Plasencia

Plasencia is often skipped by visitors as they take the Vía de la Plata north towards Salamanca or head for the numerous lovely rural areas of northern Extremadura. However, it definitely offers travellers enough for them to break their journey and discover a sizeable town with an old quarter that's bigger and prettier than might be expected. Even for those that are sick of visiting cathedrals, this one is more interesting than many.

Another decent option is to use Plasencia as a base to explore northern Extremadura's villages and areas of outstanding natural beauty. Most of the places mentioned in our countryside section are easily reachable in a day trip from the town. It's in a strategic position as a something of a hub; this means you might choose to stay in Plasencia, enjoy different parts of Extremadura's countryside every day and have a wide choice of hotels (among them a Parador) and eating places each evening instead of being stuck in just one village. The opposing argument is that these villages are often lovely at night.

Either way, Plasencia shouldn't be passed over if you're visiting northern Extremadura for a few days and fancy getting away from the country and villages for a while!