# Zafra

What to see in Zafra in a day: the Plaza Grande and Plaza Chica, the alcázar of the Feria family, the Museo Santa Clara and the Zurbaráns, how to get there and where to eat on Sunday.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/extremadura/zafra · Revisado: 2026-11-12

Zafra is the commercial capital of southern Badajoz and one of the best-preserved towns in Extremadura. Its white old town fits into a stroll: two arcaded squares joined by a little arch, the nine-towered alcázar of the dukes of Feria, convents of Poor Clares that are still inhabited and a collegiate church with nine paintings by Zurbarán. The town grew with its markets and cattle fairs, and it still shows in its arcades. It can be seen in a day, and since it lies halfway between Mérida and Seville, it is a natural stop on the Ruta de la Plata.

## How to get there from Mérida, Badajoz or Seville

By car, Zafra is right beside the A-66. From Mérida it is about 63 km, about fifty minutes. From Badajoz, about 75 km on the N-432, a little over an hour. From Seville, about 140 km on the A-66, a good hour and three quarters. From Cáceres, an hour and a half; from Huelva, about two and a half hours.

By train, Renfe Media Distancia stops at Zafra on the Mérida and Huelva lines, with few services a day. The station is on the outskirts, about twenty minutes' walk from the Plaza Grande.

## Where to park

The old town is pedestrian. Park in the Plaza de España, the Plaza de los Escudos or the Ferial car park, and enter on foot: from any of the three, the squares are a few minutes away.

## What to see in a day

Start at the tourist office in the Plaza de España, where they give you the map, and cross to the Plaza Grande, arcaded in the mid-15th century with the boom in trade. Through the Arquillo del Pan you pass into the Plaza Chica, the oldest, the centre of the medieval market: look on one of its columns for the vara de Zafra, the measure used to check goods.

Follow the Zafra Única route that the Town Council suggests: the alcázar of the Dukes of Feria, built between 1437 and 1443 and today a parador; the church of Santa Marina; the Casa Grande, from 1601; the Museo Santa Clara, which opens part of the cloister of a convent founded in 1428 as the Feria family's pantheon, free and also open on Sunday mornings; the convent of Santa Catalina and the hospital of Santiago, with its Gothic doorway and Mudéjar courtyard.

Before or after lunch, the collegiate church of la Candelaria: its altarpiece of the Virgen de los Remedios holds nine canvases by Zurbarán painted in 1644 for a merchant of the town. It is a parish church, so ask the tourist office for the visiting hours.

In the afternoon, if you feel like resting, the Balneario El Raposo, a quarter of an hour by car, sells passes with its thermal circuit from €55, with a heated pool at 32.8 °C. Or continue along the route towards Jerez de los Caballeros, about forty minutes to the south-west.

## Where to eat

On Sundays, the Parador restaurant, in the alcázar itself, is the safe choice: open every day at midday and in the evening, with lamb caldereta, shepherd's migas and convent sweets. On weekdays and Saturday, Acebuche, with a Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand, mixes Extremaduran and Argentine cooking, and La Rebotica, in an old house on calle Boticas, serves retinto beef and the Iberian trilogy. Both close on Sunday.

## Where to sleep

At the Parador, inside the Feria palace, with a seasonal pool; at the Hotel Las Palmeras, under the arcades of the Plaza Grande, which accepts pets; or at the Hotel Huerta Honda, next to the alcázar. For a restful night, the four-star Hotel Balneario El Raposo, in the countryside.

## When to go

In spring and autumn. In July and August midday easily passes 35 °C: old town in the morning, siesta and a terrace on the Plaza Grande at night. In October the town holds its fair. Note that Acebuche and La Rebotica close on Sunday, Acebuche on Monday too, and that the Museo Santa Clara closes on Mondays.

