Las Médulas, a Surprising Landscape

After a hearty breakfast at the hotel, get ready to drive to the Médulas area. There are several ways of getting to know Las Médulas. One of them is to first visit the Visitor Reception Centre Las Médulas. You can leave the car there.
The centre will give you information and you can also hire a guided tour, although you can do the visit on your own. You can find more information about the guided tours at this website. In the centre you can also watch a video to see what mining was like.
From the Interpretation Centre begins the Sendero de las Valiñas, which is the most traditional trail to follow. It is about 4 km long (round trip) in total and can be covered in an hour and a half or less, depending on how many times you stop to take photographs. Other longer routes are possible, but this is the most traditional one.
Note: You can ask here for the entrance to the Orellán galleries, which you will walk through at the end of the route.

On the route along the Senda de las Valiñas you will see thousand-year-old chestnut trees, beautiful landscapes and you will reach La Cuevona, a cave made for mining. Very close to this cave is another cave, La Encantada.
Note: After the visit to the Caves, you can return to the car to go to the Mirador de Orellán or continue on foot. Here it is proposed to do it on foot, but it depends on how long you want to walk.

After the caves, follow the path to the Orellán viewpoint, from where you have the most photographed views of this landscape.
In the viewpoint, you'll see some information panels and you'll want to take lots of pictures!

These galleries are ancient underground galleries created by the Romans to exploit the mines. The route is short but interesting. At the entrance you will be provided with a helmet and a torch because some of it is very dark.
At the end of the route there is a viewpoint from where there are beautiful views.
For more information about the timetable, see this website. A ticket is required and can be obtained on site.

Return to the Interpretation Centre and look for a place to eat in the village.

One of the places you can choose is Mesón Durandarte. a rustic place, with stone walls and wooden details, where you can eat homemade food and taste the Briezo wine. You can order, for example, stuffed peppers and some chicken dishes.
Open Hours Wednesday - Monday: 10:30 - 19:00 Tuesday closed.

After lunch, you can visit the area of Lake Carucero, a man-made lake that was also formed by mining.
Here you will find a picnic area and a bathing area, in case you are travelling in summer and want to take a dip.
You can also visit the Casa Turística del Lago, where there is information about the place, such as some simple hiking routes and the flora and fauna.

Before returning to León you can make a detour to the village of Villafranca del Briezo, one of the most picturesque villages in León, through which the Camino de Santiago also passes. Therefore, you will see many symbols related to the Camino. You can get to this park and park in the surrounding area. Otherwise, there is a public car park a few metres away, behind the Palacio de Arganza.

The proposal is to walk around the village, observe some of its religious buildings and have a coffee or snack in the afternoon.
To do so, you can walk along the Plaza Mayor street to the Café Bar el Castillo. From there, you can see the 16th-century castle of Villafranca (it can only be seen from the outside).
Open Hours Monday - Sunday: 9:00 - 23:00

Then you can walk along the Calle del Agua, which was the most important commercial street, where you can see several buildings in civil baroque style, such as the Palace of the Marquises of Villafranca or the Palace of Torquemada.

On your walk through the old town and on your way back to pick up your car, you can pass by the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria de Cluni, built in the 16th century.

Return for the car and prepare for the return to León.

Before returning to your accommodation/house you can go to Plaza San Martín and do something you always do in León: go for tapas.
In this square you'll find many places where you can order a caña or a pinta and various tapas. Some places specialise in certain tapas. For example, Tabierna Los Cazurros specialises in potatoes with cheese or black pudding sauce. But if you don't like that, don't worry because the menu is extensive.
Open Hours Monday - Sunday: 12:15-15:45, 19:30-24:00

Welcome back to León!