral, though is truly exceptional. It seems bare and Gothic until you see the altarpiece and choir – which are so heavily decorated you could spend hours exploring them.

Toledo is a short train journey from Madrid.

Salamanca

In a country full of beautiful main squares, Salamanca’s stunningly uniform Plaza Mayor takes the top prize. Its two interconnected cathedrals – one vast and Gothic, the other more homely, art-packed and Romanesque – also add to the grandeur. But it’s Spain’s oldest university that really drives the city, with the students adding high energy to the tapas-crawling scene and the glorious honeyed sandstone buildings.

Salamanca is also the city where the Spanish language is regarded as being at its purest – hence the large collection of language schools.

Plaza Mayor in Salamanca, Spain. Photo by David Whitley.

Córdoba

Few cities are as hugely atmospheric as Córdoba, once the home city of a vast Islamic caliphate and premier centre of learning. The streets are narrow, the buildings ripened with age, the Jewish quarter crammed with several excellent restaurants.

There’s plenty to do, but the real reason to visit Córdoba is the Mezquita, an excellent contender for the title of most extraordinary building in the world. It is a vast former mosque, filled with mesmeric red brick and yellow stone archways. Yet within this is, neatly segmented into the middle, is the city’s gloriously ornate cathedral. It’s an unsurpassable combination of age, historic import, beauty, weirdness and majesty.

Segovia

Just half an hour away from Madrid by high speed train, Segovia has two utterly spellbinding attractions worth going for alone. The Roman aqueduct, made without any mortar to hold it together, crosses the lower end of town in towering fashion. Then, at the other end is the hugely Disney-esque Alcázar, a castle with witch hat turrets, ridiculously OTT interiors and killer views out over the city and plains.

The enormous Gothic cathedral is pretty impressive, too.

Segovia is also a pork-lover’s heaven; the city is recognised throughout Spain as the home of suckling pig.

Girona

An alternative, more relaxed Catalonia to Barcelona’s irrepressible energy, Girona embraces its history while still doing a pretty good job on the nightlife front. The pretty riverside setting and the eminently strollable medieval walls play a big part in the charm, but the atmospherics really strike home in the old Jewish quarter.

The Museu d’Historia dels Jueus de Girona does an excellent job how the medieval Jewish community provided the city’s heartbeat before being driven out in 1492, but the narrow streets are ideally suited to aimless meandering.

Jerez de la Frontera

While Seville and Granada pull in most visitors, Jerez arguably does the best job of capturing Andalucia’s spirit. It has a strong claim to being the home of the flamenco – with the local style being more upbeat that Seville’s woe-drenched seriousness – and it is most definitely the home of sherry. Tasting hops around the bodegas should be considered mandatory.

Alongside the usual castle and cathedral combo, there’s also the Royal Andalucian School of Equestrian Art, where dancing white horses and their riders put on exquisite shows.