## Dónde está
- Cerca: Jerez de los Caballeros (a 33.0 km), Mérida (a 55.0 km), Sierra de Aracena (a 60.4 km), Monsaraz (a 83.9 km · Portugal)

## Qué hacer
- **Plaza Grande and Plaza Chica** (45 min · Everyone · Self-guided · free): Two squares joined by an arch
The centre of Zafra is two arcaded squares that touch: the Plaza Chica, the old one, and the Plaza Grande, wider and later. They are joined by the Arquillo del Pan, a covered passage in which the Esperancita, a tiny Baroque chapel, is tucked away. You can walk both without hurrying in about 45 minutes and it costs nothing: they are open streets, with café terraces under the arcades.
The Plaza Chica and the almotacén's rod
It was the heart of the medieval town: the town council and the market were here, with weekly markets authorised since 1380. Because of this commercial use it was given arcades early on, on every side except one of the short ones, where the courthouse stood. The almotacén, the official who checked weights and measures, had his room in the square, and to check the measures of goods the Zafra rod (vara) was engraved along the shaft of one of its columns.
It is rectangular and surrounded by white facades with brick arcades framed by alfices. The exception is the old council building, now the Municipal Music School. Look too for a house that keeps its Gothic-Mudéjar decoration of interlaced arches on the facade.
The Plaza Grande, on an old cemetery
Where the Plaza Grande stands today were the plot, the atrium and the cemetery of the old parish church of La Candelaria. In the mid-15th century, with trade booming, arcades were built along the edges of the graveyard so that business could be done there. When the church was pulled down and moved to its present site, a large open space was left inside the wall. Among the houses around it is the birthplace of the humanist Pedro de Valencia. The church that replaced that parish, the Candelaria Collegiate Church, with its nine Zurbarán canvases, is two minutes away.
An order for walking them
Enter by the Plaza Grande, look at the arcades and find Pedro de Valencia's house. Cross the Arquillo del Pan, look into the Esperancita and come out into the Plaza Chica: there you should find the column with the rod and the facade with the interlaced arches. To get your bearings, the tourist office is on the Plaza de España, five minutes away, and is open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 17:00 to 19:00, and on Sunday morning.
If you want to stay right in the setting, the Hotel Las Palmeras is under the arcades of the Plaza Grande. The walk is the first stop of the Sunday in Zafra, which continues to the Santa Clara Museum.
- **Alcázar of the Dukes of Feria** (30 min · Everyone): What it is
Lorenzo II Suárez de Figueroa, first Count of Feria, began building it in 1437 and finished it in 1443: a Gothic alcázar, both defensive and palatial, with pyramidal Mudéjar-style battlements and nine towers. It is the building that best tells the story of the power of the Feria family, who turned Zafra into the capital of their lordship.
When the Suárez de Figueroa reached the title of dukes, in 1567, they wanted a palace worthy of their new rank. They remodelled and extended the old count's alcázar and joined it to the church of the convent of Santa Marina, which they rebuilt at the same time. Around 1600 the classicist marble patio was added, and between 1605 and 1609 the passageway and the Puerta del Acebuche were built. In the church of Santa Marina is the kneeling sculpture of the Englishwoman Margaret Harrington.
What you see inside
Inside are Gothic paintings and Mudéjar wooden ceilings, such as those of the Sala Dorada and the chapel, along with coffered ceilings, chests, ironwork and banisters from the old palace. Hernán Cortés was a guest of the house. Today the building is the Parador de Zafra, which highlights its inner patio and the views of the town from the terrace; the old chapel is now one of its lounges.
How to visit
From outside you can see it from the Plaza Corazón de María, where the entrance is, and from the Puerta de Palacio and the Pilar del Duque, a 15th-century Gothic drinking trough from which the outer facade is easy to see. Inside, the building works as a hotel. The parador itself advertises a free guided visit on its website, but does not publish days or times: ask at reception, on 924 554 540 or at zafra@parador.es, before you go. The other way to see the patio and the lounges is to eat in its restaurant, which serves Extremaduran cooking with Iberian ham, migas and lamb caldereta, or to have a drink in the café. And if you want to sleep inside history, the Parador de Zafra listing describes the rooms.
