Parador de Ávila

The house

The Parador occupies the 16th-century Piedras Albas palace, in the historic centre and built up against the wall. You enter by passing through the wall at the Puerta del Carmen, opposite Plaza de Concepción Arenal. Paradores describes it as a snug interior, with spacious rooms and a dining room that looks onto the garden and the wall through a glazed courtyard. In the garden there is an archaeological collection with sarcophagi, baptismal fonts and a 5th-century BC granite bull.

Rooms and services

There are three types of room: double, superior double and suite. Paradores lists air conditioning, flat-screen television with Chromecast, a safe big enough for a laptop, minibar, hairdryer, a work area and free wifi. There is a lift, room service, breakfast in the room, laundry and ironing, digital press and a gift shop. The building also has three rooms for meetings and celebrations; the largest takes up to 350 people for a cocktail reception.

A warning from the Parador itself: because of the historic character of the building, pedestrian access has some difficulties. If you have mobility problems, call beforehand and they will tell you the best way in.

Eating at the Parador

The restaurant is called Piedras Albas and is devoted to Ávila cooking: veal chop and rib steak with the Carne de Ávila PGI, El Barco beans, patatas revolconas with torreznos, Teresian pucheretes, suckling pig and house-made yemas. Breakfast is served from 7:45 to 11:00, lunch from 13:15 to 16:00 and dinner from 20:30 to 23:00; the café is open from 11:00 to 24:00. More detail on the Parador restaurant page.

Parking

It has a paid garage and a free outdoor car park, both only for guests staying at the hotel and with limited spaces, and an electric vehicle charging point. It is a big advantage in a walled city.

Who it is for and what is nearby

For anyone who wants to sleep inside the wall with a car and parking sorted, or arrive by train from Madrid, 115 km away, and get around on foot. From the door you have the city wall and the cathedral, and going down towards the river, the Cuatro Postes. The Basilica of San Vicente is on the other side of the old town. To get out of the city, the Sierra de Gredos is an hour away by car, according to Paradores.