Palencia, Castile and León, Spain

🇪🇸 Palencia is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Palencia. Located in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in the northern half of the Inner Plateau, the city lies on the left-bank of the Carrión river.

At the regional level, Palencia forms part of an economic axis together with the cities of Valladolid and Burgos.

Palencia lies in the north of the central Spanish plateau, the Meseta Central, in the middle of the Carrión river valley, near the river's confluence with the Pisuerga, which flows through the town creating four islets, Dos Aguas and Sotillo being the largest. Palencia is located approximately 190 km north of Madrid, and some 40 km north of Valladolid, capital of Castile and León.

Two hills surround the city in its north-east area. On the closest stands the 30-metre high statue of Christ known as the Cristo del Otero, the fourth-tallest statue of Christ in the world.

Palencia has a substantial forest of 1,438 hectares (3,550 acres) 6 km away on a plateau above the city, known locally as the "Monte el Viejo" ("Old Mount"). This park is a popular amusement area for the locals.

The Canal de Castilla runs close to the city.

Palencia's municipality includes the village of Paredes de Monte, 14 km away.

Tourist Industry The Roman bridge across the Carrión river was replaced by the medieval one of three arches: the old section of the city is on the left bank, the modern suburban development is on the right bank: it seems likely that the first inhabitants settled on the right bank, and later moved to the left bank—set on higher ground—due to frequent flooding.

La Olmeda Roman Villa (Villa Romana de La Olmeda) is a well-preserved 4th century AD house. With 27 rooms and 3,000 square metres of space, it is best known for its mosaics, the most important of which depict great mythological scenes and can be found in its main hall. Several of the rooms in the villa also contain the remains of the Roman hypocausts. In addition to the main building, the villa site is surrounded by other Roman ruins such as numerous burial sites and a set of thermal baths.

The old city walls were more than 10 meters high and can still be traced; the alamedas or promenades along them were laid out in 1778. The flamboyant Gothic Cathedral, built from 1321 to 1504 and dedicated to San Antolín, stands over a low vaulted Visigothic crypt; its museum contains a number of important works of art, including a retablo of twelve panels by Juan de Flandes, court painter to Queen Isabella I of Castile. The Archeological Museum contains Celtiberian ceramics.

Palencia is also famous for the 13th century church of San Miguel, the San Francisco church. The Calle Mayor (High Street), is a pedestrian, 900-metres long street where many excellent examples of the 18th, 19th and early 20th century architecture can be seen.

Thirteen km south of the city, in the village of Baños de Cerrato, is the oldest church on the peninsula, a 7th century basilica dedicated to Saint John and built by the Visigoth King Reccaswinth (died 672). The Plaza de toros de Palencia, a 10,000-capacity bullring, is located in Palencia. It opened in 1976.

Transport Palencia is well-linked to other town and cities of Spain by roads and highways: Highways A - 62 Valladolid / Madrid A - 65 Benavente/ León / Asturias / Galicia A - 67 Santander CL - 610 => A -62 Burgos / Bilbao / Zaragoza / Barcelona Autonomic Roads C - 613 Sahagún C - 615 Guardo / Riaño C - 619 Aranda de Duero / Soria In addition, Palencia has a bus station located next to the train station. ALSA and other bus companies link Palencia to many Spanish cities and towns and it is especially useful for travelling to places not linked by train, such as the south-west of Spain.

By train The city also has a busy railway station, given its strategic location as a hub for north and north-west railway connections in Spain. There are several services from Palencia railway station to Valladolid-Campo Grande, Madrid (Chamartín and Príncipe Pío), León, Burgos, Vitoria-Gasteiz and Santander, 3 daily trains to Barcelona Sants, Bilbao-Abando, A Coruña, Santiago, Oviedo and Zaragoza-Delicias, 1 daily train to Albacete-Los Llanos and Alicante.

Air transportation Valladolid Airport is the closest airport to the city at 45 kilometres. There are daily flights to Barcelona, Valencia, Paris, Brussels and other destinations.

Buses Palencia has a bus service formed by 6 daily lines, named with numbers, managed by Palbus. The fleet is 18 buses. It has one of the lowest fares of Spain (€0,65). There are 26 stops with electronic panels with the arriving of the next buses. The number of users per day at 2012 was 8,195, which is 2,900,000 per year. There is also a night bus, an electric bus, free Wi-Fi in all buses and intelligent systems with voice at the buses announcing the stops.