A Walk Through the Puebla de Guadalupe

What It Is

The village that grew at the foot of the monastery, around the chapel that was built where, according to tradition, the Virgin appeared to a shepherd. In 1340 Alfonso XI gave the lands to its inhabitants, and around 1348 the prior of the monastery became lord of the Puebla, a lordship that lasted until 1820. Its old town, from the 14th to the 16th centuries, has barely changed since and has been a Historic-Artistic Monument since 1943: mountain houses with wooden balconies and arcades, sloping streets, small squares and five medieval arches that gave access to the monastery.

The Route

It starts in the Plaza de Santa María, the centre of the village, which opens in front of the facade of the monastery basilica. In the middle is the fountain which, according to tradition, served as a baptismal font for the first Native Americans whom Columbus brought to Europe. In the square you have the tourist office, where they give you the map.

In the old town there is also the former Colegio de Infantes or Grammar School, founded in the 16th century to teach grammar, Latin and the humanities, a Mudéjar building that today forms part of the Parador. The Parador's other building is the Hospital of San Juan Bautista, the men's hospital, with a Renaissance facade: according to the Geopark, the first autopsy in the Western world was carried out there, with the permission of Pope Eugene IV, and for centuries it was one of the few surgery centres. Between the 14th and 16th centuries other hospitals were built for pilgrims and the sick: the New one, for women, the monks' infirmary, the Passion one and the San Sebastián one.

Go down Calle Sevilla, the street of the shops selling black pudding, ring-shaped breads, lace and baskets, to the little square of the Tres Chorros, with its 15th-century fountain, where some of the best-preserved streets meet. Continue through the old Jewish quarter, in the streets leaving the square: wooden arcades, balconies with flowers and narrow alleys, in two-storey houses with entrance hall and chestnut beams. Pass the Baroque church of the Holy Trinity and look for the arches: the most notable are the Sevilla, the oldest, and the San Pedro.

When and How

At any time, but best in the late afternoon, when the groups leave. At weekends and public holidays the centre is closed to cars and it is more pleasant to stroll; leave the car in the car parks on Avenida Eusebio González, about ten minutes' walk away. With a dog, on a lead in the streets; it does not enter the monastery. To see the village from above before or after, climb to the Ermita del Humilladero, 4 km away.