Extremadura- what is the best area to visit?

[oliveview01]

Can anyone recommend a town/village to stay? Been trying to research on the net, thought someone here might have an idea.Thanks
Will be driving there from Antequera.

[samizdat]

you could try Trujillo - its where some of the conquestadors came from and they sent money home to build fantastic palaces.

[silver]

This web http://turismo-en.sigimo.com/conoceextr ... hp?id=2520
is a good start to get to know extremadura..a fasinating area to visit.

[ianandkate]

Hello there, if you are heading from Antequera, then I guess you'll be driving up via Seville and northwards? The route Zafra > Merida > Caceres is detailed here http://www.extremaduravista.com/ingles/viaplata.htm. We did the trip in reverse when we moved here and parts of it are stunning.

Kate

[Lavanda]

I drove up from Coín (about an hour south of Antequera) to Montánchez in the centre of the Cáceres, Trujillo, Mérida triangle in February.

I drove up from Coín to Campillos, along the Olvera road to join the road that goes to Seville. I would give you road numbers but all my maps - even the most modern ones don't seem to have numbers that correspond to the ones on the actual road at this stage of the journey. The roads are all good, however, with not that much traffic (it was February).

The road to Seville becomes a motorway for the final stretch and you get almost catapaulted into the city and then ... no signposts of any sort - but don't painc. Follow the main direction west, then make a turn north, west again then north again always following the main traffic flow. Then, just as you think you're lost you'll see a titchy sign for the E803 (N630) and you'll realise you're on the right road almost by accident.

North of Seville there is a tricky bit where eight or so roads all criss cross each other to sort themselves into four roads going in different directions. Everyone does this at snail's pace and all roads are well signposted so it's simple. From then on it's straight up the E803 Ruta de la Plata. It's beautiful. It's straight. It's simple. It has lots of eating places and a few petrol stations and very little traffic. If I can do it completely on my own with some old maps and a compass so can anyone. It took six hours but I stopped for a long, late lunch and I drove leisurely. You could do it quicker from Antequera but the drive, I think, is part of the holiday it's so nice.

I can recommend staying in Montánchez as the town is pretty, historic, interesting, has a fabulous swimming pool (summer only), has lots of walks across the sierra and is 40 minutes drive from Cáceres, Trujillo and Mérida. Each city is brilliant in its own right.

Cáceres is the biggest with excellent shopping of the Avenida de España especially art and craft work. Don't eat in the Plaza Mayor - the views are great but the food is touristy and expensive. The old city is stunning, take good walking shoes and lots of film or digital chips.

Trujillo is my favourite. It's smaller but more perfect for me. Here eating in the old city or the Plaza Mayor is good and reasonable. Mérida is completly different. The Roman Theatre, Museum and riverside walks and old Roman bridge are jaw dropping.

I went back in March to show my husband. I go back in three weeks to sign for a finca. Extremadura is, quite simply ... well, go see for yourselves!

[frank]

Seems worth a visit, thanks for the link.

I should say! Sounds like my sort of Spain. Never been there, I'll have to put that right. Problem for me is, finding an airport I can use that gets somewhere near it. It 's a long drive from Málaga! Good luck to you Gisela, sounds more much exciting than Torremolinos o Fuengirola.

[Lavanda]

Thanks, Frank. I think that one of the main reasons that Extremadura is so unspoiled is that it's a real effort to get there. Badajoz has an airport but you can only use it via Madrid. Montanchez is equidistant from Lisbon, Madrid and Seville airports. Not tried Lisbon yet but did Madrid last time ... got lost going through Madrid. Really lost. Took two of us (my husband was with me on that trip) over an hour to 'drive through'.

I think Seville is much easier and the road E803 is easy and pretty almost from the start. The Madrid road is a bit boring for about an hour or so once beyond the city but the road then runs along the Gredos Mountains. They were still snow covered in March and very, very lovely to drive alongside.