Understand
[edit]The Romans conquered this area by around 20 BC, mainly to lay hands on the gold mines to the west at Ponferrada, and they fortified every strategic position. Their military camp grew into a walled civilian city, and several sections of the wall remain standing. The town became a religious centre astride the pilgrimage route to Santiago, with its cathedral and churches gilded in Baroque style. Astorga industrialised in the 19th century when the railway arrived - chocolate was a major product - but this didn't spoil its historic centre.
Get in
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By road Astorga is 332 km northwest of Madrid on A6, say 3 hr 30 min. This highway continues to La Coruna, branch off at Lugo for A54 to Santiago.
See below for the pilgrimage hiking trail.
By bus from Madrid Estación Sur is 5-6 hours via Valladolid, running every couple of hours, with two direct buses a day from Madrid-Barajas Airport T4. Buses from León run hourly and take an hour.
Astorga bus station is 100 m north of the cathedral and palace.
By train from Madrid-Charmartin you usually change at León. One train a day is direct, taking 3 hours via Segovia, Valladolid, Palencia, León and Veguellina, continuing to Ponferrada.
One train a day is direct from Barcelona via Zaragoza, Pamplona, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Burgos and León, continuing to Ourense, Santiago de Compostela and La Coruna.
1 Astorga railway station is 1 km northeast of town centre.
Get around
[edit]The town is small and walkable. The taxi operator is Taxi Astorga (+34 639 427021).
See
[edit]- 1 Astorga Cathedral. Daily 10:00-18:00. Catedral de Santa María was built in fits and starts from 1471, so to its original Gothic design were added the neoclassical cloister, the Baroque towers and Renaissance portico and high altar. Adult €8, conc €7, child €6.
- Church of Santa Marta next to the cathedral gets overlooked. It was completed in 1741.
- Bishop's Palace (Museo de los Caminos), Plaza Eduardo de Castro 15 (next to cathedral), ☏ +34 987 616882. Daily 10:30-14:00, 16:00-18:30. When the original palace burned down in the 19th century, Antoni Gaudí was commissioned to design its replacement, and work began in 1890. It's a pseudo-medieval (almost Disney) castle in grey granite, but unfinished at the death of its sponsoring bishop, whereupon Gaudí fell out with the town council and stomped off the job. Completed in 1915, it now hosts a museum about the pilgrimage route. Adult €6.
- House of Leopoldo Panero, Panero 9 (facing cathedral). Childhood home of the poet Panero (1909-1962), who started out as a Socialist but during the Civil War became a leading Falangist. Free.
- 2 Town hall (Ayuntamiento de Astorga) is a Baroque building of 1683 overlooking a shady plaza. Be there at midday to watch the bells clatter into life.
- Roman Museum (La Ergastula), Plaza San Bartolomé 2 (50 m east of Town Hall), ☏ +34 987 616937. Tu-Sa 10:00-14:00, 16:00-18:00, Su 10:00-14:00. Exhibiting archaeological findings from Roman and Medieval times, in what may have been a Roman jail. Daily at 11:00 and 17:00 they lead a guided tour (for an extra €4) of Ruta Romano, of other remains around town such as the military camp, the sewers, two baths, forum and several mosaics. Adult €4.
- Church of St Bartholomew 100 m east of the Roman museum was built as Romanesque but has a Baroque interior. The town council met here until the Ayuntamiento was built in 1683.
- Church of San Francisco is 100 m south of the museum at Padres Redentoristas 3, in 19th century neogothic style.
- 3 Church of Our Lady of Fátima on Plaza San Julián was founded in the 12th century but heavily restored in the 18th and 20th. Its austere facade contrasts with its Baroque interior.
- 4 Chocolate Museum, Av la Estación 16, ☏ +34 987 616220. Tu-Sa 10:30-14:00, 16:30-19:00, Su 10:30-16:00. Showing the city's chocolate-making from medieval times to the present, with old machinery. Signage is only in Spanish. Adult €4.
Do
[edit]- Camino de Santiago is a network of pilgrimage routes from various European cathedral cities, converging on northern Spain. The local section is from León via San Martín to Astorga, where it's joined by Vía de la Plata the route from Mérida via Cáceres and Salamanca. Together they continue west to Ponferrada.
Buy
[edit]- Alcampo is the main downtown supermarket, at the roundabout north side of the cathedral, open M-Sa 09:00-21:30.
Eat
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- Serrano, Portería 2 (200 m southwest of cathedral), ☏ +34 987 617866. Tu-Sa 13:30-22:30, Su 13:00-15:30. Great reviews for its classic Spanish cuisine, naturally including Serrano ham.
- Las Termas, Santiago 1 (200 m southeast of palace), ☏ +34 635 262773. W-Su 13:00-16:00. Splendid trad fare, such as cocido maragato stew.
- La Peseta is a hotel with a good restaurant next to the Roman Museum.
Drink
[edit]- Cafe Kavafis is a tapas bar by the supermarket north of the cathedral, open W-Su 18:00-02:00.
- Wine: Astorga is within the Tierra de León Denominación de Origen (DO). Most production is red wine from the Tempranillo grape.
Sleep
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- 1 Hotel Spa Ciudad de Astorga, Los Citios 7, ☏ +34 987 603001. Central, but poor scores for service and value. Double (room only) €70.
- 2 Casa de Tepa, Santiago 2, ☏ +34 987 603299. Wonderful little hotel in an 18th century ducal residence. Some street noise. B&B double €100.
- Hotel Gaudí, Plaza Eduardo de Castro 6 (100 m south of palace), ☏ +34 987 615654. Efficient stylish hotel. B&B double €90.
- Exe Astur Plaza, Plaza España 2, ☏ +34 987 617665. Pleasant chain hotel facing Town Hall. B&B double €100.
Connect
[edit]As of Nov 2024 Astorga and its approach highways have 4G from Vodafone, and 5G from MasMovil, Movistar and Orange.
Go next
[edit]- León has a rich cultural heritage.
- Ponferrada is set in a strange terrain eroded by ancient gold mining.
- Zamora has fine Romanesque architecture.