León Spain Itinerary 6 Days: Burgos, Astorga and Las Médulas on the Camino

Quick stop, 30 minutes, free. The train from Madrid to Burgos takes about 1h30, and the station is 15 minutes by taxi from the centre. Drop your bags and start with the Espolón, the promenade of arched, pruned plane trees on the bank of the Arlanzón.

It is where Burgos takes its evening stroll, past the bandstand, the cafés and the glazed balconies of 19th century buildings.

Quick stop, 20 minutes, free, at the west end of the Espolón. The old wall gate was rebuilt in the 16th century as a triumphal arch for Emperor Charles V, who stands at the top next to El Cid and the founders of Castile.

Walk through the arch: on the other side, the cathedral suddenly appears a few steps away.

About two hours, 11 euros with audio guide; on Tuesdays from 9:30 to 11:25 entry is free at the ticket office. It opens 9:30 to 18:30 from March to October and until 18:00 in winter, so arrive by 16:30.

Begun in 1221 and a World Heritage Site, it has the lacework spires of the facade, the Constable’s Chapel with its star vault and, in the floor of the crossing, the tomb of El Cid and his wife Jimena. Look for the Papamoscas, the clock figure that opens its mouth as it strikes the hour.

Quick stop, 40 minutes, free. Climb the steps behind the cathedral to the viewpoint on the hill where the castle stood, a ten minute walk up.

From there you see the whole cathedral with its spires above the rooftops, the best photo of Burgos and easiest in the morning, with the sun behind you.

About 2h30, 6 euros, free on Wednesdays; closed on Mondays. Walk down the hill and cross the river: the glass building is on the south bank, 15 minutes on foot.

The museum gathers the finds from the Atapuerca sites, 15 km from the city, where some of the oldest human fossils in Europe were found. You do not need to love archaeology: the life size reconstructions explain it on their own. Visits to the sites themselves leave from the museum with a booking.

About an hour, 5 euros, free on Wednesdays from 16:00 to 18:00. It is 4 km east of the centre in Fuentes Blancas park; go by taxi or city bus, or walk along the river in an hour. It closes for lunch from 15:00 to 16:00.

Carthusian monks still live here, and the church holds the tomb of Juan II and Isabel of Portugal, the parents of Isabella the Catholic, carved in alabaster by Gil de Siloé in the late 15th century.

About an hour, 9 euros; closed on Tuesdays and Wednesday mornings. The train from Burgos to León takes about two hours; from the station, cross the Bernesga River and walk 15 minutes along Avenida de Ordoño II to Plaza de San Marcelo.

Gaudí designed the building in 1891 for a textile shop, one of the few he built outside Catalonia. Inside, the museum recreates the period offices and shows the original drawings.

About 1h30, 7 euros, five minutes on foot from Casa Botines. It opens in the morning and afternoon with a lunch break; last entry is half an hour before closing.

What makes this 13th century Gothic cathedral is its stained glass: about 1,800 square metres of medieval glass taking the place of walls. Go in the late afternoon, when the western sun lights the facade’s rose window from inside.

Dinner, free apart from your drinks, three minutes south of the cathedral. The Barrio Húmedo is the medieval quarter between Plaza Mayor and Plaza de San Martín, named for the sheer number of bars.

In León, every caña or glass of wine comes with a free tapa that changes from bar to bar: morcilla, potatoes in sauce, croquettes, cecina. The custom is one drink at each counter, then on to the next.

About 1h30, 5 euros for the Pantheon, cloister and museum; closed on Mondays. The Romanesque basilica leans against the city wall, five minutes on foot from Casa Botines.

The Royal Pantheon, where the kings of León lie, has vaults covered in 12th century frescoes so well preserved that it is called the Sistine Chapel of the Romanesque. The museum holds the chalice of Doña Urraca, which a 2014 book presented as the Holy Grail.

Quick stop, 30 minutes, free from outside, a 15 minute walk west on the bank of the Bernesga. It was a convent and hospital for Camino de Santiago pilgrims and is now the Parador de León.

The 16th century Plateresque facade runs for about 100 metres of carved medallions and columns. On the square, the statue of a resting pilgrim shows that the Camino passes right here.

Quick stop, 30 minutes, a 10 minute walk north of San Marcos. The contemporary art museum, opened in 2005, is worth it for its facade of coloured glass panels inspired by the cathedral windows.

Go in if the current exhibition appeals; if not, the facade alone justifies the walk. Head back to the centre for the evening tapas, this time around Plaza Mayor.

Quick stop, 40 minutes; closed on Mondays. The train from León to Astorga takes about 45 minutes, and the museum is on the way from the station to the centre, in a modernist mansion.

In the 18th and 19th centuries Astorga had dozens of chocolate factories, because it sat on the route of the Maragato muleteers who brought cocoa from the ports. The visit ends with a tasting.

About an hour, 6 euros with audio guide, ten minutes on foot from the museum. Gaudí designed the palace in 1889 for the bishop of Astorga, in white granite, with castle towers and a moat.

No bishop ever lived in it, and today it houses the Museum of the Ways, about the Camino de Santiago. Head up to the chapel, the most beautiful room, with stained glass and coloured brick vaults.

Quick stop, 30 minutes, right beside the palace. The Gothic cathedral has a Baroque facade of pinkish sandstone and, inside, the Renaissance altarpiece by Gaspar Becerra.

Then have cocido maragato for lunch in Astorga and take the train on to Ponferrada, about an hour away, for the night.

About 1h30, 6 euros, free on Wednesdays; closed on Mondays. It is open until 20:30 from April to September, until 19:00 in October and March and until 18:00 in winter.

The Templars were given the town in the late 12th century and began the fortress above the Sil River; the towers and walls you see grew until the 15th century. The Camino de Santiago passes the gate.

About an hour, free at the viewpoint and 3 euros for the Orellán gallery, a Roman tunnel ending on a balcony over the landscape. It is about 30 minutes by car from Ponferrada; parking at the viewpoint costs 4 euros.

From there you see the whole site: red clay peaks and cliffs among chestnut trees, what is left of the mountains the Romans washed away with water to extract gold.

About two hours, free, ten minutes by car from the viewpoint in the village of Las Médulas. Take the Valiñas trail to La Cuevona and La Encantada, the largest galleries, about 1h30 there and back with a gentle climb.

It was the largest open air gold mine of the Roman Empire and is now a World Heritage Site. Return to Ponferrada for the afternoon train: Madrid is about four hours away.