Allow half an hour for the exterior and the patio. The alcázar is the starting point of the Zafra Única route, which continues by Santa Marina and Calle Sevilla to the Santa Clara Museum, the pantheon of the same family that built the palace.
- **Santa Clara Museum, Inside the Enclosure** (1 h · Everyone · Free): What it is
The monastery of Santa María del Valle, the convent of Santa Clara in Zafra, was approved by a papal bull in 1428 and founded in 1430 at the wish of Gomes I Suárez de Figueroa, first Lord of Feria, who wanted to give room to the vocation of two of his daughters and create a pantheon for his lineage. It was settled by Poor Clares from Tordesillas and is still lived in by the community. The museum, which is public, opens up part of the enclosure and tells three stories at once: that of the convent, that of the nobility that sponsored it and that of the town.
What you see on the visit
The tour begins as you cross a grille that warns you that you are entering the enclosure. The first part, Intramuros, shows the convent as a place of daily life and prayer, making use of the cloister, the tiered seating and a cell: how nuns took their vows, how the house was organised, which feasts marked the year. In the lower Columns room of the new infirmary, from the late 16th century, La piedad nobiliaria explains the foundation and the link with the House of Feria, its pantheon and its collection of relics. La urbe ducal steps out into the town: how the Suárez de Figueroa, lords, counts and, from 1567, dukes, wanted to make Zafra a town to their own measure.
It ends in the church, El legado de la magnificencia. Its high altarpiece was contracted in 1670 with Alonso Rodríguez Lucas, and in the main niche is the alabaster Virgen del Valle, from the first half of the 15th century, between Saint Francis and Saint Clare. In the nave there are four matching altarpieces by José Ramos de Castro, from 1761 to 1763, and at the foot the altarpiece of San Diego de Alcalá, by Juan de Vargas, from around 1676. Here too are the recumbent sculptures of the first counts, the nuns' choir behind its double grille, the ducal chapel and the reliquary.
Each month the museum brings out a piece of the month from its collection, and it organises exhibitions and the Jornadas de Historia de Zafra y el Estado de Feria (history days).
Opening hours and price
From 16 September to 30 June, Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 17:00 to 19:00, and Sunday from 10:00 to 14:00. It is closed on Mondays. In 2026 it also closes on 1 and 6 January, 12 April, 15 May, 6 October and 24, 25 and 31 December; from 2 to 4 April and from 1 to 4 October it closes in the afternoon. The hours from 1 July to 15 September do not appear on its website: call first. Admission is free; guided visits are requested at reception, on 924 551 487 or 696 427 807.
Getting there
It is at Calle Sevilla 30, in the pedestrian zone. Park in the Plaza de España, the Plaza de los Escudos or the Ferial car park and walk in. It has ramps and a lift. It is a stop on the Zafra Única route, between the alcázar and the Plaza Grande.
- **Candelaria Collegiate Church and Its Zurbaráns** (30 min · Everyone): What it is
The church of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria replaced the old main church, which stood where the Plaza Grande opens today. It was begun in 1527 on the initiative of the third Count of Feria and opened for worship in 1546, still unfinished; work continued until the last decade of the century. It was built by the master builders Juan García de las Lieves and his son-in-law, Andrés de Maeda. In 1609, thanks to the efforts of the third Duke of Feria, it was raised to the rank of Colegial Insigne (collegiate church), and a new sacristy and a chapter house were added then.
The plan follows the models of the late 15th and early 16th centuries: a single nave with chapels between the buttresses, a raised choir at the foot, a short transept and an octagonal chevet. Despite the length and irregularity of the work, the interior has great unity.
The Zurbaráns and the rest of the interior
Its treasure is the altarpiece of the Virgen de los Remedios, a classicist frame with nine canvases by Francisco de Zurbarán painted in 1644 on commission from the Zafra merchant Alonso de Salas Parra. It is the reason many people come in.
