Ávila on a Sunday: above the wall.

Ávila is a city to walk along the top of. The wall is complete and its wall walk can be done in sections; the cathedral is built into it, and from the other side of the river you see it whole. This Sunday starts up high and ends looking at it from outside, when the lights come on.

The Day, Hour by Hour

9:00 · Departure. From Madrid it is 113 km along the AP-6 and AP-51, about an hour and a half. From Segovia, an hour along the N-110; from Salamanca, about 75 minutes along the A-50. Leave the car outside the old town. By train, the station is on Paseo de la Estación, a walk from the centre.

10:30 · The wall walk. Go up by the Puerta del Alcázar. On winter hours it opens from 10:00 to 18:00; admission costs €8. Walk the stretch at a leisurely pace: between the battlements you see the rooftops, the towers and the mountains.

12:30 · Cathedral. Its apse, the cimorro, is the sturdiest tower of the wall. Inside, the altarpiece by Pedro Berruguete and the tomb of El Tostado. The cathedral chapter sets the hours and prices: check them beforehand on the cathedral website.

14:00 · Lunch. The Parador restaurant, in the Piedras Albas palace, next to the Puerta del Carmen, serves El Barco beans, chuletón, suckling pig and Santa Teresa yemas. Call beforehand to book and confirm the hours.

16:15 · San Vicente. Outside the gate of the same name, the great example of Ávila Romanesque, with the cenotaph of the saints and the crypt.

17:30 · Cuatro Postes. Cross the Adaja to the wayside shrine of 1566. In November it gets dark early: you will arrive with the wall already lit up.

18:15 · Return. You reach Madrid around 19:45.

Where and What to Eat

Spoon dishes and grill: El Barco beans, Ávila chuletón and, for dessert, yemas. None of the restaurants in the plan publishes opening hours on its website; the Parador has all those dishes on its menu. As an alternative, Puerta del Alcázar, at the foot of the wall walk, or the Hostería Las Cancelas, in a 15th-century courtyard next to the cathedral.

With Children

Children love the wall walk, but it has steps: it is not for pushchairs. Santo Tomás has a natural sciences museum. The Cuatro Postes, at dusk, are the perfect ending.