Spain/Extremadura: Caceres
The fortified town of Caceres was the first Spanish town to be inscribed into the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1978. The town’s core, known as Cuidad Monumental, sits in a hilltop and is fully surrounded by thick walls with twelve towers and five gates. What’s contained inside is truly fantastic – palaces and towers, cathedrals and churches, trade houses and medieval mansions. It feels like a medieval Manhattan of sorts with every building rising up and everything tightly packed so the sunlight doesn’t get to the ground in many spots. It’s a medieval treasure hunt to try to visit and explore every major historic attraction in Caceres – Palacio de los Golfines, Palacio Episcopal, Palacio de Mayoralgo, Catedral Santa Maria, Torre de Bujaco, Church of San Mateo, and more. The only truly wide open are is the Plaza Major with plenty of architectural masterpieces and medieval towers facing it.
