Caceres by Day: Historic Tour to the Past (Medieval Caceres Series 5)

Caceres by Day 
Historic Tour to the Past
Medieval Caceres Series 5 

It was our second day in Caceres, Spain, 
and after having  a home cooked breakfast at

the Encanto Apartamentos Tusristicos,

 

…we headed to the Plaza Mayor for

a more intensive self guided tour at

the walled ancient town of Caceres.

 

We were in early and there were very

few people at the Plaza Mayor and we

stood to admire the huge central square,

  

 

… filled by numerous restaurants, set in

well- preserved centuries old buildings,

 


 

….elegant arcades, 



...hotels and souvenir shops.

 

 

Ayutamiento de Caceres or the City Hall, is located

at the other end of the plaza. It is an imposing very old

building overlooking and the seat on the city government.

We then visited the Caceres Tourism Office to get so maps,

…had our pictures taken at the office’s glass

walls, bearing the town’s name of Caceres,

 

…and the kids were very amused as Caceres

also happened to be our family’s surname.

We also had pictures taken at the stairways

leading to the ancient walled city,

…and at the entrance of the Torre de Bujaco,

 

…before heading to the Arco de la Estrella,

 

…the main portal to the UNESCO Heritge site

that bears the image of Virgen de las Estrellas.

 

 

On the right we spotted another ancient

arch at the Calle Adarve de la Estrella.

 

After the arch, at the left side of Calle de la Estrella,

We walked past the Palacio Episcopal de Cáceres,

 

the bishop’s palace of the diocese of Coria-Cáceres.

 

 

…and right in front is the Concatedral de Santa María.

The Santa Iglesia Co – Cathedral of Santa María

the oldest structure in the walled city  is considered  

the most important Christian temple in Cáceres .

Inside the beautiful Romanesque –Gothic church,

…is the Museum of the Co-Cathedral, with a display

of collections of liturgical pieces, priceless silverworks

from ancient artisans and numerous religious paintings.

After visiting the Concatedral de Santa María,

admired the old buildings at the Plaza Sta. Maria,

…walked past the Plaza de los Golfines,

 

…to Plaza de San Jorge,

 

Where the Palacio de los Becerra is located.

 

It was built as an the ancestral home of

the Becerra family, in the e 15th century,

 

…and now serves as a museum.

 

The view of Plaza de San Jorge is dominated

by the Iglesia de San Francisco Javier that

appears like an imposing structure up the hill.

 

Also known as the Church of the Precious Blood,

…is Baroque style  Jesuit church

of built next to an ancient convent.

It is also a museum and in the crypt is

the Interpretation Center of Holy Week.

 

After visiting the Iglesia de San Francisco Javier

we hiked up at the Calle Cuesta de la Campana,

 

…which led us to the Plaza San Pablo,

…and the adjoining Plaza de las Veletas,

…where Museo de Caceres was located.

The Museo de Caceres would have been

the fourth museum we visited for the day
but we were told that they’re closed for the

afternoon siesta and advised to return at 5 PM.

It was then that we realized that it was

already past noon so we decided to return

to the apartment and to have our lunch.

 

From the Plaza de las Veletas, we walked 
down to  the Barrio de San Antonio,

 

 

…on to Calle Rincon de la Monja,

...until we reached the Casa Museao Arabe

which was also closed for the afternoon siesta.

 

...we then slowly walked up

 the Cuesta de la Marques,

...and ended up at the Plaza de San Jorge,

...where we walked to the nearby Plaza Sta. Maria,

 

…out of Arco de Estrella,

 

….leading to Plaza Mayor,

 

…and back to Encanto  at Calle Munoz Chavez.

 

We decided to dine on the canned eel that we

bought from Fabrica Das Enguias in Lisbon,

…but we were shocked to see a creepy

whole eel all coiled up inside the can.

I decided to cut it off into small pieces

so the kids won’t be terrified to eat it.

 

It went well with the Maria Biscuits

(we call it Marie in the Philippines),

and we had a one of its kind snacks.