But it is not the only thing. The high altarpiece, the most spectacular piece, was made between 1656 and 1683, the work of Blas de Escobar, José de Arce and other Sevillian Baroque artists. Blas de Escobar also signed the altarpiece of the Virgen del Carmen. The Baroque chapel of the Virgen de la Valvanera was paid for by the Cameros merchants, from the Cameros mountains of La Rioja, who had settled in the town. There is also an 18th-century organ, the funerary monuments of the merchants Juan Ramírez el Viejo and Alonso Sánchez el Viejo and, in the old sacristy, a collection of silverwork in which the Cáliz Rico and a processional monstrance stand out. It is a church of merchants as much as of dukes: a good part of the art was paid for by Zafra's commercial bourgeoisie.
How to visit
It is on Calle Tetuán, at the corner with Calle Conde de la Corte, two minutes from the Plaza Grande. It is a parish church, and the town council does not publish visiting hours or Mass times; to go in outside services, ask at the tourist office on the Plaza de España, on 924 551 036, which is open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 17:00 to 19:00, and on Sunday morning. It cannot be visited during Mass.
Allow half an hour: time to look at the nine canvases and the high altarpiece in peace. The collegiate church is one of the stops on the Zafra Única route, on the same Calle Tetuán as the old hospital of San Ildefonso, built over the house of Ruy López, the chess player. If you are interested in the town's religious art, combine it with the Santa Clara Museum, a few minutes away.
- **Zafra Única Route, from the Alcázar to the Pilar del Duque** (2 h · Everyone · Self-guided · free): What it is
It is one of the routes proposed by the town council, the most popular and the one that best sums up the town: a circular route through the old town that leaves from the alcázar of the Dukes of Feria and returns to it, passing the squares, the Jewish quarter, the gates in the wall and the convents. You do not need a guide; the tourist office on the Plaza de España gives you the map.
The route, stop by stop
It starts at the alcázar of the Dukes of Feria, from 1437, now a parador, and continues by the Puerta del Acebuche and the church of Santa Marina, with the kneeling sculpture of the Englishwoman Margaret Harrington. On Calle Sevilla are the Casa Grande, from 1601, which was the headquarters of Don Juan José de Austria in the war with Portugal, and the convent of Santa Clara, the Feria pantheon, which is now the Santa Clara Museum. Along Calle Fuente Grande you reach the convent of Santa Catalina, with Mudéjar coffered ceilings, and the hospital of Santiago, founded by the Feria family in 1438 on their first residence, with a Gothic doorway and a Mudéjar patio.
Then come the Plaza Grande and the Plaza Chica, joined by the Arquillo del Pan, and on Calle Boticas the Casa del Ajimez, from the 15th century, with its Mudéjar window. On Calle Jerez, the Puerta de Jerez, in the wall built between 1426 and 1449, with the Castilian foot carved on it. Along Calle Cestería you pass the Medina wine cellars, in an old tannery, the convent of El Rosario and the Puerta de Badajoz, now the Arco del Cubo. On Calle Tetuán, the hospital of San Ildefonso, on the house of Ruy López, and the Candelaria collegiate church with its nine Zurbaráns.
The route continues by the old synagogue on Calle San José, the Cristo del Pozo and the hospital of San Miguel, and goes outside the walls to San Benito and the Torre de San Francisco. Back inside, the Plazuela del Pilar Redondo with the town hall, Calle Gobernador with a house by Aníbal González, Calle Huelva, the Arco de San Antonio and, at the end, the Puerta de Palacio and the Pilar del Duque, a Gothic drinking trough facing the palace facade. If you have time to spare, the town council suggests going to the Recinto Ferial (fairground), where the Feria Regional del Campo Extremeño and the Feria Internacional Ganadera are held every year.
How to do it
It is a walk on foot with no big hills, a good part of it through the pedestrian zone of the centre. The town council does not publish a distance or duration; allow about two hours with stops, more if you go into the Santa Clara Museum or the collegiate church, or if you linger on the terraces of the Plaza Grande. The tourist office answers on 924 551 036 and suggests other routes: Mudéjar Zafra, Ducal Zafra, Bourgeois Zafra and a walk with Ruy López, the chess player. If you come by car, leave it in the car parks in the centre.
- **Torre de San Francisco** (15 min · Everyone · Self-guided · free): What it is
It is all that remains of the convent of San Francisco, founded in the last third of the 15th century by Gómez Suárez de Figueroa, second Count of Feria, and his mother, María Manuel. In 1575 it was thoroughly remodelled, because many friars came to it seeking spiritual retreat.
