If you flick through a guidebook to Spain, the chances are the slimmest chapter will be the one on Extremadura. When I started to update Frommer’s Spain last year, it had just 18 pages dedicated to this little-visited region. The new edition, available now, has double that, but there are still plenty of beautiful, interesting and historic places which didn’t make it into the guide. We’ll aim to cover them on this blog. But things may be starting to change. Recently, Frommer’s asked their writers to suggest 20 less trampled places that readers should consider visiting in 2020. We’re delighted that one of those chosen was Extremadura. Here, in English and Spanish, is the recommendation:
An estimated 80 million people will visit Spain in 2020. Few are likely to set foot in Extremadura, and that is its appeal. Landlocked in the southwest—above Andalusia, next to Portugal—it is Spain's least-developed region. Yet it's blessed with historical and natural wonders, and has four UNESCO World Heritage sites to its name. The capital, Mérida, is one of them, thanks to the finest Roman ruins outside Italy. On hot summer nights, classical plays are staged in the city's magnificent, 2,000-year-old open-air theater. Extremadura is best known as the home of the conquistadors, who left Spain for America 500 years ago. The riches they sent home still adorn palaces and churches in the perfectly preserved old towns of Cáceres and Trujillo (pictured). In this century, they became settings for the TV epic Game of Thrones. In Guadalupe, you can lodge alongside priests and pilgrims at the monastery where Columbus gave thanks for surviving his fateful voyage of 1492. And then there's the nature. The river gorges of Monfragüe are inhabited by some of Europe's rarest birds, including Spanish imperial eagles and black storks. The oak-forested countryside is where Spain's delicious ibérico ham comes from. Explore Extremadura in spring or fall, as temperatures soar in summer, and go by car if you can. Rail and air links are also firmly rooted in the past. —Peter Barron
Se estima que 80 millones de personas visitarán España en 2020. Es probable que pocos pongan un pie en Extremadura, y ese es su atractivo. Sin litoral en el suroeste, por encima de AndalucÃa, junto a Portugal, es la región menos desarrollada de España. Sin embargo, está bendecida con maravillas históricas y naturales, y tiene cuatro sitios del Patrimonio Mundial de la UNESCO a su nombre. La capital, Mérida, es una de ellas, gracias a las mejores ruinas romanas fuera de Italia. En las calurosas noches de verano, se presentan obras clásicas en el magnÃfico teatro al aire libre de 2.000 años de antigüedad. Extremadura es mejor conocida como el hogar de los conquistadores, que dejaron España para América hace 500 años. Las riquezas que enviaron a casa todavÃa adornan palacios e iglesias en los antiguos pueblos perfectamente conservados de Cáceres y Trujillo (en la foto). En este siglo, se convirtieron en escenarios de la épica TV de Game of Thrones. En Guadalupe, puedes alojarte junto a sacerdotes y peregrinos en el monasterio donde Colón dio gracias por sobrevivir a su fatÃdico viaje de 1492. Y luego está la naturaleza. Las gargantas del rÃo de Monfragüe están habitadas por algunas de las aves más raras de Europa, incluidas las águilas imperiales españolas y las cigüeñas negras. El campo boscoso de roble es de donde proviene el delicioso jamón ibérico de España. Explore Extremadura en primavera u otoño, ya que las temperaturas se disparan en verano y vaya en automóvil si puede. Los enlaces ferroviarios y aéreos también están firmemente arraigados en el pasado.
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