Destination: Spain
LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION
Itinerary: Gothic Spain
Across Spain, the majesty of Gothic construction can be admired.
Start in Barcelona, which boasts one of the most extensive Gothic city cores in Europe. Its splendours include the Esglesia de Santa Maria del Mar, the Drassanes (medieval shipyards) and Salo del Tinell. From the Catalan capital you can make a grand sweep west to admire some of the country's landmark Gothic monuments. Burgos is home to a soaring Gothic cathedral much influenced by the French style and, further west still, Leon is home to another of the country's grandest Gothic cathedrals. To the south, the triangle of Castilian cities Salamanca, Segovia and Avila all contain fine Gothic cathedrals. Avila's was the earliest one raised in the country. They weren't just building cathedrals in those days. The Castilian countryside in particular is littered with castles of all shapes and sizes. Some, like the all-brick castle of Coca, are all the more extraordinary for their mix of Gothic and Mudejar styles. That mix continues in many monuments in medieval Toledo, south of Madrid, where yet another Gothic pearl stands in the form of the cathedral at the heart of the city.
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