Things to Do in León: Gothic Windows and Tapas
León is the northern Spanish city that quietly has it all, and most visitors only stay one night on their way between the coast and Madrid. I arrived expecting a stop and stayed three. Between one of Europe’s great stained glass cathedrals, a grand Romanesque basilica, and a tapas culture that gives you a free plate with every drink, León turns out to be a proper destination. Its old town still carries the mark of the Roman camp it grew out of, and the mood is northern, hearty and a little overlooked. Here is my honest list of what deserves your time.
The cathedral’s windows
León’s Catedral de Santa María is the star, and it is unlike most gothic cathedrals because so much of the wall is glass. Around 1,800 square meters of stained glass, some of it dating to the thirteenth century, flood the interior with colored light. I have genuinely never seen a gothic interior this bright. Sit at the back and let your eyes adjust, and you will see the windows as a moving kaleidoscope that shifts with the sun. Give it time, at least an hour, because the light changes completely over the course of a morning. It is a cathedral you do not so much visit as watch.
San Isidoro and its royal crypt
Across town, the Basilica de San Isidoro holds the Pantheon of the Kings, a beautiful Romanesque crypt whose painted ceiling is sometimes called the Sistine Chapel of Romanesque art. The blue and red frescoes, painted around the twelfth century, cover the barrel vault and are in astonishing condition. It is smaller and quieter than the cathedral and, for many people, more moving. Do both, but in opposite trips if you can, because each deserves fresh eyes. The pink sandstone facade of the basilica is itself lovely, and the small museum holds treasure chests and medieval ivories.
Gaudí’s Casa Botines
León is one of the few places outside Barcelona with a building by Antoni Gaudí. Casa Botines is an early work, a neo gothic mansion on a plaza just off the main street, with turrets and a balustrade. It looks nothing like his later, meltier buildings, which makes it fascinating as an origin point. The interior now holds a museum on his work and the building’s history. It takes about an hour and is worth it for anyone who loves architecture, and the contrast with the stone city around it is compelling.
Tapas crawl like a local
León’s tapas scene is among the best in Spain because the food in this region is hearty and the tradition is generous: order a drink and you get a small plate of food included. The hot spot is the area around Calle Ancha and the barrio húmedo, the wet quarter, where locals hop from bar to bar at lunch and dinner. Try the local cecina, cured beef, the morcilla, blood sausage, and whatever the rice or stew of the day happens to be. I recommend doing a proper crawl on an empty stomach and stopping wherever the crowd is densest, because the busiest bar is usually the one with the best plate.
The San Marcos palace and the river
The San Marcos palace sits on the river and is a stunning plateresque building with a richly carved facade, now a hotel and museum. Even if you do not go inside, the exterior with its rows of relief medallions is worth the walk. Nearby, the riverbank paths and the old Roman walls make for a gentle evening stroll. The Roman past is everywhere here, since León grew out of a Roman camp, and the old walls circle part of the center, anchoring the city in two millennia of history.
Where to go with extra time
If you can manage an excursion, the cathedral city of Astorga, with its chocolate museum and Gaudí palace, is less than an hour away, and the Picos de Europa mountains begin not far north for hikers. For a longer stay, my guide to the best time to visit León will help you plan. But honestly, León rewards you even if you never leave the barrio húmedo all trip, because the food and the atmosphere carry the visit.
A final word
León is the sleeper hit of northern Spain. It has the monuments of the bigger cities without the crowds, and a food culture that makes you want to stay at the table. Give it more than a day, bring an appetite, and let the cathedral tell you why people have been coming here for nine hundred years. It deserves far more than the overnight stop most travelers give it, and once you have watched the afternoon light move across those thousand year old windows, you will understand why.
