Castile and Leon - Kastilien-León

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Location of the Castile-Leon region in Spain

The region Castile and Leon (Spanish Castilla y León) - also called Northern or Old Castile - is located in the northern center Spain

Provinces

Map of Castile and Leon

places

The largest cities (more than 20,000 inhabitants) are:

  • 1 ValladolidWebsite of this institutionValladolid in the Wikipedia encyclopediaValladolid in the media directory Wikimedia CommonsValladolid (Q8356) in the Wikidata database
  • 2 AvilaWebsite of this institutionÁvila in the Wikipedia encyclopediaÁvila in the media directory Wikimedia CommonsÁvila (Q15688) in the Wikidata database
  • 3 BurgosWebsite of this institutionBurgos in the Wikipedia encyclopediaBurgos in the media directory Wikimedia CommonsBurgos (Q9580) in the Wikidata database
  • 4 Miranda de EbroWebsite of this institutionMiranda de Ebro in the Wikivoyage travel guide in another languageMiranda de Ebro in the Wikipedia encyclopediaMiranda de Ebro in the media directory Wikimedia CommonsMiranda de Ebro (Q11994) in the Wikidata database
  • 5 SalamancaWebsite of this institutionSalamanca in the Wikipedia encyclopediaSalamanca in the media directory Wikimedia CommonsSalamanca (Q15695) in the Wikidata database
  • 6 SoriaWebsite of this institutionSoria in the travel guide Wikivoyage in another languageSoria in the Wikipedia encyclopediaSoria in the Wikimedia Commons media directorySoria (Q12155) in the Wikidata database
  • 7 LeonWebsite of this institutionLeón in the Wikipedia encyclopediaLeón in the media directory Wikimedia CommonsLeón (Q15699) in the Wikidata database
  • 8 Aranda de Duero (Burgos)Website of this institutionAranda de Duero (Burgos) in the Wikipedia encyclopediaAranda de Duero (Burgos) in the media directory Wikimedia CommonsAranda de Duero (Burgos) (Q495380) in the Wikidata database
  • 9 PalenciaWebsite of this institutionPalencia in the Wikivoyage travel guide in another languagePalencia in the Wikipedia encyclopediaPalencia in the media directory Wikimedia CommonsPalencia (Q8378) in the Wikidata database
  • 10 San Andrés del Rabanedo (Leon)Website of this institutionSan Andrés del Rabanedo (León) in the Wikipedia encyclopediaSan Andrés del Rabanedo (León) in the media directory Wikimedia CommonsSan Andrés del Rabanedo (León) (Q1615486) in the Wikidata database
  • 11 PonferradaWebsite of this institutionPonferrada in the Wikipedia encyclopediaPonferrada in the media directory Wikimedia CommonsPonferrada (Q12164) in the Wikidata database
  • 12 Laguna de Duero (Valladolid)Website of this institutionLaguna de Duero (Valladolid) in the Wikipedia encyclopediaLaguna de Duero (Valladolid) in the media directory Wikimedia CommonsLaguna de Duero (Valladolid) (Q367842) in the Wikidata database
  • 13 ZamoraWebsite of this institutionZamora in the Wikipedia encyclopediaZamora in the media directory Wikimedia CommonsZamora (Q15696) in the Wikidata database
  • 14 Medina del Campo (Valladolid)Website of this institutionMedina del Campo (Valladolid) in the Wikipedia encyclopediaMedina del Campo (Valladolid) in the media directory Wikimedia CommonsMedina del Campo (Valladolid) (Q693913) in the Wikidata database
  • 15 SegoviaWebsite of this institutionSegovia in the Wikipedia encyclopediaSegovia in the media directory Wikimedia CommonsSegovia (Q15684) in the Wikidata database

background

Castile-León is an autonomous community - and not only the largest in Spain, but also the largest subnational administrative unit within an EU country (larger than Bavaria or Austria and more than twice the size of Switzerland). In contrast, the region is only very sparsely populated, the population of 2.4 million is about as large as that of the state of Brandenburg.

The region is made up of two historical kingdoms: ancient Castile and the Kingdom of León, both separated and reunited several times in the Middle Ages. In the south of the region lies the high mountains of the Sierra de Gredos, its highest Gifel is the 2592 m high Pico Almanzor.

language

The high-level Spanish language, which is widespread worldwide, originates from this region Castellano (also "Castilian") is called - in contrast to the languages ​​and dialects of the other Spanish regions. For language courses are Leon or Salamanca so no bad addresses.

getting there

By plane

The most important airport for the region is Madrid-Barajas (MAD), although it is not in Castile-León, but in the neighboring region of Madrid. From Madrid Airport, you can continue to Segovia and Valladolid by metro and train, or by bus to Salamanca and Burgos.

In Castile-León itself there are only smaller regional airports: in Valladolid (VLL), Leon (LEN), Salamanca (SLM) and Burgos (RGS). If you want to go to the north of the region, there is also a flight Oviedo (OVD) or Santander (SDR) into consideration.

By train

High-speed trains connect Madrid with Segovia (journey time approx. 30 minutes), Valladolid (1 hour), Zamora (1½ hours) and León (2:15 hours). From Barcelona there are only a few and also quite slow trains to the region, so a transfer connection via Madrid is often the faster option.

From France (and the German-speaking countries) the shortest route leads via Hendaye /Irun. From there, trains go to Burgos, Palencia, Valladolid or León.

mobility

The best way to cover the great distances within the region is by train. High-speed trains run several times a day on the Madrid-Segovia-Valladolid-León line, otherwise there are predominantly Media Distancias (MD; corresponds roughly to an Interregio) and Regional express (RE) offered.

Tourist Attractions

UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • gothic cathedral of Burgos
  • Old town of Segovia with aqueduct
  • Old town and churches outside the city walls of Avila
  • Old town of Salamanca
  • Las Médulas, in the ancient site of the most important gold mine of the Roman Empire
  • Sierra de Atapuerca, with exceptional archaeological and paleontological finds, fossils from Homo antecessor, Homo heidelbergensis, Homo neanderthalensis and homo sapiens.
  • Prehistoric rock carvings in Siega Verde

  • Plaza Mayor in Salamanca

  • Walls of Avila

  • Burgos

  • Leon

  • Palencia

  • Salamanca

  • Segovia

  • Soria

  • Valladolid

  • Zamora

activities

kitchen

nightlife

security

climate

Climate in ValladolidJanFebMarchAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec  
Mean highest air temperature in ° C8.411.114.415.919.925.630.229.626.419.112.88.6O18.5
Mean lowest air temperature in ° C-0.21.11.83.86.610.412.91310.96.62.51O5.9
Precipitation in mm46.641.532.543.546.936.617.213.233.235.352.243.8Σ442.5
Rainy days in the month8868106324767Σ75
Relative humidity in%827262615752444653677783O63
Length of sunshine per day3.14.86.27.28.810.311.610.98.15.93.92.7O7
Source: Wetterkontor

trips

literature

Web links

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Spanish regions (Autonomous Communities)
Andalusia • Aragon • Asturias • Balearic Islands • Basque Country • Extremadura • Galicia • Canary Islands • Cantabria • Castile-La Mancha • Castile and Leon • Catalonia • La Rioja • Madrid • Murcia • Navarre • Valencia
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