What to do · Zamora
Zamora Cathedral and Cathedral Museum
Information
- Price
- €6 with the cathedral and diocesan museums · reduced €4 · under 12s free · free on Monday afternoons
- Duration
- 1 h 30
- Season
- All year
- Who it's for
- Everyone
Zamora Cathedral dates from the 12th century and its lantern tower, covered with stone in the form of scales, can be seen from all over the Duero valley. The cathedral museum holds one of the best collections of Flemish tapestries in Spain.
What to see
It was built between 1151 and 1174, in Romanesque style, with three aisles, a transept and three apses; the Gothic chevet and a Herrerian cloister were added later, and it has a single square bell tower. What makes it different is the lantern: sixteen double arches support a scaled dome that has become the symbol of the city. Look at it first from outside, from the square, and then from inside, in the crossing.
Before going in, walk round the church to the Puerta del Obispo, the south doorway. Its two tympana have reliefs: in one, the Virgin and Child; in the other, the apostles John and Paul. Inside, look for the choir stalls, the Cristo de las Injurias and the image of Nuestra Señora de la Majestad. In the cathedral museum are the Flemish tapestries. Allow an hour and a half for everything.
Tickets and opening hours
The joint ticket to the cathedral, the cathedral museum and the diocesan museum, in the church of Santo Tomé, costs €6; reduced €4; free for under-12s. From 13 October to 31 March it is open every day from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 16:30 to 19:00; from 1 April to 16 July, from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 17:00 to 20:00. You cannot enter in the last half hour. On Monday afternoons admission is free.
Keep your ticket: the diocesan museum is in another church, Santo Tomé, and is seen afterwards. For questions, the phone number is 980 530 644 and the email [email protected].
Around it
The cathedral is at the western end of the old town, next to the castle, which is visited free, and on the same square as the Baltasar Lobo Museum. From here begins Calle de la Rúa, with churches of the Romanesque Mile. If you want to see the dome from below, go down to the Duero to the Stone Bridge: from the far bank it is the image of Zamora. The Romanesque Zamora guided tour includes the cathedral and its museum inside.
As a familyWith teenagers
