The medieval town of Hervás, on the Silver Route of the Camino de Santiago, also boasts one of the best-preserved Jewish quarters in Spain. Lanes lead up to a Templar castle and everyone gathers in the taverns in Plaza de la Corredera for a glass of pitarra red wine, which is aged in clay vats.
Stay at
Hotel Valle del Ambroz, a former convent in Hervás; doubles from £100, breakfast included.
Castile and León
This vast inland region stretches across northern Spain, covering an area bigger than Portugal and containing a string of historic cities such as Salamanca, Ávila, Segovia, León and Burgos. Lesser-known provincial capitals such as Soria, Zamora and Palencia are well worth sticking on your itinerary too.
Wine is made all over the region and you can do some pretty epic gastronomic routes, with stops at paradores and some surprisingly glamorous hotels along the way.
Stay at
Abadía Retuerta, LeDomaine, where Stella – the daughter of Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith – recently got married. Surrounded by vineyards in the Ribera del Duero area of Valladolid province, this Romanesque abbey is one of Spain’s smartest hotels; doubles from £475, breakfast included.