Plaza de España, the Collegiate Church of San Miguel and the Castle

Aguilar is a fortified town on the banks of the Pisuerga, which Turismo de Castilla y León calls the capital of Palencia's Romanesque. Its old quarter is easily explored on foot in a couple of hours: manor houses with coats of arms, streets with palaces, arcaded squares and an old Jewish quarter, and up above, on the crag, the church of Santa Cecilia and the castle.

Plaza de España and the collegiate church

The centre is Plaza de España, long and arcaded, the place to start. On it stands the collegiate church of San Miguel, a 14th-century church that houses a museum with the parish treasure: goldwork, paintings and ivories. It opens Monday to Saturday from 11:00 to 14:00 and from 17:00 to 19:30, and on Sunday from 11:00 to 14:00; entry costs €2. In summer, the Fundación Nártex organises dramatised visits in the collegiate church on Thursdays in July and August, one at night and one for children aged five and over; the dates for each year are published in its calendar. The foundation's office is in the same square, at number 10.

Santa Cecilia and the climb to the castle

From the square you climb through the streets of the old quarter towards the crag. Halfway up is Santa Cecilia, a Romanesque church with a very distinctive tower, which opens on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from 11:00 to 14:00, and on Fridays and Saturdays also from 16:00 to 18:30; entry costs €2. The pass accreditation for the northern Romanesque, at €2, is sold there. The phone number for the churches is 616 520 509.

Higher up, the 12th-century castle dominates the town from the Aguilón crag. It has been declared a Historic-Artistic Monument since 1949. From the top you command the Pisuerga valley and the reservoir. The climb is on foot and steep: wear comfortable shoes.

How long and when

Allow two hours for the square, the collegiate church, Santa Cecilia and an unhurried climb to the castle. If you want to see the churches inside, go on a Friday or Saturday, when the morning and afternoon hours coincide; on Mondays and Tuesdays Santa Cecilia is closed. Aguilar is also the biscuit town: the Gullón company was founded here in 1892, and Turismo de Castilla y León notes that the smell of biscuits has been part of its streets since the 19th century.

What to combine

At the edge of the town is the monastery of Santa María la Real, with its cloister and the ROM museum of Romanesque models, which completes the visit to the town. The KARST centre explains Las Tuerces before you head out into the countryside, and a few kilometres away are the rock-cut hermitage of Olleros and Santa María de Mave. For eating in the centre, the Valentín restaurant; for maps and opening hours, the tourist office, on paseo de la Cascajera, beside the river.