4-star Hotel / Parador

At a strategic point on the Camino de Santiago, half way between Burgos and León and within easy reach of historic Palencia, the region’s capital, Carrion de los Condes is best known for its Romanesque and Gothic monuments; one of the masterpieces of Romanesque sculpture is the Pantocrátor in the church of Santiago.

Inhabited since pre-Roman times, the upper part of the town, where the Nuestra Señora de Belen’s church is now, was the Celtic settlement of Lacobriga, which was later Romanised becoming an important point in the ‘Aquitania’ Roman road that ran from Bordeaux to Astorga.

During the High Middle Ages, Carrión de los Condes was one of the most important cities of the Christian kingdoms and courts, synods and councils took place here.

The churches of Santiago and Santa María la Blanca with their fine porticos, the Herreda pilgrim hospital and the exquisite gothic cloister of San Zoilo Monastery are the main historical attractions in the town but there are many more dotted around the town.

The town itself is quite unspoiled by tourism and offers an insight into to real life in small-town Castille. There’s a good bar on the square serving snacks (at amazing small-town Castille prices!) and a nice riverside walk if you want to stretch your legs.