Guided tours of Salamanca

If you live in Salamanca as a student, you have probably already discovered the main monuments and the famous places of the city. However, you probably would like to know more about its history, culture and traditions.

Today, you have the possibility to discover the secrets of Salamanca, the real history of its centre. A guided tour is always a good possibility to learn more about a city and if you study in Salamanca, you should know more about your host town! If you’re interested, these guided tours are aimed for you:

1.     The traditional tours with a Special Guide who speaks in your language (or in Spanish if you want to improve your audition!). The prices vary between 6€ and 7€, with all the entries free for the monuments. You can also book a private tour, which will be more expensive but more personal.

2.     A different way to discover Salamanca is using the Tourist Train which starts from the Plaza De Anaya until de cathedral. The price is 4€/person.

3.     If you want to discover the city by yourself, go the tourism office and rent Audioguides. They are available 24/24h and cost 12€ (20€ deposit that you get back after).

4.     Look out for the guided tours offered by Tía Tula as part of its extra-curricular activities.

If you want to know more about these tours of Salamanca, you can visit the tourist office or visit it the following website. 

When Tía Tula offers guided tours, they are always published on the extra-curricular activities list which can be found on our blog or on the notice board in the school.

By Justine Pons (student intern)

Extra-curricular activities 28th January - 1st February

Monday 28th, 19:00: Chocolate with churros. We will try the famous chocolate with churros in the café, el valor. Price: +- 4€. Meeting place: Tía Tula.Approximate duration: 1h

Tuesday 29th, 19:00: Billiards. We will go and have a game of Billiards in one of the bars in Salamanca. Price: Your consumption + participation in the game. Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h30

Wednesday 30th^, 20:00: Short films. CICLO DE CORTOS AUSTRIACOS. 5 short films will be shown in the Casa de las Conchas with subsitles in English. Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h

Thursday 31st. 19.00. TAPAS GALLEGAS. You will learn how to make Tapas Gallegas and then you can eat it. Price: 7€. Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h.

Friday 1st, 20:00: Tapas. We will go to various places in the CENTRE to try tapas. Price:+- 6€ Meeting point: Tía Tula– Approximate duration: 1h30

Remember to sign up for the activity at reception beforehand (the minimum number of people needed for each activity is 3). If the cost is not stated then the activity is free. We recommend our students to participate in the activities so they can get to know other students in the school, so they can broaden their knowledge of Spanish culture and to practice and improve their Spanish in a fun way.

La Alberca, a little typical town

If you want to discover something different to Salamanca, don’t hesitate for one second about going to La Alberca, a very cute town in the middle of the countryside, only one hour away from Salamanca by car.

Even if La Alberca has become a little more touristic over the past few years, it’s still a town where you have to stop and look around! There are so many things to discover: food, architecture, traditions…

The houses still have the original facades, which gives you the impression that you’ve gone back in time. The thin streets are pedestrianised which makes it pleasant to walk through the little centre.

Moreover, you can buy typical food and souvenirs of the town, for example, Ham, pastries, handmade crafts…

If you have the opportunity to visit La Alberca, you can’t miss the famous pig! The tradition of this animal is well-known by the residents because they feed the pig for a year and at the end of December, the village have a raffle to see who will win the pig. What surprises you is when you’re walking through the street and you realize there is a pig walking behind or next to you.

If you want to know more about La Alberca and organize a trip there, here is a useful website

By Justine Pons (student intern) 

Extra-curricular activities 21st-25th January

Monday 21st, 19:00: Tour of Salamanca. Somebody from Tía Tula will tell you the story of some of the monuments in the city. Meeting place: Tía Tula.Approximate duration: 1h

Tuesday 22nd, 19.45: Cinema. Ciclo de cine in the Liceo theatre. EL MOLINO ROJO. Price: 1,20€. Meeting place: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h30

Wednesday 23rd^, 19:00: Billiards. We will go and have a game of Billiards in one of the bars in Salamanca. Price: Your consumption + participation in the game (+- 2€). Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h30

Thursday 24th. 19.00. TAPAS SALMANTINAS. You will learn how to make Tapas Salmantinas and then you can eat it. Price: 7€. Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h.

Friday 25th, 20:30: Theatre. LA MEMORIA de Lombo – in the espacio Almargen infront of the DA2 museum. Price 7€ Meeting point: Tía Tula (important, please be punctual) – Approximate duration: 1h30

Remember to sign up for the activity at reception beforehand (the minimum number of people needed for each activity is 3). If the cost is not stated then the activity is free. We recommend our students to participate in the activities so they can get to know other students in the school, so they can broaden their knowledge of Spanish culture and to practice and improve their Spanish in a fun way.

Specialties of Salamanca

You don’t need to walk a lot through the streets of Salamanca before discovering the bars and tapas restaurants. Pastries and bakeries are full of tasty sweets, without forgetting the famous jamón serrano and Spanish cheeses shops.

Anyway, we can say that there’s a wide range of products and the price-quality is often advantageous. However, here are the main products that you must try before you leave Salamanca!

The advantage of Salamanca, even if the city isn’t on the coast, is that we can find a lot of products from the countryside. The first is cheese. The most famous is known by the name « himojosa de duero » because the dry air of the area helps with the good production. Others specialties of the countryside are chorizo, sausage, botillo and the famous jamón serrano. Pork is also avery used meat by the restaurants to be able to make different dishes.

Pastries are also specialties of quality. A lot of sweets are made with chocolate, honey, vanilla, cream and almonds. Old recipes are sometimes used to cook these pastries but today a range of products and new sweets have appeared. Although a few pastries are reserved for special celebrations (Christmas, Easter...), you’ve the possibility to find every pastries all the time!

Salamanca is very famous for its wine, especially white and red wine, which are appreciated for their fruity and robust taste. The lands are suitable for the harvest and the success of the wine in Salamanca is well-known. There’s a variety of « wine tours » to follow where you’ll discover how wine’s made, learn to taste it, to associate it with food…

The tapas that you can try depends on the bar where you eat. Every bar has its own specialty but these things are still very typical: paëllas, tortillas, salade russe, hornazos,… Eggs are often used to cook tapas, potatoes, seafood and vegetables (beans, chickpeas…) as well. Most of the tapas are cheap and the bars offer a different range: sweet, salty, hot, cold, classics, specials.

Main dishes are also very present in the Spanish food: le cochinillo (pork), farinatos (eggs/sausages), the tortilla, soups, cocido maragato (pot-au-feu, meat, vegetables), botillo con cachelos,…

Coffee is very appreciated, especially because it’s still a very strong tradition for Spanish people. The “coffee-break” is a part of the daily routine. In Salamanca, you can find a lot of different types of coffee: café con leche, café cortado, café solo, café americano are the most well known.

Now you only have to try all of these products before you leave Salamanca!

By Justine Pons (Student intern)