Extremadura in english

SUBJECTIVE INSIGHT INTO EXTREMADURA FOR ENGLISH SPEAKERS

Welcome to the first English-language web guide solely devoted to Extremadura, one of the last-remaining unspoilt regions of Spain.Extremaduraguide.com provides a highly personal and incomplete view of the region, based on the experience of a Brit who’s lived there for over fourteen years. This is not a translation of tourist officeleaflets, nor a cribbing of widely available guidebooks. It’s a subjective insight into Extremadura for the foreign visitor with as much useful advice as I can muster.

Just north of Andalusia, southof Castile and east of Portugal, influences of all these ways of life are present in Extremadura, but it has an identity and personality all of its own. The most outstanding collection of Roman ruinsand art in Spain can be seen in Mérida, the region’s capital, and Cáceres has probably the most intact medieval quarter of any Spanish city, as is shown by the number of period dramas that are shotthere. Both are World Heritage Sites. Smaller towns such as Zafra (nicknamed “Sevilla La Chica - The Little Seville”) and Trujillo(where many conquistadors came from) are also well worth a visit, whileGuadalupe is home to a third World Heritage Site – an exceptional monastery that’s key to Iberian religious identity.

Out in the country Extremadura is home to a National Park and several areas ofoutstanding natural beauty, especially in the north of the region.Monfragüe is a bird-watcher’s dream, while countless picture-book villages nestle in the Vera, Jerte and Ambroz valleys, as well asin the Gata mountains.

Meanwhile, the gastronomy of Extremadura is simply a foodie’s dream. A lack of marketing in the past means that relatively unknown yet superb products are still widelyavailable. Iberian pork products such as ham can claim to be among the best in the world, while soft sheep’s cheeses from the Serena and Casar are a unique delicacy. For cooks, paprika from the Vera...