 

At exactly 5:00 PM, after the siesta break was over, we returned 
to the old walled city the visit the Museo de Caceres once again,
bought some refreshments from an ice cream shop along the way,

…and utilized a different entrance,

 

  

…at the Plaza Publio Hurtado, 

 

...a scenic narrow a steep stairway.

  

 

… leading to the Arco de Sta Ana,

an alternative route to the walled city.

 

We travesed the very narrow

Calle del Arcode Sta Ana,

 

...on to another narrow

road the Calle Condes,

 

 

…which led us again

to Plaza San Mateo,

 

…to the adjoining Plaza San Pablo,

…and finally to Plaza las Veletas

where Museo de Caceres is located.

 

It was already past five in the afternoon,

the museum has opened after the siesta,

 

…and we were able to

view the massive display,

 

…of historical artifacts ,

 

…the this awesome museum set in

two ancient buildings considered

as UNESCO Heritage structures.

We browsed the museum until it closed at 7 PM.

We then decided  returned to our apartment.

Thru the Plaza San Mateo,

 

…we accessed the very narrow yet
beautiful Calle de la Monja.

  

 

…where we incidentally found the lovely

Medieval Caceres Apartamentos Turisticos.

 

Since the facility bears our surname (Caceres),

we had our pictures taken in front of the apartment.

 

We then walked to the Cuesta de Aldana, where

the El Corral De Las Cigüeñas, a café built at the

patio of the old Rectory of Santa María  which offers

a wide repertoire of live concerts and some tapas.

 

We then turned to Calle del Mono,

 

... that  led us back to Plaza Sta. Maria.

 

Instead of exiting at the Plaza Mayor,

we decided to take the Calle Tiendas,

 

…to en- route to Calle Zapataria,

 

…and finally to Calle Munoz Chaves, back to 
 the Encanto Apartamentos Tusristicos.

 

It was a 13 hour city tour on foot on

one of the oldest towns in the world.

 

Caceres is a Gothic-Renaissance city, with a large
 number fortress-palaces from the 15th and the 
16th century, that has been properly conserved.

 

This city in Extremadura bears the traces

of highly diverse influences, that evolved

from different centuries and generations.

Together with Prague in the Czech Republic,Tallinn in Estonia,

the "Monumental City of Cáceres" was declared by the Council

of Europe as the Third Monumental Complex of Europe in 1968. 

Read the links below Medicieval Caceres Series.:

Lisbon, Portugal to Caceres, Spain  
Scenic Road Trip to History by Avanza Bus
Medieval Caceres Series1 

 Encanto Apartamentos Turisticos 
Beautiful, Spacious Home in Caceres 
Medieval Caceres Series 2 

El Requete 
Delicious Spanish Dinner
Medieval Caceres Series 3 

Caceres at Night
A Walk Back in Time
Medieval Caceres Series 4 

Caceres by Day 
Historic Tour to the Past
Medieval CaceresSeries 5 

Charcutteria Mostarzo 
Uniquely Spanish Supermercado
Medieval CaceresSeries 6 

Concatedral Santa Maria Caceres 
Ancient Center of Faith
Medieval Caceres Series 7 

Casa Palacio de los Becerra 
Middle Age Palace Museum
Medieval Caceres Series 8 

Iglesia de San Francisco Javier 
Ancient Church Museum
Medieval CaceresSeries 9 

Museo de Caceres 
Old Town, Old Museum
Medieval Caceres Series 10 

Granier Caceres 
Fiesta Official’s Breakfast Savior
Medieval Caceres Series 11 

Caceres Weekend Market 
A Real time Break from the Past
Medieval Caceres Series 12 

Restaurante Caceres 
Awesome Spanish Cuisine
Medieval Caceres Series 13 

Palacio De Los Caceres- Ovando
Old Town Armory Museum
Medieval Caceres Series 14 

Gastronomica Extremadura 
Foodie Tour in Caceres
Medieval Caceres Series 15 

We are Caceres 
From Ciudad de Nueva Caceres to Caceres Spain
Medieval Caceres Series 16 

Medieval Caceres 
A Travel Back in Time
Medieval CaceresSeries 17