Getaways from Palencia: day trips and destinations close by.

Across Tierra de Campos and the Montaña Palentina to the sea

The most used exit is the A-67 to the north. It climbs through Tierra de Campos and the Montaña Palentina to Aguilar de Campoo, continues to Reinosa, where the road to Alto Campoo branches off, and drops to the sea at Torrelavega and Santander: on one side are Santillana del Mar and the western coast as far as San Vicente de la Barquera, and on the other, along the A-8, Santoña and Laredo. Via San Vicente you enter the Liébana valley, with Potes and Fuente Dé.

To the east, the A-67 joins the A-62 at Venta de Baños and continues to Burgos; from there you reach Atapuerca and, to the south along the N-234, Covarrubias and Silos. To the south, via Valladolid, are Peñafiel and Segovia; to the west, León and, also via Valladolid, Zamora and Salamanca.

Without a car there is little to choose from. León is the exception: it has a train from Palencia and the Sunday plan is done on foot through the old town. For the Montaña Palentina, the Cantabrian valleys and the Ribera you need a car.

Peñafiel, Aguilar and Burgos, almost the same distance

A little over an hour are the three nearest plans: Peñafiel, at 65 minutes, with its wine castle and a winery with tasting; Aguilar de Campoo, at 67, with two different Sundays, the Romanesque one and the bison one, and Burgos, at 67, with the cathedral first thing and the castle reopened in 2026.

Between an hour and a quarter and an hour and a half is Covarrubias and Silos, at 85 minutes: the tower and olla podrida in the morning, the La Yecla gorge and the cloister in the afternoon, and the monks' vespers before heading back.

With an hour and a half or two hours by car the Sunday starts early: Atapuerca, at 94 minutes, with the sites or the Olmos mine and the CAREX with children; León, at 102; Zamora and its Romanesque, at 106; Salamanca, from the frog to the cathedrals, at 110; Alto Campoo, at 115, and Segovia, at 118.

Past two hours the trip is a weekend one: Sepúlveda and the Duratón, at 121 minutes; Santillana and Comillas, at 130; Sanabria, at 145; San Vicente and Comillas, at 150; Gredos in two nights, at 165; La Alberca, at 175, and the Laguna Negra, a little over three hours away.

The bison can be seen all year

In winter, the snow is 115 minutes away: a Sunday of skiing at Alto Campoo, with a €40 lift pass and a stop at the source of the Ebro on the way down, best from January to March and with chains. The bison of the Montaña Palentina can be seen all year, although in winter the reserve opens only on weekend mornings. The cities, Burgos, León or Zamora, are the plan for grey days.

In spring, from the end of March, El Convento de Mave, the eating house beside the church, opens, and the Romanesque of Aguilar can be done in full, with Olleros and the collegiate church in the morning. It is also a good season for Covarrubias and Silos and for the Atapuerca sites, with the 10:00 visit booked by phone.

In summer the coast rules. Santoña, its anchovies and the boat to Laredo, at 165 minutes, need a night; the boat runs from March to October. In June, the Laguna Negra and the climb to Urbión.

In autumn the grape harvest arrives in the Ribera, with a night in Peñafiel and two wineries, 65 minutes away; from mid-September to mid-October, the rut in Sanabria and the Sierra de la Culebra, and in September and October, Liébana, with the Fuente Dé cable car and the walk down via Áliva.

From the León stained glass to the Casa Botines

• Without a car, in a day: León, from the stained glass to Gaudí. By train to León, the cathedral at 9:30 before the Masses, the Royal Pantheon, an aperitif in the Húmedo and the Casa Botines in the afternoon.
• With one night: Aguilar, Romanesque and bison. 67 minutes along the A-67: on Saturday, Olleros, Mave and Santa María la Real, with a night at the monastery inn; on Sunday, the bison and the belfry at Cantamuda.
• With two nights: Fuente Dé and the La Hermida thermal baths. Two hours forty to the Camaleño valley to go up on the cable car, walk down via Áliva and end in the thermal pools.