León
Even if they stood alone, the stained glass in the cathedral of León and the Romanesque wall paintings in its Royal Pantheon would merit a very considerable journey, but there's much more to the city than this. León is an attractive provincial capital and lively university town, with the innovative Museo de Arte Contemporáneo providing a startling juxtaposition to the vast array of medieval architecture on show.
The City
In 914, as the Reconquest edged its way south from Asturias, Ordoño II transferred the Christian capital from Oviedo to León. Despite being sacked by the dreaded al-Mansur in 996, the new capital rapidly eclipsed the old – a scenario that was to repeat itself as the Reconquest unfolded. As more and more territory came under the control of León, it was divided into new administrative groupings: in 1035 the county of Castile matured into a fully fledged kingdom with its capital at Burgos. For the next two centuries León and Castile jointly spearheaded the war against the Moors – as often as not under joint rule – until, by the thirteenth century, Castile had come finally to dominate her mother kingdom. These two centuries were nevertheless the period of León's greatest power, from which date most of her finest monuments.
Eating and drinking
Along with Salamanca, León is the best place to eat and drink in Old Castile. The liveliest bars and restaurants are those in and around the small Plaza de San Martín – an area known as the Barrio Húmedo (the Wet Quarter) for the amount of liquid sloshing around. All the bars here will give you a pincho with every drink, so you can eat pretty well if you drink enough, especially hopping from bar to bar ordering cortos – small tumblers of beer for about €0.70. Things really take off during Semana Santa, and for the fiestas of San Juan and San Pedro in the last week of June. The celebrations, concentrated around the Plaza Mayor, get pretty riotous, with an enjoyable blend of medieval pageantry and buffoonery.
Discover more to see and do in León at www.roughguides.co.uk
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