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The city of Salamanca
- Learning Spanish in Salamanca
- Students' opinions
Reasons to study Spanish in Salamanca
THE CITY:
- Population: 215.000.
- Location: Mid West of Spain (in the Castile-Leon region).
- The people of Salamanca speak the purest Spanish, which makes the city very popular for learning this language.
- Salamanca is large enough to be able to offer the advantages of a big city while it has the friendly atmosphere of a small town.
- It is the home of the world's second oldest university. It receives about 50.000 students every year, of which approximately 5.000 come from abroad.
- Salamanca, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is known as "La Ciudad Dorada" -the Golden City- because of the golden hue of its sandstone buildings.
CULTURAL/RECREATIONAL:
- The Plaza Mayor of Salamanca is one of the most beautiful baroque squares in Spain.
- Madrid is just over 200 km. away (2.5 hours by car)
- By train, you can be in Portugal within an hour.
- Salamanca is surrounded by the mountains of Sierra de Francia and Sierra de Gredos.
- There are plenty of chances to get in touch with nature and discover typical small villages.
- In September, the Ferias and Fiestas de la Virgen de la Vega are spectacular. For two weeks, there is a fully organised programme of concerts, parades, exhibitions, bullfights and markets.
- As a student town Salamanca is the perfect place to go out and have a good time.
- Salamanca was declared the European Capital of Culture in 2002.
More information about Salamanca
The province of Salamanca is located in the southwest corner of the Castilla y León region directly bordering Portugal. It is located about 2 and a half hours north west of Madrid and about 4 hours to the nearest beach (in Portugal). Gold-hued Salamanca is also one of many stunning UNESCO World Heritage sites in Spain. It is home to two grand cathedrals, beautiful Plazas, spectacular Renaissance palaces, and one of the oldest universities in Europe.
The city is large enough (215.000 inhabitants) to be able to offer the advantages of a real city while keeping the intimacy of a village. Salamanca has played an important role in the history of the Spanish (Castilian) language; for this reason Salamanca is enormously popular with people worldwide who want to learn Spanish. It is very easy to meet people because the city is fairly small and you can go practically everywhere on foot. You are bound to see everyone in the Plaza Mayor, one of the finest squares in Spain and known as "the living room of the Salamantinos". You're bound to make international friends as there is such a varied range of nationalities.
 Plaza Mayor |
 Plaza Anaya |
Salamanca is a real university city; Spanish students are everywhere and there are plenty of places full of Spaniards. The surrounding areas of Salamanca also offer many facilities for cultural and sporting day-trips to villages, the mountains or to the many lakes.
Fiestas and celebrations in Salamanca
The vast majority of celebrations in Salamanca have a religious background as everywhere else in Spain. One of the most special festivities in Salamanca is "El Lunes de Aguas" ("Water Monday"), a tradition dating back to 1570, during the reign of King Philip II. This fiesta is the last day of an eight-day long religious celebration at Easter, when Salamanca´s inhabitants meet at the shores of the Tormes River in what is essentially a huge picnic.
During the year there are many more festivals and festivities of which the September "Ferias y Fiestas de la Virgen de la Vega" are the most spectacular. For two weeks there is a fully organised programme of concerts, parades, exhibitions and markets that shouldn´t be missed!
