Valladolid is a city in Spain and the de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It has a population of 309,714 people making it Spain’s 13th most populous municipality and northwestern Spain’s biggest city.

The city is situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers 15 km before they join the Duero, and located within five wine growing regions. Valladolid was originally settled in pre-Roman times by the Celtic Vaccaei people, and later the Romans themselves. It remained a small settlement until being re-established by King Alfonso VI of Castile as a Lordship for the Count Pedro Ansúrez in 1072. It grew to prominence in the Middle Ages as the seat of the Court of Castile and being endowed with fairs and different institutions as a collegiate church, University (1241), Royal Court and Chancery and the Royal Mint. The Catholic Monarchs, Isabel I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, married in Valladolid in 1469 and established it as the capital of the Kingdom of Castile and later of united Spain. Christopher Columbus died in Valladolid in 1506, while authors Francisco de Quevedo and Miguel de Cervantes lived and worked in the city.

The Old Town is made up of a variety of historic houses, palaces, churches, plazas, avenues and parks, and includes the National Museum of Sculpture, the Museum of Contemporary Art Patio Herreriano or the Oriental Museum, as well as the houses of José Zorrilla and Cervantes which are open as museums.

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Holy Assumption, better known as Valladolid Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic church and the main layout was designed by Juan de Herrera in a Renaissance-style. The original design for this cathedral would have created a church which would have been the largest cathedral in Europe. Initially planned as the Cathedral for the capital city of Spain, ultimately, only 40-45% of the intended project was completed, due to lack of resources after the court moved towards Madrid.

The Iglesia de San Pablo de Valladolid is a church and former convent, of Isabelline style and was commissioned by Cardinal Juan de Torquemada between 1445 and 1468. It was subsequently extended and refurbished until 1616. Kings Philip II and Philip IV of Spain were baptized in the church, and it was visited by Napoleon. It is one of the buildings considered most emblematic of the city.

The Church of Saint Mary the Ancient (Santa María La Antigua) was likely founded in 1095 by Count Pedro Ansúrez, although there are no remains of this original structure. The oldest parts of the current temple date to the late 12th century.

The Colegio de San Gregorio is an Isabelline style building and was formerly a college, but now the Museo Nacional de Escultura museum (National Sculpture Museum). The building is one of the best examples of Isabelline style architecture, which is the characteristic architectural style of the Crown of Castile region during the Catholic Monarchs’ reign (late-15th century to early-16th century).

University of Valladolid was founded in 1241 and is one of the oldest universities in the world. It has four campuses around the city. This building we visited is the Faculty of Law.

The Plaza Mayor is the main plaza in the city, and is also the first great plaza in Spain. It was intended for use as a market and as a backdrop to the public celebrations so dear to the Habsburg monarchy. It was designed with large balconies to facilitate the viewing of the shows. It also served as a model for many others in Spain, such as Madrid and Salamanca (due a visit on our way home!). And as luck would have it we experienced it’s intended use during our visit as we landed in Valladolid in the midst of the city’s week long Fiesta! We booked a beautiful hotel right beside the plaza and when we checked in we were told of all the festivities that were being held during that week and of the concerts that would be playing in the plaza that night. Well as you might expect from two grumpy old farts we were huffing and puffing about the noise and not getting any sleep but sure once we went out to explore sure it wasn’t long till we were boppin the night away at the Beret Concert with the rest of the Valladolidians and the other two mutts enjoyed the concert also 😜

Although the atmosphere was electric that night with families – old and young – out enjoying the concerts in the Plaza Mayor and around the streets, not to mention the salsa dancing and entertainment at every street corner, during the day everything was closed for Fiesta week! That included all the shops too, which was a pity as I think I could have done some damage there 🙈. And so this wonderful city is on the “revisit” list!

Mutts enjoying the Beret Concert

And during the day…..

Another busy visit with so much to do and as always not enough time 😎