Visitor Reception Centre

The Visitor Reception Centre is the tourist office of Ávila City Council. It is at Avenida de Madrid, 39, opposite the Basilica of San Vicente and a few steps from the Puerta de San Vicente in the wall, on the north side. It is open every day of the year: in winter from 9:00 to 18:00 and in summer from 9:00 to 20:00. The phone number is 920 350 000, extension 370.

What they sort out for you

It is the place to pick up the official city map and ask what to see according to how much time you have. Tickets to climb the wall are sold here, as well as the Ávila Card, a 48-hour tourist card that counts from the first monument you visit and gives one entry to each of those included. It costs €15 for the individual one and €29 for the family one, with children up to 12, and according to the Junta's timetable sheet it is sold at the centre from 9:00 to 17:15. They also give information on guided tours, official guides and tourist transport, a tuk-tuk and a tram that tour the monuments inside and outside the wall with commentary in several languages.

The wall and the monuments

The walk along the wall walkway is the first thing almost everyone asks about. In winter, until 27 March, it is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00, with last entry at 17:15; it is closed on Mondays. Admission costs €8, with a reduced rate of €5, and it is free on Tuesdays from 14:00 to 16:00, except public holidays and the eves of holidays. You go up via the Alcázar and Carnicerías stretches, and via the Carmen and Adaja bridge ones.

Alongside the wall, the centre guides you for the cathedral, which is open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 18:00 and on Sundays from 12:30 to 18:00 (€10), and for the Monastery of Santo Tomás, which is open every day from 10:30 to 14:00 and from 15:30 to 19:30 until 30 June (€6). The Junta de Castilla y León has its own tourist office at the same number on Avenida de Madrid, with its entrance on calle San Vicente (920 21 13 87), with information on the whole province.

Getting there and tips

If you come by train, the station is to the east; if you come by motorhome, Aparkarea is at the foot of the north stretch of the wall, very close. Stop by the centre on arrival: that way you buy your wall ticket and find out which monuments are closed that day, because several close on Mondays. To end the day, the Cuatro Postes viewpoint, on the other side of the Adaja, has the full view of the wall, best at dusk.