Despite its importance, it was built with humble materials: slate, brick and rubble masonry, with ashlar only on the lower section and on the corners of the two upper sections. The tower is topped with a simple dome and five small domes or lanterns, which are what make it recognisable from afar. You can still see the beginnings of the walls that joined it to the convent and, above the entrance door, a Franciscan coat of arms.
The rest of the complex was gradually lost, and its ruin accelerated after the sacking of 1808, in the War of Independence. The tower, however, has come down to us in acceptable condition: its structure has been consolidated, it is lit at night and a small park has been created around it, with a panel telling its story.
Getting there and how long to allow
It is on Calle Torre de San Francisco, north-east of the old town and outside the old wall. From the Plaza Grande it is a little under a kilometre, about fifteen minutes on foot. You see it from outside, at any hour and without a ticket: a quarter of an hour is enough to walk round it, read the panel and take the photo. It has no opening hours of its own and no visits inside; for any questions, the tourist office on the Plaza de España answers on 924 551 036.
The best time is at dusk, when the lighting comes on. With children, the park gives a breather between monuments, and with a dog it is a comfortable walk.
What to see nearby
The tower is one of the last stops on the Zafra Única route, in the stretch outside the walls, next to the old infirmary of the convent of San Benito, from the 17th and 18th centuries, and the San Benito drinking trough. On the way back to the centre, the town council suggests calling at the chapel of the Cristo del Pozo and at the two gates of the wall that are still standing: the Puerta de Jerez, from the 15th century, and the Puerta de Badajoz, later turned into the Arco del Cubo, with a relief of Santiago Matamoros (Saint James the Moor-slayer). From there you are a step from the Plaza Grande and the Plaza Chica.
- **Thermal Circuit at the El Raposo Spa** (1 h · Adults · Desde 55 € per person): Mud from a stream and a pool at 32.8 °C
El Raposo is a spa in the middle of the countryside, in the municipality of Puebla de Sancho Pérez, about 11 km and a quarter of an hour by car south-east of Zafra. Its history begins in 1860, when people in the area started to take notice of the waters and mud of the stream that crosses the valley; in 1926 it was declared of public utility. Today it is one of the few spas in Spain, and according to its website the only one in Extremadura, that works with natural mud: it is taken from the stream, matured in tanks covered with medicinal mineral water and left in the sun for five to eight months before it is used.
The hour-long circuit, step by step
The thermal circuit lasts 60 minutes. At its heart is an active heated pool with the water at 32.8 °C, sequential underwater jets, bubble beds and seats, a waterfall and a leg phlebotherapy area. In the same room are the dry sauna, the steam sauna, an ice area, an aromatic shower and heated loungers to finish. The pool water is disinfected with ozone, a system the spa uses so as not to alter its properties. The mud is not part of the circuit: it is a separate treatment, like the massages given by the spa's own physiotherapists, the parafango or the body wraps.
From the €55 pass to the massage-and-meal pass
The spa sells the circuit as passes that can be bought on its website. Without a hotel night, the cheapest is the thermal circuit with lunch or dinner, at €55 per person. Next come the circuit with Aquathermojet (€56), with massage (€64 for the therapeutic one, €66 for the pleasure and wellbeing one), with massage and a meal (€87) or with massage, infrared and parafango for the back (€90). If you want to sleep there, the one-night pass with circuit costs €125 for two people in a double room.
The website does not publish the circuit's opening hours, the minimum age or what you need to bring (swimsuit, cap, flip-flops or bathrobe). Before you go, call 924 570 410 or 696 259 147, or write to balneario@balneario.net, and book a day and time.
Eleven kilometres towards Puebla de Sancho Pérez
From Zafra, about 11 km in the direction of Puebla de Sancho Pérez. The spa has its own four-star hotel: the Hotel Balneario El Raposo listing describes the rooms and the half-board breaks. If you are only coming for the afternoon, the Sunday in Zafra plan leaves it for after the Plaza Grande and the Plaza Chica and lunch in the centre.

