# Sunday in La Alberca, Mogarraz and the Peña de Francia La Alberca first thing, the portraits on the façades of Mogarraz, mountain cooking with views and the climb to the Peña de Francia sanctuary in the afternoon. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/castile-and-leon/la-alberca/itineraries/la-alberca-mogarraz-and-pena-de-francia · Revisado: 2026-11-12 ## El día - 09:00 · Salida: 1 h by car (from Salamanca via Vecinos and Tamames, about 75 km) - 10:15 · Old Town and Plaza Mayor of La Alberca (Old town and Plaza Mayor · 1 h 30 · free) - 8 min by car, 7,6 km - 12:15 · Mogarraz and its portraits on the façades (Mogarraz portraits · 1 h · 10 min by car) - 2 min on foot - 14:00 · Mirasierra Restaurant (Mirasierra · mountain cooking with views · €€ · booking required) · Mirasierra Restaurant, €€ - 30 min by car, 23,9 km - 16:15 · Peña de Francia Sanctuary (Sanctuary and viewpoint · 1 h · free) - 17:45 · Vuelta (You reach Salamanca around 19:00) The Sierra de Francia is an hour from Salamanca and fits into a Sunday if you do three things: La Alberca early, before everyone arrives; Mogarraz and its mountain lunch at midday; and the Peña de Francia in the afternoon, when the light drops over the campo charro. From Zamora or Cáceres it is a long but possible day, about two hours away. ## The Day, Hour by Hour 9:00 · Departure. From Salamanca, about 75 km southwards via Vecinos and Tamames, entering the sierra at El Cabaco: a little over an hour. 10:15 · La Alberca. Park at the entrance to the village and walk in. Wander aimlessly through the streets of stone and timber framing, look at the dated lintels and reach the Plaza Mayor, with its arcades and the cross. At number 11 is the tourist office. If it coincides, you will see the pig of San Antón wandering the streets. 12:15 · Mogarraz. Ten minutes by car. It is the village of portraits: hundreds of faces of villagers painted on the façades. Walk it looking for faces, for an hour. 14:00 · Lunch at the Mirasierra. In the upper part of Mogarraz, with a dining room facing the sierra. Local cooking for more than forty years: patatas meneás, limón serrano and grilled meats. Book by phone, 923 418 144: at weekends it fills up, as its website warns. 16:15 · The Peña de Francia. Go back towards La Alberca and drive up the mountain road to the sanctuary, above 1,700 metres: a little under half an hour, the last stretch narrow. At the top, the church of the Virgin, the Blanca chapel over the cave where, according to tradition, the image appeared in 1434, and the view over the campo charro and Las Hurdes. Take a coat. 17:45 · Return. You drive down via El Cabaco and reach Salamanca around seven. ## What to Order At the Mirasierra, begin with the patatas meneás, with paprika and torreznos, and the limón serrano, which you will not see outside this sierra: lemon, orange, boiled egg and chorizo. Then Iberian pork cheeks or grilled meat. Before leaving La Alberca, buy turrón, perrunillas or cured meats at the shops on the square. ## With Children and Dogs The streets of La Alberca and Mogarraz are cobbled and sloping: a baby carrier is better than a pushchair. Children like looking for faces in Mogarraz and the La Alberca pig. With a dog, the streets and the Peña viewpoint yes, on a lead; ask at the restaurant whether it admits dogs. ## Cómo llegar ### By car From Salamanca, about 75 km via Vecinos and Tamames, a little over an hour. From Zamora, via Salamanca, about two hours. From Cáceres, via the A-66 and Béjar, about two hours. In La Alberca and Mogarraz you park at the entrance to the village. ### Without a car Scheduled bus by Autocares V. Cosme from Salamanca station: on Sundays it leaves at 10:00 and returns from La Alberca in the afternoon, at 18:20 on winter hours, according to the town council. Without a car you stay in La Alberca: Mogarraz and the Peña de Francia have no bus that day. ## Consejos ### Arrive before eleven At Sunday midday La Alberca fills up and parking is hard. ### Book lunch The restaurants in the sierra fill up at weekends, especially in autumn. ### Check the weather in the sierra If there is fog on the Peña, you will see nothing: swap the plan for Miranda del Castañar. ## Un consejo más ### If you go without a car Eat at La Catedral, on La Alberca's Plaza Mayor, and in the afternoon do the Camino de las Raíces, an 8 km circuit that leaves from the village. ## Cuándo no ir 15 August and the days around it, if you want calm: they are La Alberca's main festivities and the village is full. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### How long does it take from Salamanca? A little over an hour by car. By bus, on Sundays one leaves at 10:00. ### Can you drive up the Peña de Francia? Yes, by a mountain road, in a little under half an hour from La Alberca. ### How much does the day cost? The visits are free. Lunch, €25 to €40 per person, plus fuel. ### What do you do if it rains? La Alberca and Mogarraz are seen just as well with an umbrella. Leave the Peña de Francia for another day. ### Is the Mirasierra open on Sundays? Its website asks you to book, especially at weekends. It does not publish opening hours: confirm by phone.