23. Avila, Spain
Why Avila, Spain
Avila is the birthplace of Santa Teresa de Avila who was born more than 500 years ago on March 28, 1515. It is one of the early walled cities of Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Avila, Castilla y Leon, Spain
Where
Avila is located just north west of Madrid. It is in the county of Castilla y Leon and near the town of Salamanca and Alba de Tormes.
How To Get Here
By Train
Renfe, the national rail of Spain has service between Madrid and Avila. The ride takes just under 2 hours and is pretty inexpensive.
By Plane
The closest airport is Madrid, Spain (MAD), the home of Iberia Airlines (IB). As Madrid is a major international airport in Europe, there are flights from almost every major area of the world. Once in Madrid, you can rent a car, take a bus or even the train to Avila.
Avila, Castilla y Leon, Spain – Madrid Barajas Airport (MAD)
The following airlines has service to Madrid:
Aer Lingus (EI), Aegean Airlines (A3), Aerolineas Argentinas (AR), Aeroflot (SU), Aeromexico (AM), Air China (CA), Air Algerie (AH), Air Arabia Maroc (3O), Air Canada (AC), Air Europa (UX), Air India (AI), Air Moldova (9U), Air Transat (TS), American Airlines (AA), Avianca (AV), Blue Air (0B), British Airways (BA), brussels airlines (SN), Bulgaria Air (FB), CEIBA Intercontinental (C2), Conviasa (V0), Cubana Airlines (CU), Czech Airlines (OK), Delta Air Lines (DL), EygptAir (MS), EasyJet Airlines (U2), El Al Airlines (LY), Ethiopian Airlines (ET), Etihad Airways (EY), Eurowings (EW), Evelop Airlines S.L. (E9), Finnair (AY), flybe. (BE), Iberia Airlines (IB), Icelandair (FI), KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL), LATAM (LA), Links Air (W2), LOT Polish (LO), Korean Airlines (KE), Lufthansa (LH), Meridiana Airlines (IG), Monarch Airlines (ZB), NIKI (HG), Norwegian Air Shuttle (D8), Norwegian Air (DY), Pegasus Airlines (PC), Qatar Airways (QR), Royal Jordanian (RJ), Royal Air Morac (AT), Ryanair (FR), S7 Airlines (S7), Saudi Arabian Airlines (SV), Swiss Airlines (LX), TAP Portugal (TP), Tarom (RO), Tunisair (TU), Turkish Airlines (TK), Ukraine International (PS), United Airlines (UA), Volotea (V7), Vueling (VY) and Wizz Air (W6).
By Bus
There is bus service from Madrid. The service is called Jimenez Dorado.
By Car
If you are already in Europe you can take the drive. Just use a service like Google Maps for directions. It’s about three hours drive.
Avila, Spain – street
Where To Stay
There are many hotels within the walled city. I stayed at Hotel Palacio de Los Velada which is just inside the walls and close to one of the many churches. It’s 16th Century palace that was restored in 1995. The rooms are very charming and dated and reflects the period.
Avila, Spain – Palacio Hotel
==>> You can find a list of hotels from TripAdvisor here.
==>> Try Airbnb.
Where To Eat
This is Spain, so you will find food everywhere. One of the restaurants I ate is the Restaurante La Bruja (Hotel Las Leyendas) and we sat outside. This is outside the Walls so you can enjoy the view of the long wall as well as the neighborhood around the Walls.
Avila, Spain – french fries with beef
Dinner as at a Parador which dates back to the 16th Century. I highly recommend these two places.
==>> You can find a list of restaurants from TripAdvisor here.
What To Do
The Walled City of Avila is a UNESCO World Heritage site. You can walk around the top of the Walls and see this amazing city as well as the area around it.
The homes and businesses within the Walls are great to see. As this is the birthplace of Santa Teresa, there are many sights to see that is related to this. Don’t miss any of them especially the exhibits about her life in the Centro de Interpretación de la Mística, Iglesia Convento de Sta Teresa.
==>> Here is a list of things to do from Trip Advisor.
==>> Here is a list of Tour offered by Viator.
Additional Information
Language: Spanish
Currency: EUR
Avila, Spain – The Western entrance to the city which is close to the Parador