## Dónde comer
- **Parador de Zafra Restaurant** (Restaurant, Zafra, €€€). Qué pedir: lamb caldereta (D.O. Corderex) or salt cod casserole with Extremaduran pisto; convent sweets for dessert
- **Acebuche** (Restaurant, Zafra, €€). Qué pedir: Argentine empanadita, lamb sorrentino or sweetbreads to share, and the grilled Iberian bondiola; chocotorta for dessert
- **La Rebotica** (Restaurant, Zafra, €€). Qué pedir: the Iberian trilogy of presa, tenderloin and secreto, or the retinto

## By car: The Base for Southern Badajoz
Zafra lies beside the A-66, 60 km from Mérida, 73 from Badajoz and 141 from Seville. The old town is pedestrianised and seen on foot; the car is for the El Raposo Spa and for continuing to Jerez de los Caballeros, less than an hour to the west.
Presupuesto orientativo: 60–120 € por persona y día.
### Dónde dormir if you're driving
- **Parador de Zafra** (Hotel): Nine battlemented towers on the Plaza Corazón de María
The Parador occupies the palace of the Dukes of Feria, which began as an alcázar: the first Count of Feria built it between 1437 and 1443 and his descendants, by then dukes, turned it into a palatial residence. Hernán Cortés stayed in it. Behind the facade, the interior fits around the nine original battlemented towers, with coffered ceilings, chests, ironwork and banisters from the old palace, a marble patio and a terrace with a view of the town. Behind is a garden and a seasonal outdoor pool. It is right in the historic centre, at Plaza Corazón de María 7, about five minutes' walk from the Plaza Grande.
Five types of room, with a suite under the golden ceiling
Paradores offers standard doubles, superior doubles, junior suites, one suite and accessible doubles. The suite is in the Sala Dorada, the palace room with a Mudéjar wooden ceiling. Facilities include air conditioning, lift, free wifi, minibar, kettle, laptop safe, television with Chromecast, room service, breakfast in the room, laundry and ironing. Rates can be checked by date on the Paradores website, for room only, with breakfast or on half board.
Breakfast and meals, in the same palace
Breakfast is from 7:30 to 11:00 and the café is open from 11:00 to midnight. The Parador restaurant serves lunch and dinner every day, with Badajoz dehesa cooking: shepherd's migas, lamb caldereta, grilled Iberian pork and sweets from the convent of the Poor Clares. The Parador itself advertises a free guided visit of the building; ask at reception for the time.
The €25 pet supplement
It is one of the Paradores that accept pets: one dog or cat per room, up to 25 kg, with a supplement of €25 per night. Bookings with an animal are made by phone, with the Parador or the central reservations line, because there is a limited number per night. Inside the building the animal must be on a lead, in your arms or in a carrier, may not be left alone in the room or enter the restaurant, and you must bring its health card. Dogs considered potentially dangerous are not accepted; guide dogs always are.
60 km from Mérida, with the old town on foot
Zafra is 60 km from Mérida on the Ruta de la Plata, 73 km from Badajoz on the N-432 and 141 km from Seville, according to Paradores. The Parador's website does not mention its own parking: the car parks in the centre, on the Plaza de España, are a couple of minutes away. From the door, the whole old town can be covered on foot: the Zafra Única route starts at the alcázar itself. For day trips, Paradores suggests the Capricho de Cotrina, 5 km away, the castle of Feria, 15, or Jerez de los Caballeros, 38.
- **Hotel Las Palmeras** (Small hotel): On the Plaza Grande itself
Las Palmeras is a manor house restored in 1993 under the arcades of the Plaza Grande in Zafra, right in the old town. On one side is the 16th-century convent of Santa Catalina, and on a flank the hospital of Santiago, of Mudéjar architecture. Next door is the Plaza Chica, the old market and centre of the medieval town, with the measuring rod carved on one of its columns. From the rooms you can see the grand houses of the square, with their coats of arms and their flower-filled balconies. It is run by Vivere Stays.
The rooms
There are single rooms, doubles for one adult, double rooms with a double bed, twin rooms, triples and quadruples. The decor is rustic, with tiled floors and some rooms with vaulted ceilings. All have a private bathroom with shower or bath and toiletries, air conditioning and heating, flat-screen television, desk, wardrobe and free wifi. There is a lift to the upper floors.
The quadruple, of 26 m², has two single beds and a large double bed and views of the town: it is the option for families or groups of four. The hotel presents it as a family room, spacious and comfortable.
Services
Breakfast is served in the house's patio, with traditional cooking and quality produce, according to the hotel. On the ground floor, a vaulted lounge opens onto the patio. The hotel advertises itself as pet friendly and accepts pets, and as bike friendly: it has a safe place to store bikes. The website does not publish fixed prices, check-in and check-out times or conditions for pets: ask when you book.
Who it is for and how to get there
