What to see in Salamanca in one day. Itinerary through the Wise and Learned City

Thanks to being a university city and with a great history, today we have a lot to see in Salamanca, thanks to its impressive monuments, which are concentrated in a very small space.

Thanks to them and to the oldest University in Spain, Salamanca is a World Heritage Site and one of the most important university cities.

If you want to visit Salamanca, here we offer you a tour that you can take through this city, nicknamed the Wise and Learned City. If you have more time to visit this city, do not miss our article with the best things to see in Salamanca in 2 days.

A walk through the best things to see in Salamanca

The Plaza Mayor, the main place to visit in Salamanca

The best point to start an itinerary through Salamanca is its imposing Plaza Mayor, one of the most famous and beautiful arcaded squares in Spain and that you cannot miss.

The Plaza Mayor of Salamanca is the nerve center and meeting point of Salamanca and visitors.

This square, the best to see in Salamanca, was built in the Baroque style during the 18th century and its buildings coexist in harmony, forming a unique ensemble.

In the Plaza Mayor of Salamanca we find the City Hall.

La Clerecía, seat of the Potential University of Salamanca

From the Plaza Mayor we can exit to the south and take Calle Meléndez, leaving aside the Church of San Martín de Tours, in Romanesque style and located in a small but busy square, Plaza del Corrillo.

At the end of Calle Meléndez, with its shops and restaurants, we find another of the city’s main monuments, La Clerecía.

La Clerecía, one of the best things to see in Salamanca, is baroque in style and its façade is impressive. It was a former school of the Society of Jesus and is currently the headquarters of the Pontifical University of Salamanca.

In La Clerecía we can highlight, on the one hand, the part of the school, with its cloister and the Aula Magna and, on the other hand, the Church, with a spectacular main altarpiece and a beautiful sacristy. We also recommend climbing its towers through the Scala Coeli and enjoying dreamlike views.

The House of Shells, the most famous in Salamanca

The Casa de las Conchas is another of the essential monuments to see in Salamanca. And it is also one of the most famous and representative.

It is a stately building from the time of the Catholic Monarchs that stands out for the 300 shells that decorate its façade.

But its interior is also very beautiful and in it we find a nice patio, a mixture of various architectural styles, and a public library. It is worth going up to the top floor and admiring the upper part of the Clerecía façade.

From there we can already see the other great monument of Salamanca, its Cathedral (or cathedrals) but before that we still have to admire the beautiful buildings of Plaza de Anaya.

Anaya Beach and the University of Salamanca

In this square, in addition to one of the facades of the Cathedral, we have the Palacio de Anaya, in neoclassical style and where its triangular pediment stands out, resting on 4 Ionic columns and under which there is a staircase.

It currently houses the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Salamanca.

There is also the building of the University of Salamanca, although its most beautiful façade is in a later square, the Patio de las Escuelas, where the famous Rana de Salamanca is located.

In this square there is also a statue of Fray Luis de León. At the end of the square are the Escuelas Menores, inside which we can admire a very nice cloister and the so-called Cielo de Salamanca, a mural painting located in a vault of the old Library that was used in the teachings of Astrology.

Salamanca Cathedral

Returning to Plaza de Anaya we find the New Cathedral of Salamanca and one of its most famous doors, thanks to the astronaut that is among the different figures that make it up and that is not easy to find if you do not have help.

Visiting the Cathedral of Salamanca is also a must-do activity in this city. With the ticket they give you an audio guide with which you can follow the explanations as you go, first through the Old Cathedral and then through the New Cathedral.

The Old Cathedral, in Romanesque style, began to be built in the 12th century and stands out for its beautiful Main Altarpiece where there is a Romanesque image of the Virgen de la Vega.

Of the Cathedral of Salamanca it is also necessary to highlight its cloister and externally the dome where the Torre del Gallo is located.

Attached to the old one is the New Cathedral, which was built when the first one became too small (although it is quite large). It is Gothic in style and its interior stands out for its columns and choir.

To say that it lacks a Main Altarpiece and that its chapels do not have excessive decoration, with the exception of the Golden Chapel. In our opinion, the best of the New Cathedral is in its facades.

The House of Lis

Bordering the cathedrals and going down towards the river we find Casa Lis. It is the seat of the most visited museum in Salamanca, the Museum of Art Nouveu and Art Deco.

Of this museum, in addition to the collection inside, we must highlight the modernist façade through which you access its interior.

But above all we must highlight the facade of the stained glass windows that overlook the Tormes River and that make anyone who passes by direct their gaze towards the building.

Garden of Calisto and Melibea

If you have read La Celestina (and if not too) you have to visit the Huerto de Calisto y Melibea, located on the wall of Salamanca and from where you have beautiful views of the Cathedrals.

In the park there is a statue of Celestina and it is in the place where it is believed that the protagonists of the novel by Fernando de Rojas were.

Without a doubt, a very romantic place that you should not miss.

The Dominican Convent

Our walk, circular, begins to come to an end, but we still have to visit the Dominican Convent.

It is home to one of the most spectacular churches in Salamanca, the I glesia de San Esteban, in the Plateresque style but also with influences from other styles.

From its exterior you have to admire its façade, which you will not be able to stop looking at, and from its interior the Main Altarpiece.

In front of it is the Convento de las Dueñas, also called the Convento de las Dominicas, in which we can highlight its architectural mix, having a Plateresque façade, a Renaissance cloister and a Gothic church.

You can find more information about what to see in Salamanca on its official tourism page.