Old Cathedral and New Cathedral

Salamanca has two cathedrals side by side: the Old one, Romanesque, and the New one, built next to it between the 16th and 18th centuries without demolishing the first. With a single ticket you see both, the cloister and the chapter houses, and the exhibitions of the Bishop's Palace. The audioguide is included, and there is a free children's audioguide in Spanish, English, French and Portuguese.

What to see

The New Cathedral, late Gothic, was finished by the Churriguera family in 1733. It is the larger of the two; look in it for the Virgin of the Assumption that Esteban de Rueda carved in 1626. The Old Cathedral, from the 12th to the 15th centuries, is smaller and more intimate. What you come to see here is the main altarpiece by the Delli brothers, from around 1440, of painted panels. From outside, the dome of the Torre del Gallo is seen well from the Patio Chico.

In the Bishop's Palace, the same ticket gives access to a 360-degree virtual reality experience and an immersive room, at no extra cost. The audioguide is in six languages, so everyone goes at their own pace. Allow an hour and a half, a little more if you linger in the cloister.

Hours and tickets

It is open Monday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00, with last entry at 17:15. General admission costs €10; reduced, €9 (over-65s, students, large families); ages 7 to 16, €7, and children under 7 enter free. It is bought at the ticket office on Plaza de Juan XXIII or online, which avoids the queue. With the cathedral ticket you get a discount at the Convent of Santa Clara. Information on 923 217 476 or at [email protected].

Masses and concerts have their own timetable, published on its website; check it if you want to avoid coinciding with a service.

Before or after

The towers are visited separately, with Ieronimus, named after Bishop Jerome of Périgueux, under whom the diocese was restored in 1102: going up after seeing the naves helps you understand the building from above. Opposite is the Casa Lis, and going down, the Roman Bridge, from where the two cathedrals are seen together.