For sleeping in the centre without taking the car: everything you come to see in Zafra is a few steps away. It suits couples and families looking for a room for four, and anyone travelling with a dog or by bike. Zafra is 45 minutes by car from Mérida, 30 km from Almendralejo and an hour from Seville, according to the hotel.
The old town is pedestrianised, so the practical thing is to leave the car in the car parks in the centre of Zafra and walk. If you come by train, the Zafra station is on the outskirts.
What is nearby
You step out onto the Plaza Grande and the Plaza Chica from the door. A few minutes away are the Candelaria collegiate church and its Zurbaráns, the Santa Clara Museum and the alcázar of the Dukes of Feria. For dinner, La Rebotica is two minutes away. Bookings on 924 552 208, on 682 531 558 or at palmeras@viverestays.com.
- **Hotel Huerta Honda** (Hotel): A hotel beside the palace
Huerta Honda is listed in the Turismo de Extremadura hotel register and in the Zafra town council's restaurant directory, on Calle López Asme, next to the alcázar of the Dukes of Feria, now a parador. From the door, the Plaza Grande is about five minutes' walk away.
What to know
It has its own restaurant, also open to non-guests. Its website did not let us check the rooms, prices or services: ask when you book, on 924 554 100 or at reservas@huertahonda.com.
- **Hotel Balneario El Raposo** (Spa hotel): A mud spa in the countryside
Hotel El Raposo has four stars and is physically attached to the spa, in the hamlet of El Raposo, in the municipality of Puebla de Sancho Pérez, a quarter of an hour from Zafra. The complex is surrounded by some 30,000 m² of gardens. Its speciality is the natural mud that forms in the nearby stream: it is decanted into maturation tanks, covered with medicinal mineral water and exposed to the sun for five to eight months. The spa claims to be the only one in Extremadura with natural mud of this kind.
The story begins in 1860, when, as the house tells it, a sow with sore joints recovered after spending a day lying in the mud of a pool in the stream. The news spread through the district, first animals bathed and then people, and in 1886 the first bathhouse was built. In 1925 a twenty-room hotel was built and in 1926 the spa was declared of public utility.
The rooms
Today the hotel has 100 rooms and 187 beds: 87 doubles, three of them adapted, and 13 singles. All have a full bathroom, heating and air conditioning, telephone, television, free wifi, a free safe, minibar and a pillow menu. There is room service from 11:00 to 22:30.
What it offers
The active heated pool, at 32.8 °C, and the thermal circuit with saunas, ice area, aromatic shower and heated loungers are the heart of the stay, along with the mud treatments, massages and hydromassages. There is also an outdoor and an indoor pool, by reservation, a medical service, a hairdresser, a reading and games room, a shop, event rooms and bicycle hire. Parking is free.
For eating, the Matanegra restaurant has a set menu of the day with home-style dishes, a buffet and an à la carte menu, with a wine list focused on the DO Ribera del Guadiana. The café La Zaranda serves raciones and breakfasts, and in spring and summer its terrace opens in the pool gardens. To book a table: 924 570 410.
Prices and breaks
In its gift vouchers, the thermal circuit on its own costs €55, one night with circuit €125, and the one-night break with half board, circuit and massage, €309. There are also longer thermal-cure stays, with full board and spa treatments for five or ten days. Prices change according to the season: check them on its website before booking.
Who it is for and what is nearby
For a restful night at the end of a day in Zafra, for couples seeking a spa break and for those coming for a cure of several days. If you only want the circuit without staying overnight, see the thermal circuit at the El Raposo Spa listing. In Zafra, a quarter of an hour away, are the Plaza Grande and the Plaza Chica and the alcázar of the Dukes of Feria. Telephone: 924 570 410.
### Servicios
- **Zafra Tourist Office**: On the Plaza de España · every morning, and afternoons Monday to Saturday · maps and routes
- **Car Parks in Central Zafra**: Plaza de España, Plaza de los Escudos and the Ferial · the old town is pedestrianised

## Consejos

### For Sunday lunch, the parador
Acebuche and La Rebotica close on Sunday.

### Look for the vara
It is carved on a column in the Plaza Chica.

### Go into Santa Clara
It is free and shows a cloister that is still inhabited.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### What is there to see in Zafra in a day?
The Plaza Grande and the Plaza Chica, the alcázar of the Dukes of Feria, the Museo Santa Clara, the collegiate church of la Candelaria with its Zurbaráns and the hospital of Santiago.

### How long does it take from Mérida to Zafra?
About fifty minutes by car on the A-66.

### Where can you eat in Zafra on Sunday?
At the Parador restaurant, which is open every day. Acebuche and La Rebotica close on Sunday.

### Where do you park in Zafra?
In the Plaza de España, the Plaza de los Escudos or the Ferial; the old town is pedestrian.

### Can you sleep in the parador?
Yes, the Parador de Zafra occupies the alcázar of the Dukes of Feria and accepts pets.

### Is there a train to Zafra?
Yes, Renfe Media Distancia on the Mérida and Huelva lines, with few services.