Plasencia

Introduction

Plasencia

© Herr Bert

Plasencia is a small city of just 41,000 inhabitants in the province of Caceres in the north of Extremadura. It lies on the banks of the Rio de Jerte, and it was a strategic place on the Silver Route. It dates back to 1186, when it was founded by King Alfonso VIII of Castile. It location makes it a good place from which trips can be taken in the Vera Valley, the Sierra de los Gredos and Monfrague National Park.

Sights and Activities

• The city walls and its towers
• Plaza Major and City Hall
• The Cathedral and other churches in the old town

Events and Festivals

Plasencia, Cathedral

© Herr Bert

Getting There

By Train

There are several trains heading from Madrid to Plasencia, with a final destination in Mérida or Badajoz. Therefore there are also trains getting to Plasencia, from both these places and Caceres as well. From Madrid the trip takes just under 3 hours, and from Badajoz and Merida around 2 hours. From Caceres it just takes one hour. Check the Spanish Railway website for details on train travelling to and from Placensia. The trainstation is located in the south of the town

By Car

From Madrid, follow the A6 motorway (in the direction of Badajoz), just after Navalmoral de la Mata take the EX-A1, or the EX108 to get to the connection with the A66, near Plasencia. At this junction it is probably easier to take the N630, as it will lead you straight into the town, instead of around it, like the A66 does.

By Bus

Alsa (line 61, Valladolid to Sevilla) and Cevesa have connections to and from Plasencia, although they are limited. The busstation is located to the northeast of the old city. If you need to make a connection by train, note that Plasencia is one of the few places in Spain where the bus and the trainstation are not located next to eachother.

Getting Around

By Car

Although it is allowed to drive your car into the old city, it is recommended to park your car outside it, at one of the parking spots.

By Public Transport

There are some local buslines. Line 1 seems to cover the town mostly from north to south.

By Foot

Plasencia iss best discovered (or uncovered) by foot. The town is pretty small, and most tourist will stick to the old town itself. If you hate climbing the hill on which the old town is build, you can take the mechanical escalators going up from the Avenida de Valle.

By Bike

Plasencia

© Herr Bert

Eat

At the Plaza Mayor there are many restaurants, as well as in the surrounding streets.

Sleep

Upscale

You can use the form below to search for availability (Travellerspoint receives a commission for bookings made through the form)

Keep Connected

Internet

Internet is widely available within Spain. Most airports have wifi-zones and in most towns there are internet cafés or shops where you can use internet for a fixed price. Wi-Fi points in bars and cafeterias are available after ordering, and most hotels offer Wi-Fi connection in common areas for their guests.

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

The international access code for Spain is +34. The emergency number for police, ambulance and the fire brigade is 112.

In cities you can find plenty of public phones, and 'locutorios'. The latter are small shops where you can use the phone and use internet. Most of them also sell prepaid cards for mobile telephones. These shops are used a lot by foreigners to call to their mother country.

The main mobile network operators in Spain are Yoigo, Vodafone, Movistar and Orange, as in most of Europe voice and data coverage is generally good in urban areas however it can be patchy in rural locations. Cheap mobile phones (less than €50) with some pre-paid minutes are sold at FNAC or any phone operator's shop (Vodafone, Movistar, Orange). Topping-up is then done by buying scratch cards from the small stores, supermarkets, vending points (often found in tobacco shops) or kiosks.

Post

If you want to post a card, you can head to the post office (Correos). The Spanish post is not yet as efficient as colleagues in other countries so receiving a card can take a bit longer than the number of days that it should take. On the website of Correos, you can find the locations of nearby post offices.
Post offices are generally open from 8:30am to 2:00pm, although times will vary according to the size of the city/town and the main post offices might be open until the early evening. Most will also open again on Saturday mornings, but in the smaller towns will close as early as 12 noon. When posting a letter, look for a yellow box and, if possible, post at the post office itself where there will also be divisions for local, national and international mail. Be prepared for long queues at the post office. This is why tobacco shops sell stamps and many will also have the facility to weigh packages. Standard letters/postcards of up to 20 grams sent within Spain are €0.34. However, non-standard letters/postcards of up to 20g are €0.39. Letters/postcards of 20 to 50 grams are €0.45. In the case of international shipping, the price is €0.64 to most countries within Europe for standard envelopes (letters/postcards) up to 20g, for a few European countries and outside Europe it is €0.78. If you want to send a package you are probably better off with a private courier company like TNT, DHL or UPS, as they offer quick and reliable services against competitive prices.

External Links

• Official Website