Thursday 27th February 2025 – Avila, Spain

 There was a lot of rain during the night and, as it was still raining over breakfast, we thought that we might not be able to do our planned walk of the Avila walls. However, from 10:00 it brightened up and we set off for the far side of the city, close to the cathedral. Here we found the ticket office for access to the wall. Use of a QR code gave us access to an audio guide in English. This was only a short section of the wall and the main section started on the other side of the cathedral. We therefore decided to walk the short section, have a coffee in a café and then visit the cathedral. The cathedral took more time than we thought – another audio guide provided a comprehensive visit and we, once again, admired the excellent wood and stone carving and the architecture.
It was now lunchtime and we chose the Meson Tres Siglos in the area close to the cathedral. There were a few tables taken when we arrived but it soon started filling up and, by the time that we left, there was a queue waiting for tables. A very good 3-course meal with bread and wine for €16.90 – excellent value.
The longer section of the walk took us down the western side of the city just past the gate by our campsite. It was good exercise as there were lots of open-topped turrets to walk up and it was certainly over 1.5 km long. The audio guide was very good, giving lots of information about buildings both inside and beyond the city walls. There was an exit at the far end and that gave Jane a short walk back to the van whilst I walked a little further away to a viewpoint that gave an excellent view of the walls and the city inside. And all of that was, thankfully, achieved without any rain.
Photos: Avila cathedral altar and high vaulted ceiling; Two examples of the beautiful stone carving; The Avila city gate by the cathedral; Walking the wall down to the south-west corner; View of the city from the viewpoint on the other side of the Adaja River.