Andalusia and the Spanish coast are famous places all over the world, but Spain is so much more. For example, Castilla y León also has beautiful corners. One only has to take Burgos and Ávila as good examples. However, Palencia should not be forgotten either. This small provincial capital has less than 80,000 inhabitants and in it we can find true jewels of architecture and unique gastronomic dishes. Although it is small, Palencia is one of those places with a lot to see.
Tour of the Cave of the French
In the Páramo de la Lora, in the northeastern part of the province of Palencia, is the protected area of the Covalagua Valley. In this area, near the town of Revilla de Pomar is “La Cueva de los Franceses”, the only visitable caves in the province of Palencia. Its name comes from the time of the War of Independence, for having been the last rest of the combatants who fell in a confrontation that took place in the Lora moor.
It has an interior tour where you can see wonderful karst formations such as: mantles, castings, stalagmites, stalactites that, together with the recent installation of an ambient lighting system, allows its transit and contemplation. In addition, access is through a modern building called “La Roca”, which houses an exhibition on the cave and the surroundings of the Palencia mountain.
Visit the Museum of Medicine and Pharmacy
It is possible that, because it is located next to the great Gothic cathedral of Palencia, the Museum of Medicine and Pharmacy goes unnoticed. On Calle Hospital, next to the cathedral, was the old hospital of San Bernabé. In the distant Middle Ages, specifically in the year 1143, it opened its doors and it closed them definitively after (no more and no less) than 843 years of history, in 1977.
Now the museum shows the old rooms and utensils where our ancestors practiced medicine. Within its walls we can see a collection of different types of flasks, test tubes, meters, old microscopes and a long list of centuries-old procedures. The museum recreates the most common rooms in any hospital: operating rooms, consultations, rooms, dependencies, apothecary, pharmacy… but all of them maintaining the spirit that this place had in its time.
Discover the convent of San Pablo
Next to the railway and bus station is the monumental area of San Pablo, where its impressive apse welcomes us in front of the statue of Santo Domingo de Guzmán. It is perhaps one of the most outstanding monumental complexes in the city, not in vain the church of San Pablo was declared a National Monument in 1931.
This artistic ensemble, in its current configuration, owes its design to the 14th and 16th centuries, in late Gothic style, the main building is topped with a spectacular belfry, facing west, with a spectacular neoclassical façade. On the southern side, another doorway in late Gothic style opens, accompanied by an allegorical sculpture to the “tararús”, a tribute from the city of Palencia to Holy Week in Palencia, event declared of International Tourist Interest.
Cover photo | @turismopalencia
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